The retail division of D’Anna Associates, LTD provides design services tailored to fit retail projects. We have a team solely dedicated to completing your project in an expedited manner; catering specifically to landlords and retail management who have a need to streamline tenant occupancy.  Our fees can be set up as service contracts, or be based on a per-project basis with turnaround in as little as 24 hours from your commencement approval.  All documents are prepared and sealed by one of our licensed architects.

This expedited service is currently being offered in Michigan, Florida, and Illinois.

At DA we’re constantly searching for ways to reinvent ourselves, our services, and our image.  Obviously for the reason to provide better service to our clients, but also to stay at the forefront of our industry.  We are a relatively small firm, and in order to maintain ourselves (especially in an economy struggling to improve) dynamically competitive, and quite frankly, visible, we need to cater to what people are truly looking for.  This has nothing to with “whoring ourselves out” (for lack of better description) and surrendering our principles and those of our profession, simply to make buck.  Instead, this has to do with translating those principles into useful solutions for our clients, and our future clients’ true needs – and at the moment, efficiency is key.  Let’s face it, people are looking for a means to an end, in the sense that investing time into “thinking outside the box” is one of the last items on their list of concerns and so effort (patience) tied to this is virtually nonexistent.  People are simply concerned about what they need to be able to get ahead, or for many, simply survive. It’s not that they don’t care about good architecture but the demand for it is overshadowed by the bottom line; then who in their right mind can spend the time to provide quality, for compensation that matches what people can actually afford right now?!   We can – and we don’t even have to put a fancy pants, pick from a bin, “pre-architectured” plan purchasing database together either… no, we’ve actually developed efficient ways of operating, so that everything we do is specific to each and every client… period.   We produce ideas, not products.

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This position will be responsible for:

• Coordination and implementation of client introductions with firm-wide experts.
• Leads to new architectural work
• Support firm and develop a marketing strategy
• Ability to work with media and other promotional material is a plus.
• Brand awareness in market
• Coordination and implementation of client introductions with firm-wide experts.

Role Description:

Develops and implements processes to increase quality and consistency of business development materials: qualifications packages, proposal responses and new business presentations.

Coordinate pre-qualification submittals for corporate and government agencies.  Prepare and track standard requests for qualifications and requests for proposals (RFQ and RFP).  Attend pre-proposal conferences and networking events.  Maintain the proposal calendar and coordinate deadlines with engineers, architects, and management.   Prepare sales presentations and coordinate promotional events.   Assist with the development and maintenance of promotional materials, marketing ads, and award submittals.  Prepare and compose various documents including correspondence, flyers, announcements, mass mailings, etc.  Research and edit articles for the website and other publications.  Maintain a variety of files, records, and databases.

Candidate Credentials:

To be experienced in the architecture /engineering business space

* Bachelors degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Advertising or related field.

* Minimum 7 years of professional marketing experience in positions with increasing responsibility. Prior experience in the Architecture and Engineering industry preferred.

* Must be proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Please send résumés via email to hr_admin@dannaassoc.com or via fax: (248) 852-7707

After 30 years of practice, we’ve become masters of efficient building design.  We can provide cost effective services that create safe, state of the art learning facilities – saving struggling districts both initial and long term costs. With the number of schools receiving stimulus dollars to build new schools and/or modernize existing ones these days, such as those in Flint, Pontiac, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, efficient design is paramount  in ensuring a successful project – both in terms of building energy consumption as well as functionality in occupant use. In other words, through efficient design we are able to reduce operating costs and increase productivity. This statement goes hand in hand with a previous blog entry from January 21, 2010.

Construction projects are often complicated orchestrations with expenses and budget being primary forces behind the fruition of any good idea. Unfortunately 75% of these ideas do not materialize specifically because of these forces. With the profusion of federal funds allocated for construction projects in the United States it is critical that every effort is made to stretch each dollar to ensure that the communities and organizations for which these buildings are erected will receive the greatest possible benefit from them, as well as to ensure each project remains economically viable so that ideas are not abandoned in the first place.

The result: great works of architecture that are sustainable and improve the environment on a local scale as well as on a global one.

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Sal and Jessica's limo ride after a beautiful ceremony.

Sal D’Aleo, one of our principal architects, and Jessica Rodgers were married on July 10th, 2010 at St. Paul on the Lake in Grosse Pointe. The venue, weather, and couple were beautiful and lakeside pictures are sure to be gorgeous.

The couple will enjoy almost a month-long well deserved honeymoon on a Mediterranean cruise and a visit with family in Italy. May they both never take for granted the many blessings marriage will give them, may they have a rich life, and have many children!

Congratulations!

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From conceptual analysis, building design, construction and beyond, we are licensed to practice architecture and engineering for residential, commercial and industrial projects across the country.  Today, I’m asking to be introduced to any contact at a large construction company, such as Turner or Granger Construction, who has performed work outside the state of Michigan and who would be interested in collaborating with us to respond to several, large out of state, request for proposals we’ve received. On the verge the new quarter and the establishment of fresh budgets, we’ve been presented with several opportunities to bring work back to our state, and it’s almost certain we’ll do so in partnership with one of these companies.  So feel free to direct me to your friend, the laid-off laborer, or project manager of one of these companies – we just might be able to help put them back to work.

Sal with D’Anna Associates LTD architects and engineers’ – Innovative solutions from the ground up.

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During the last weekend Sal D’Anna, our principal engineer, was married to Michele Scafuri at St. Andrews Church in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The picturesque weather contributed to the beauty of the ceremony and the following reception which took place at Palazzo Grande banquet hall.

The groom and bride are great people themselves – but are even greater together. We wish Sal and Michelle a lifetime of love and happiness, and many, many healthy children. Perhaps they will contemplate this while they enjoy a well deserved honeymoon in Italy.

Visit our website in the upcoming days as we will post pictures of the reception.

Again, congratulations!

Diversity. It’s application in architecture is an essential component in societal sustainability.

Without going into a thorough theoretic analysis: it’s apparent in all countries, states, cities, and cultures in general – the quality of our surroundings is directly linked to our built environment. Europe, in general, and major US cities are great examples of this and yet all too often we find that there is an overtone of resistance to utilize modern methods for new buildings as well as renovations – both functionally and stylistically speaking.

Simply put, we all frequently see people shy away from a solution (building or construction) simply because it is unfamiliar. Because of this, opportunities which would better accomplish an objective are sometimes missed in order to accommodate a convention which is based on an older culture. It’s comfortable.

Think about it: take technological advancements in the past 10 years; how has the way we live, work, and communicate changed? Because of the internet, for example, and its rapid evolution in accomplishing almost anything, the land line is becoming obsolete, our conduit for instant information has become a screen on our desktops or in our pockets, and we are able work closely with a team physically disbursed across the world in real time. As a result, it’s not as important to locate telephone outlets in every bedroom as ethernet outlets, consideration must be given to the placement of elements which block WiFi signals, and our office spaces may be compact and efficient. This, of course, is a vague example but buildings which address today’s needs have an identity which distinguishes it amongst older counterparts. So, in essence, we would have older buildings juxtaposed with newer counterparts, each marking its own time in history. It’s this very instance which creates rich communities.

We Americans are often reluctant to change because there is a general fear of nonconformance as we consider resale and, more frankly, the almighty dollar – the resulting form is one which has no real identity because it must accommodate any activity, person, and average functional needs. Society really doesn’t hold a fundamental importance to the long-term impact of our buildings.

As an architect at D’Anna Associates, being conscious of this, I continuously offer our clients solutions which address their particular living, working, or playing circumstances so that not only are their current needs met, but each solution must address needs in a foreseen future not only on a practical level but also with an environmental consciousness. In fact one of the internal “principles” of the firm is ‘mind the environment for now and for the future’.

Some examples of our work which exemplifies this, in their schematic phases, follow.

The question posed: do it yourself, or hire an architect because the cost involved of doing so will exceed what I am willing to spend on a home improvement? Frankly, the question was sparked from a Twitter query which has since been removed but was nonetheless a good one.

Well the question is better formulated by asking if you can afford to execute an addition or alteration to your home by trial and error.

Believe it or not, some of our clients initially become our clients because they’ve begun their project that way – either they’ve made a mistake which is causing a problem or they’ve been caught by the authority having jurisdiction for executing work without necessary permits and a licensed architect is then required to review the work.

As a result, homeowners have had to pay for the cost of construction, the cost of correcting any construction, in addition to any fees incurred for a review by an architect. Needless to say, hiring an architect before beginning a project avoids headaches, reduces costs, and yields a project that has been well designed by someone who is trained to do just that. This idea holds true for commercial projects only to a magnified degree.

I’ve often heard that hiring an architect is perceived to be a costly luxury which is reserved solely for affluent developers and homeowners but this misconception has only contributed to the hindrance of the profession and diminished the quality our built environment. Generally speaking an architect’s fees are sometimes a small percentage of the construction OR, a sum that is determined prior to commencing with the project.

What I suggest is to simply request a quotation for any work that you intend on executing and then make a determination at that point as to whether it is a reasonable cost for peace of mind.

I am interested in hearing some opinions from non-architects regarding this issue.