Design Excellence In Action
Architecture is a complex endeavor. In designing a building, we must consider not only the client’s vision and goals for a project, but also the context, the needs of the end users, the budget and schedule, the environmental impacts, a multitude of options for materials and details, accessibility, codes and permitting.
Katherine Peele, FAIA, LEED AP // Chief Practice Officer ©LS3P 2023
Architecture is a complex endeavor. In designing a building, we must consider not only the client’s vision and goals for a project, but also the context, the needs of the end users, the budget and schedule, the environmental impacts, a multitude of options for materials and details, accessibility, codes and permitting. It’s a complex effort by a multidisciplinary team. With so many variables contributing to project success, what are the factors that take a project from good to great?
LS3P has a 60+ year history of listening deeply to our clients and tailoring our designs to their unique needs, so our designs are as diverse as the people who inhabit them. We have also grown to 12 offices and over 470 team members, and our designers bring varied perspectives and methodologies to each task. We all understand that we are living in a time of significant challenges, and that we as designers will have to think big in order to be a part of creating solution. The status quo is no longer sufficient. How can we think beyond designing buildings to elevate the human condition?
One Firm, with a Design First Approach
It’s not just about eye-catching designs and winning awards (although we love both of those things). We also need a way to evaluate our designs on the aspects of a project that will have far-reaching impacts: performance, equity and inclusion, efficiency and economy, durability, community, and innovation. For our work to best serve our clients and communities, we first need to understand what we’re aiming for, and then strive for continuous improvement.
In March of 2023, a team of LS3P designers and leaders gathered in Charlotte for engaged, thoughtful discussions about design excellence, what it means to our firm, and how to achieve it on every project. The team was united around the need to make sure design conversations are happening at every stage of the project process as part of the “three-legged stool” of design excellence, project management, and technical skill. We’ve learned in recent years that there’s no need to be confined by geography; embracing a “One Firm” mindset, we know that the best designer for a given project may be located three states away, and we can easily collaborate in real time across borders using the digital tools available to us.
Defining Design Excellence
Creating a definition of design excellence was the work of an iterative, highly collaborative process. The statement needed to be actionable and clear, and also needed to distill dozens of important priorities into one cohesive format. The end result is a definition that can evolve with us. It’s not just a mantra, and it’s not just about aesthetics; it enfolds identity, process, community, innovation, and impact. At LS3P, design excellence means we:
• Tell an authentic story
• Adhere to a rigorous logic
• Refine through iteration
• Combine innovation and expertise
• Provide resilient, high performance solutions
• Elevate the human emotional experience
• Catalyze change through the built environment
Implementing this design excellence definition in practice will require buy-in and support from everyone involved in an effort. This includes the marketing and business development teams prioritizing which projects we purse; the design, project management, and technical staff who will work together from visioning through construction; the consultant teams who add layers of expertise to our designs; and the clients who aspire to create buildings that will endure.
Moving Forward, Together
Design excellence in action will, we hope, be visible firmwide as we build momentum. We hope to see design all around us through “living walls” of work in progress. We need to get our work off the computers and onto pin-up boards as we celebrate the “messy vitality” of progressive iterations. Our new Design Resource Group (DRG) team members will be connecting with project teams firmwide; a nimble, collaborative approach will help to bring fresh ideas to our work and broaden the perspectives around the table. DRG team members include designers from a variety of experience levels and practice areas for maximum cross-pollination, and these team members also will be charged with mentoring emerging designers and leading design discussions firmwide.
We plan to build upon our initial DRG efforts over the next several years, and have set ambitious short- and long-term goals for elevating and supporting design excellence as a core part of our vision:
Meet the Author
Principal Katherine Peele serves as LS3P’s Chief Practice Officer. Katherine joined the firm (then Boney Architects) in 1988 after she graduated summa cum laude from North Carolina State University’s School of Design with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. She was the valedictorian of her class at the School of Design.
In her 35 years with the firm, she has managed over $1 billion worth of construction, with projects ranging from educational to workplace and community focuses. Her current role as Chief Practice Officer includes oversight of design excellence and quality, growth of practice expertise, and innovation.
Katherine served as the 2000 President of AIA North Carolina, and serves on the NC State Foundation Board and the NC State College of Design Leaders Council. She was elevated to AIA Fellowship in 2003 in recognition of her extensive expertise and commitment to educational facility design. In 2009, she was awarded the William H. Dietrick Service Medal by the AIA North Carolina Chapter for her service to the profession in North Carolina. And in 2019, Kathrine was awarded the AIA NC Gold Medal, the highest honor presented to a member.
“In our commitment to the Southeast, we create architecture that enriches community through a culture of design excellence, expertise, innovation, and collaborative engagement.”