From the first traces of a sketch to the ribbon cutting at the official inauguration, a building and its construction process goes through numerous steps. From understanding client demands, complying to local regulations, staying within budget, getting the necessary approvals for development and construction details, a lot of time, resources and decisions are involved. To this end, it is essential to have a workforce that knows and understands the correct processes inside-out, are well informed and have experience and availability. Finding and training this workforce isn't always easy though, and this is where Aligned Studios comes in: a service that creates and manages teams composed of qualified designers for US architectural and construction companies.
Because it involves large amounts of resources and people, the construction market is highly volatile to the conditions of the economy. This can directly affect the daily life of architectural offices, many of which are small companies that cannot support the maintenance of large teams for a long time. Currently, as a recent report by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) shows, the demand for US architectural office design services has grown at a rapid pace during the years 2021 and 2022. On the other hand, a report by the AIA estimates that "we’ll need about 25,000 additional architectural staff over the coming decade to handle growth in the construction industry and replace those who will leave the workforce. This need accounts for about half of all future graduates of accredited architectural programs nationally who are eligible to work in the United States." In turn, many offices have already been suffering from lack of skilled labor for their projects, especially when it comes to specialized and experienced professionals.
Although emerging digital tools have improved design processes and made them faster and more accurate, they all need a trained human professional who can run and optimize them. The idea behind Aligned Studios is precisely to provide teams of designers for an architecture office's every need in each specific project. With India-based professionals, BIM-qualified, trained and experienced in US Code, the service offers a "plug and play" solution that adapts to customer needs and works under quality and efficiency precepts. This is achieved by training a talent pool of architects in global design patterns via its own learning platform called AS Learn.
The services offered cover all steps of the architectural design and construction process: from conceptual design and design development to project documentation and construction administration. Teams are also able to develop various types of projects, such as Multifamily homes, K-12 schools, Hotel chains, Retail coffee shops, Medical offices, Fire stations and other buildings with more complex requirements. The main value provided to customers is that, knowing that it can count on qualified work, offices can commit to more complex projects with speed to market, quality assurance and reduced costs.
Steve Boyington, Principal at Lunz Group, Florida, points out that, "Our firm has had the pleasure of working with Aligned Studios, and in less than a year we have seen great success. Not only in our turnaround but also in the quality, consistency and creative solutions the team provides on a technical level."
As the company says, “This is the globalization of design, through staff augmentation and cloud collaboration, but most importantly through a partnership that goes beyond deliverables and task lists.”
Learn more about the company and its success cases on its official website.
