We make no bones about it. We are a small firm and certified as an SBE, and DBE with the state of California,
Contra Costa County and the national CCR.
We are proud of our size and our capabilities which far exceed a firm our size.
However many clients harbor the fallacy that projects have to be completed by large firms to be succesful.
Consider this, all a large firm has over us
is higher overhead. A firm with 40, 100 or 1000 personnel, isn't going to throw all of them on a project.
Especially smaller public projects with
tight architectural fees. Key personnel will only spend limited amounts of time on the project to stay within their fees
and budgets.
However at Gerard Lee Architects, everyone here is "key". Our size means we all have to be able to respond, be efficient and knowledgeable in what we do. There is no excess "fat" within our firm. Everyone knows their responsibilities and have the ability to perform. Everything else being equal, we can adapt faster and be more responsive. We are passionate about our work and it excites us each and everyday that we get to work on projects we enjoy. We believe we can make a difference and strive to achieve our mission statement, "Better Communities through Sustainable Design."
Ironically, as pointed out before, we have been brought on as consultants to various larger firms to help them with both design and documentation. What better endorsement for our skill and talent set than being hired as consultants by our own peers?