Work has changed. Your workplace has not.
You need a place where people want to be.
That takes more than just submitting plans to the city.
From development of schematic concepts through construction documents, city permitting, and contractor bidding in all public and commercial spaces, choose to renovate, expand, and draw your new plans with Bloomington-Normal's design-first firm of imaginative architects.
Your plans
need floor plans.
Start with Scharnett, and explore every angle.
Public spaces should enhance experiences for employees, volunteers, customers, and guests...not hinder them. A host of changing dynamics can make your workplace, church, school, or historic site less functional and appealing than it used to be. Sometimes the answer is to move, either with new construction or modifying an existing location. But sometimes a few significant redesigns can make the place where it all started...the place where you continue to grow.
Identify which of these changes you’re currently facing, and then explore the Portfolio Gallery. Filter previous Scharnett architectural projects by these topics to see how imaginative design and devotion to detail have helped other organizations create innovative plans for their public spaces.
When storage space creeps into employee workspaces, it's frustrating to them, an inventory nightmare for you, and a security risk. Maximize your existing space for this need. Start that conversation with Scharnett Architects.
Growth is exciting and often involves welcoming new team members, interns, volunteers, guests, patients, students, congregants, and customers. But as you look around at your current setup, it's clear that you've outgrown it...or are about to. And the solution is more than simply rearranging the cubicles or adding another chair at the table. Commercial architecture is the most tangible form of business optimism. Start that conversation with Scharnett Architects.
Since your team works hard, their daily space should offer a diverse set of options. Sometimes they'll need breaks to recharge between meetings. Sometimes they'll need to put their head down and complete a project. Sometimes they'll need ways to connect with each other to keep the culture strong. Open environments have their pros and cons, as do mazes of walls, offices, and closed-off spaces. Which is best for your organization, and why? Start these conversations with Scharnett Architects.
Sustainability matters. Historic buildings are a thing of beauty. But you need connectivity. You need outlets and Internet and access. There are ways to preserve history while incorporating technology. With decades of experience in this area, Scharnett Architects excel in historic preservation. Our office is in historic downtown Bloomington, Illinois. The firm maintains seats on the Historic Preservation Committee, and we’re the only architecture firm with a legacy dating back to before 1900. If you're in a historic building or area, or thinking of moving your organization to one, start that conversation with Scharnett Architects.
What does your space sound like? When you think of designing your new space, most of the attention gravitates toward the visuals of walls, floors, and ceilings. But when sound design is unintentionally overlooked, private conversations often end up being unintentionally overheard. You'll need a plan to manage voices, echo, noise, and overall acoustics, while retaining privacy, but without making people feel isolated. From museums to schools, from workplaces to concert halls, purposeful architectural sound design is critical. Start that conversation with Scharnett Architects.
The rapidly changing environment of public spaces now features a hybrid of in-person and online meetings. When guests or employees are on-location fewer days each week, there's a chance that dedicated spaces are going unused. Are there ways to address this? What would it look like for your space to flexibly accommodate this reality? Start that conversation with Scharnett Architects, and explore every angle.
Depending on your organization, being outdoors may be just as important as being indoors. Imaginatively designed and detailed outdoor spaces enhance the experiences of your team members, interns, volunteers, guests, patients, students, congregants, and customers. Public landscaping is more than planting flowers and building a parking lot with enough spaces. With your goals in mind, Scharnett Architects excel at commercial landscape design, down to every detail, with consideration for all four seasons.
Architects consider structures, sunlight, greenery, foliage, pathways, sight lines, sign placement, gathering areas, and everything in between. That comprehensive approach optimizes time outside, making a powerful first impression. For commercial landscaping, start with Scharnett and explore every angle.
Architects are the lynchpin of a community's character. Every house, store, park, and street was influenced by architecture. Whatever a city looks and feels like...that experience is the cumulative result of thousands of architectural decisions. But if you've never worked with an architect, you might think their role is simply to design a structure that won't fall down and submit documents for city permitting. Working with an architect on a commercial project, however, is far more. Here's what to expect at Scharnett.
When you start with Scharnett, the architect becomes the primary point-person for your project. Our role is to uncover and understand your goals through initial Conversations, and design the plans that accomplish it.
Typically, this process moves through two Design phases: Schematic Design (addressing the big picture scope & scale to create initial floor plans and elevations), and Design Development (where the project parameters are finalized, including schedule, materials, and budget). Then we arrive at a set of Construction Documents: the ready-to-build plans which are sent out to local government authorities for approval.
Construction Documents are also then sent to a list of proposed contractors for bidding. Based on how the bids come back, you decide which contractor you'd like to hire, and then your architect will work closely with them throughout the project to ensure the final result is built to match the design and detail...without cutting corners.
