SUCCESS STORIES

 

www.virgogambill.com/

The range of services offered by Augusta, GA firm Virgo Gambill is impressive. The list includes architecture, interior design, master planning, graphic design, facilities needs studies, 3D modeling, rendering services, CADD systems, and furnishings selection and procurement. While they felt they were doing reasonably well with their specification writing – using their “home-grown” wordprocessing based system and free specifications available from various manufacturers, they felt their existing process still needed improvement. Read the entire story (pdf).

"The fact that [SpecLink] is written by professional spec writers was obvious."

 

www.saratogaassociates.com

From their offices in Boston, New York City and Saratoga Springs (NY), Saratoga Associates provides Planning, Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering and Architecture services to clients. They knew there was a better, more proficient way to do things: it was called SpecLink. Read the entire story (pdf).

"The ease of reporting makes construction administration easier — and that alone has made a huge difference in how long it takes us to produce specifications."

 

The professionals at CMO Architects strive to provide quality services through excellence in planning and design, and comprehensive communication with all parties during every aspect of the building process. In the summer of 2002 CMO Architects started using SpecLink – and started receiving the benefits they were looking for. Read the entire story (pdf).

"SpecLink makes our projects better by making the process quicker."

 

www.bledsoearchitects.com

Located in Shreveport, Louisiana, Bledsoe Architects was established in September, 1999. Bledsoe Architects couples artistry with technical ability, depth of resources, and vision to achieve the best possible design. They understand the need to provide highly efficient spaces for every function in the project. They work to bring their client’s vision into reality — on schedule and within budget. Read the entire story (pdf).

"We would not go back to Masterspec if you paid us."

 

Otwell Associates provides architectural design services for clients throughout Arizona, but primarily focuses on work in central and northern Arizona. The firm specializes in historic preservation, solar and energy efficient design, and preservation of natural site features for school, municipal, medical facilities, and site-specific residential design. They selected SpecLink as the way to gain a more detailed knowledge of the types of products specified and why specific products were used. Read the entire story (pdf).

"It’s a tie between the user interface and the master notes. They both make SpecLink an invaluable tool for me!"

 

www.grboise.com

Located in Boise, Idaho, Glancey Rockwell's primary project types are churches and high-end residences. Their portfolio also includes restaurants, shopping centers, government buildings, and multi-family residential construction. When James Glancey and Peter Rockwell decided in 2001 to join forces, they knew they had a winning combination. Both shared the vision of working with clients to create designs that were practical, efficient and visually pleasing. They also believed in taking advantage of technological advances to continually improve the designs and specifications they were putting together. Read the entire story (pdf).

"It [SpecLink] works along with you in developing the full specification, with complementary references, automatic table of contents and other time-saving features."

 

www.americanmedicalbuildings.com

American Medical Buildings (AMB) Development Group is the founder and leading innovator of full-service, medical office and ambulatory care planning, design and development. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, their team of 25 has worked on over 400 projects in 45 states - representing millions of square feet in healthcare properties. They were using an outside consultant and a blend of commercially-available and “home-grown” word processing based specification writing systems, along with an occasional “free” specification from manufacturers. This combination of processes, people and systems was time consuming and not effective. They hired a new specification writer and brought their spec writing in house. This gave them the “people” part of the equation. They just needed the systems and processes. SpecLink fulfilled both needs. Read the entire story (pdf).

"We have recommended SpecLink to other firms we have collaborated with, and they have also purchased SpecLink."

 

www.waterleaf-ai.com

Waterleaf Architecture, active in the Northwest since 1952, focuses in four main areas: commercial, transportation/industrial, medical/dental, and community. They were allocating time and resources to keep their employees up-to-date with the latest information. But their in-house specification writing process was languishing – so much so that they were outsourcing it. They wanted to raise this aspect of their service to the same level they experienced in the rest of their business. They knew SpecLink could help them meet this goal. Read the entire story (pdf).

"Because of the way SpecLink’s database system works, we now have a very easy to use specification software system that allows us to prepare concise specifications with up-to-date reference standards."

 

www.studiofourdesign.com

Studio Four Design - their name tells the story of why they are here; for design. Their clients range from restaurants and retail to corporate and industrial to educational and religious institutions. Several years ago they assessed the method they were using to create specifications. They realized that their procedure wasn’t giving them the results they wanted. Read the entire story (pdf).

"One of the things we like best about SpecLink is how easy it was to learn."

 

www.collinsarchgroup.com

Collins Architectural Group was formed with a commitment to providing responsive architectural services to Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon clients. A main focus of their practice is on financial institutions, educational facilities and commercial/retail projects. They also work with museums, health care and residential facilities. Collins Architectural Group provides a wide range of services for their clients. This includes project feasibility analysis, building programming, master planning, architectural design and construction administration. They also provide facilitation of design groups and citizen committees. Read the entire story (pdf).

"I wonder how I found time to write projects without SpecLink."

 

www.fittsarchitects.com

Fitts Architects, the oldest architectural practice in West Alabama, is a 10 person full-service architectural firm located in Tuscaloosa. They seemed to be spending a disproportionate amount of time making decisions on the minute technical details of their specifications. They needed specification-writing software that would help manage this process for them. They found what they wanted in SpecLink. Read the entire story (pdf).

"SpecLink automatically makes selections based on earlier decisions. The sections are consistent and comprehensive."

 

www.komainc.com

SpecLink veteran user Krech, O’Brien, Muller and Wass (KOMW) is a unique collaboration of architects, structural engineers, interior designers and construction managers established in 1985. KOMW specializes in community and educational facilities, churches and faith-based buildings, multi- and high-end single family homes, clinics, offices and interiors, veterinary hospitals, production and industrial facilities, agricultural buildings and greenhouses. Through collaboration with professional consultants, they can provide for every requirement for new projects, adaptive reuse, alterations and additions. Their projects have construction budgets ranging from $1,000 to $25 million. Read the entire story (pdf).

"We are regularly saving 25%-30% on all of our projects."

 

www.msharch.com

Miller Sellers Heroux Architects is a 13 person architectural firm located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Their three architects have over 98 years of experience among them. Over the years Miller Sellers Heroux Architects has used several methods for specification writing. At one time, they were outsourcing this part of their business. Then they decided to bring the spec writing back in house and acquired a word processing-based software program. While this was preferable to outsourcing, they were still not completely satisfied. Read the entire story (pdf).

"Edit by selection using SpecLink is MUCH easier than editing by deleting. . . . SpecLink is extremely easy to learn."

 

www.harrisarchitectsbirmingham.com

Harris & Associates Architects/Planners LLC, Birmingham, AL, founded in 1987, specializes in four main areas of architecture: educational, county and municipal (city halls, animal shelters), commercial (retail, shopping centers, office buildings) and residential, both multifamily and single-family. Their founder had been writing specifications for over 33 years. While he enjoyed spec writing, he wanted to free up some of his time so he could attend to other business matters. That’s when he decided to take a look at SpecLink. Read the entire story (pdf).

"This is the best specification system I have ever worked with. I am hooked on it!"

 

www.anthonyabbatearchitect.com

SpecLink veteran user Anthony Abbate Architect PA, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, has been in practice since 1989 and is engaged in a variety of projects providing creative design and consulting services in architecture and urban design for both public and private sectors in the US and abroad. Projects have included residential remodeling, marine research facilities, restaurants, parks, educational facilities and transit greenways. Read the entire story (pdf).

"SpecLink helped us save a significant amount of time during the specification writing process – time we were then able to put into other areas of the project."

 

www.policearchitects.com

The practice of Wilson Estes Police Architects, Kansas City, KS, practice is exclusively dedicated to law enforcement facility planning and design. Because many of their projects are similar, it was important that their specification system be able to maintain an office master and allow changes without deleting anything. Read the entire story (pdf).

"Being a relative novice when I started learning how to put specs together, SpecLink made the process very easy and intuitive. I appreciate having SpecLink every time I use it."

 

www.gillisarchitects.com

In 2004, Don Gillis, President of Gillis and Associates, was outsourcing his estimating. This left him unable to provide fast turnaround on budgets. It was taking more of his time to manage the outsourcing. He needed a better way to provide budgetary cost estimates. He needed CostLink/AE.

Read the entire story (pdf).

"With Building System Design’s CostLink/AE we are now able to produce estimates 40% faster than we could before."

 

www.arrisarchitects.com

Arris Architects + Planners, P.C. of Plainfield, Illinois, is a full-service, computer-based, architectural firm. Since it was founded in 1991, Arris has developed a reputation for clear, concise and accurate construction documents. Attention to detail has become their trademark. Building on a tradition of innovative and affordable design, they are respected for their commercial, residential, religious, and historic preservation work. Read the entire story (pdf).

"We now spend less time formatting, researching references and updating standards. This means we are now able to devote more time to the actual process of writing project-specific specifications."

 

www.architectssouth.com

ArchitectsSouth is a Brandon, Mississippi, based architecture & planning firm providing professional services in education, entertainment, medical, office, religious, retail, and residential multi-family building types. With more than twenty-five years experience practicing architecture in Texas and Mississippi, they strive to deliver a consistent, on time and in budget performance, being responsive to the specific project and client needs. Read the entire story (pdf).

"Using SpecLink is almost like having an in-house research staff running quality control checks on our data."

 

www.evanterry.com

Evan Terry Associates, P.C., is a firm dedicated to providing their clients with highly professional architectural services. Their reputation, built over the last 47 years, is one of excellent service, quality design and commitment to their client’s interest. Read the entire story (pdf).

"The SpecLink linking feature is great. And being able to add my own links helps save even more time."

 

www.slocumarchitects.com

Slocum Architects is an award-winning architectural firm located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. For the past 30 years, they have worked to create designs that fulfill both the functional and aesthetic needs that a pleasant working and living environment requires. Read the entire story (pdf).

"Customization and importing of your own spec items and terminology is easy and seamless with SpecLink."

 

www.lamigrubb.com

SpecLink veteran user Lami Grubb Architects, L.P., located in Edgewood, Pennsylvania, is one of the top twenty architectural firms in the Pittsburgh area. They have been in business for over 10 years, with the principals, Suzan M. Lami and Robert W. Grubb, each having over 25 years of experience. Read the entire story (pdf).

"It [SpecLink] maximizes our direct hands-on responsibility for the content, while it minimizes the hassles of copying, editing and formatting."

 

www.svigals.com

Svigals + Partners, LLP, founded in 1983, is a full service architecture firm specializing in education, laboratory, master planning, corporate, and residential projects. Based in New Haven , Connecticut and licensed in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland, Svigals + Partners has served over 200 clients throughout New England. With a staff of 25, Svigals + Partners provides personalized service and attention to every project. Read the entire story (pdf).

"We no longer hire consultants to write our specs. We also spend less time during construction reviewing shop drawings trying to figure out what the spec consultant was looking for."