Architecture.
Architecture is at the center of what we do and we love it. The process of defining the challenge, developing the concept and then executing it meticulously fuels our passion for our work.
We take a lot of pride in our work - and in our professional responsibility to the client and the community. We love what we do, but we understand that at the end of the day, the value we add is in successfully delivering the solution for which we were hired. We approach every project with creativity and innovation, but never loose sight of the budget, functional requirements and schedule. A successful project is not just a successful design, but a project that hits all of the organizational goals as well.
Building information modeling | BIM + parametric design.
Much of our success is due to our early adoption and full utilization of Building Information Modeling [BIM]. It is so central to how we design that we consider our work to be more akin to Virtual Construction of the project than that of drawing. In addition to a more accurate, efficient and well-coordinated model, this approach also allows us to generate cost estimates, visualizations and facility management information without starting from scratch - while also allowing our construction documents to be completed more quickly.
Prototyping + national rollout.
VEGA got its start by designing and then managing the rollout of a publicly traded national organic grocery chain. Our experience taught us a lot about how to create high quality documents and designs - in short order - while managing ever changing schedules, standards, and client led initiatives. It also gave us the opportunity to form a robust process for due diligence and entitlement approval that allowed us to gain fast approval - even when working in new jurisdictions. Our ability to manage national rollouts with speed and quality is unparalleled.
This experience also taught us how to create a great prototype set. Our prototype process combines our client focused design skills with a drawing that defines how a project should be adapted to different sites, climates and jurisdictions. It anticipates many of the jurisdictional preferences we have encountered and it defines how and where the design should bend if required. Furthermore, it gives a foundation for many important quality assurance procedures. Prototype sets are an art, and a good one really allows fast, predictable and quality project rollouts.
Visualization.
From static renders and 3D videos - to immersive virtual experiences, our visualizations are a critical part of our process. They allow us to communicate the design and function of the project to the client in a much more relevant way. In addition to capturing the vibe and experience of the proposed design, they are equally important to us in how they engage the client from a functional perspective. The ability to immersively walk around the project, prior to its construction, to understand how it will operate provides us invaluable feedback. Feedback that we would have never achieved with 2D documentation alone.
Beyond design process communication, our clients value our visualizations as effective tools for fund raising, PR and community engagement.
While visualizations do take some extra effort, we are able to produce them much more quickly and cost effectively because they are an extension of the foundation created by the virtual construction of our project.
Cultural resource management.
Vega’s cultural resource management services provide comprehensive archaeological and historical assessment services. Vega staff will work with you to understand and comply with cultural resource regulations and laws at the local, state, federal, and tribal levels, including the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106, National American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA), and American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA)
Vega provides a range of services including National Register of Historic Places evaluations, HABS/HAER consultations, historic building inventories, ethnographic/ethnohistoric reviews, archival research, class I-III cultural resource inventories, archeological overview assessments, geoarchaeological assessments, mitigation strategies, archaeological potential models, project mapping, research design development, laboratory analysis, government compliance work, Traditional Cultural Properties (TCP) studies, and collaborative approaches to management and fieldwork.
Facades + building science.
Our expertise in building science, detailing, construction methods and building performance is what allows us to back up our designs with quality documentation and high performing, low maintenance buildings. We continually supplement our knowledge with our participation in various councils of the National Institute of Building Sciences, LEED AP and other continuing education.
Furthermore, our experience with VEGA made llc has given us a highly unique and valuable perspective into glazing design and best practices.
Due diligence, entitlements + building evaluations.
Our Due Diligence + Entitlement work, honed across over 100 different jurisdictions across the country, paves the way for project predictability and schedule.
We attribute our near perfect success rate in entitlement approval to our exhaustive process to flush out and document issues early, our site planning techniques and our ability to compellingly present our case to planning commissions and city councils.
If an existing building is involved, we will typically perform an Existing Building Evaluation to document and evaluate the current condition of the building, the projected lifespan of building elements, code compliance and concerns with how its future use might be implemented. This culminates in a information rich report that our clients use to evaluate potential purchases and/or to estimate likely improvement and maintenance costs.