Unique Designs Build Success

contractor teams up with an architect, and the contractor controls the architect and engineer. In DLDB, the architecture and engineering firm holds control over the construction, all the quality requirements, and every subtree below it. So, we bring a different experience. Decisions are made based upon what was originally designed. We can hold everyone’s feet to the fire and make sure it gets built the way it was originally designed. We’ve all worked in the design-build world individually and know what that feels like. This is not the same. It’s a unique experience and no one else offers it here (in Mankato).

Let’s talk about Brunton Construction. How does it compliment your other offerings?

Corey: In 2022, we unveiled Brunton Construction. We will only build what we design. By taking on the responsibility of the construction when clients are open to it, we control the experience from the day they walk in the door to the day we hand the keys over. We’ve found that having more project control gives us a favorable result. Having single point source responsibility and single point source contact makes it a very enjoyable and seamless experience for the client. And again, it’s always about the client.

Brunton Construction has been around since 2010, but we were waiting for the right time to introduce it to the public. I needed to have the right people in the right place. Now I do. Tom McCone is the director of construction services at Brunton Construction. He brings a unique experience to the table. We have the right people in the construction team, project managers and job site superintendents, and we’re really ready right now. We have about $15 million worth of work in the construction team right now under construction and hopefully more to come.

What sets you apart from your competitors in the architectural arena?

Corey: There are many things that we feel set us apart. It starts with our people. Your team is your greatest asset. They determine who the company is and what the company stands for. We believe we have the greatest talent in the Upper Midwest here at Brunton. We have people that push themselves harder than I could ever push them because they’ve bought into this culture and this company.

This company is being built slowly with an assumption that everybody that comes into it buys into the culture: You check your ego at the door; you work hard; design is extremely important; and the most important person in the room is always the client. There is an expectation to dig deep.

We bring projects to our clients that are high design and very affordable.

Each of our projects has a little story behind them that allows you to see just how unique it is to that community. We promise you that we’re going to spend time with you to figure out what is uniquely you and what is unique to your community ...We’re going to seek that out for you. We’re going to find it. We’re going to make you proud. We do not have projects we pull off the shelf. Everything is roll up your sleeves and figure it out. Find that greater meaning. When you do that, the clients love you.

Jessica: We really take the time as a team to critically think through intentional questions. What questions can we ask to pull out the narrative of the architecture? The interiors? How can we help them to communicate what they want their facility to be? Because a client may not understand how that translates into a design until they see it.

How do you start your design process?

Jessica: It’s different for every project, and it’s custom tailored to every client. There’s a lot of programing and planning upfront. Before we start, we meet as a team and talk about the goals of the project, and then we convert and prepare those into intentional questions to ask the client. In our programing and planning phase, we meet with the client and learn their goals as it relates to function and use. If they have anything in mind right off the bat, something that they’ve seen or that they like, we take that into consideration. We also start to learn what’s important for their business. Maybe there’s a clientele that they want to appeal to. We make note of that and bring that out in the architecture and design. We try to learn about different aspects of the community. Is there a historic downtown? Are we trying to bring out any sort of history? We learn the client’s goals then translate them into design. That’s where our inspiration starts.

Colin: To build on what Jessica said, each project starts with the owner, with why the project came about. We find the stories to be told through the building’s architecture and/or mechanical design.

For example, we’re building some geothermal systems in North Dakota now. That project is trying to use natural elements to supplement or be its full energy source for its heating and cooling needs. That’s very impactful and important to the client. So, the design is starting and ending with the client.

Who are your customers and where are they located?

Corey: We work all over the U.S. We have projects right now in Pensacola, Florida, and in Lake Havasu, Arizona. We’re in Wyoming, Ohio, North Dakota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. I’m registered in 15 states right now. Maybe half of our work is in the upper five states and then the other half is outside of that. So, we’re definitely more national now than we were several years ago. We have quite a following in the public safety world and have created public safety facilities, fire stations, and emergency response centers across the nation. We also have a large following in the medical industry. So, we’re traveling the nation in those markets. We do community centers, schools, corporate offices, retail and manufacturing facilities. We have a lot of history in banking projects. There’s really not a lot we can’t do. When people ask us, what kind of projects do you do? I always say, how about we tell you the type of things we don’t do?

Looking forward, we have our hands on a number of really exciting