Retail Space Drafting for 30-Years Old Architectural Firm in the US
The Client -
A Successful Architecture Firm
Located in New Jersey, US, our client is an architecture firm specializing in retail properties. The client offers planning, project management, and architecture services that revolve around balancing consumer behaviors with functional building spaces.
With over 30 years’ worth of experience in the architectural sphere and over 35,000,000 square feet of projects completed, the client is a force to be reckoned with.
Requirements for Retail Space Design and Visualization
The client requested BackOffice Pro (BOP) for assistance in retail space designing and visualization. They also needed efficient planning and design of store layouts. Our team was given ten days to complete each project - a tight deadline with several challenging specializations on the line.
Short Timeline Was the Major Challenge
In some instances, visualization was challenging for our designers, as a few of the buildings were square whereas the designs were rectangular. Additionally, there was a fair amount of back and forth communication between the client and our team due to a lack of clarity and the resulting requests for more data from the client.
Process Followed by the BOP Team
For this project, we assigned a team of 7 dedicated resources as well as one additional quality control expert and a project manager to facilitate a smoother delivery process. Using AutoCAD, Sketchup, and Revit, we were able to tackle the task with extreme efficiency.
Our step-wise process was as follows:
- Before getting started, our teams needed to validate the inputs to ensure that there would be no unnecessary bumps on the road.
- We received a blueprint and Excel sheet complete with department names and the number of cells. Based on this, we were required to do the zoning and get approval.
- Our teams were responsible for creating the departmental layouts as per the provided blueprint. This involved
- Drafting the store – Our team was given markups for modifications on the existing store layout which we incorporated as per their instructions.
- Designing the 3D model – We were provided with building plans and the formal blueprint which we used to do the fit-outs. Our team fit the blueprint in the existing building while keeping the standard guidelines intact. A 3D model was developed by us in Revit.
- Visualizing the model – Using scanned point cloud data, we developed a Sketchup model. We were responsible for developing the fixtures and details needed by the design team to improve their visualization capabilities.
- Our team was also required to calculate the target number of shelves vs. those achieved based on the Excel sheets provided.
- After receiving the client’s approval, we updated our files as required and delivered the final layout.
Testimonials
"Our company has been associated with BackOffice Pro from the last few months, which is so quick to respond to all our requests and very eager to understand our processes and standards. It was a pleasure working you and let’s hope our relationship will stay forever."
"BackOffice Pro has been a tremendous resource for our engineering works that is very precise and attentive to respond all our concerns. Understanding our procedures within a very short period is really appreciable."
Benefits at the Client’s End
This was a demanding project for our team, which involved a large amount of adjustment and re-adjustment based on the challenges in the communication pipeline. Despite this and the complex nature of the tasks at hand, our team was able to complete the projects well within the expected timeline. The client was highly satisfied with the layout designs that we provided and our proactive suggestions regarding retail space planning.
