Design + Urbanism Architectural

Design + Urbanism Architectural, LLC AKA: D+U

D+U was founded in 1996 to creatively address the complexities of place. The firm brings broad knowledge, international expertise and individual attention to each selected project. The diverse design and research experience is unified by a commitment to design thinking as a key element in the quality of private and community life. However, the firm is less concerned with personal visions of design than with a commitment to give form to the specific needs of each client and to the possibilities offered by every problem. At an architectural scale, our work is base on design excellence, budget/program/project management and environmental stewardship. At the urban scale, we in working alongside the many public and private agencies, community groups and consultants whose participation in land use and urban development to ensure the viability and sustainability of our design proposals. Out of a collaborative process, D+U has shown that unique design solutions to the often-competing interests of architectural and urban development can be sensitively and thoughtfully executed.

PHILOSOPHY
D+U was organized to address the complex planning, design and building environment of today’s global cities. Integrating the needs of client and users, site and program, the firm creates new and innovative solutions through architecture, urban design and consulting. The physical and social infrastructures cannot be addressed with historical or preconceived formulae. Solutions are elusive in nature and challenging in implementation. Our strategies combine what is unique to place and program with what is local and traditional.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Michael Conard, RA, NCARB, has 30 years of professional experience in architecture and urban design in the United States and abroad. As Founder and Director, Mr. Conard personally oversees the design and management of each architectural project. Mr. Conard has directed applied and academic urban design research in five continents in both the private and public sectors. His work has bridged urban and architectural design and environmental sustainability with public health, local economic develop and equal access. Mr. Conard is the Assistant Director of the Urban Design Lab at The Earth Institute at Columbia University and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University. His design and research has also been published and exhibited internationally. Mr. Conard is a past Fellow of the Institute for Urban Design and the Design Trust for Public Space.

CULTURE
CLIENT FOCUS
Our clients become partners in the pursuit of design solutions to maximize value. During the initial stages of the project we align our team with the client’s strategic requirements and establish a visioning process that maps the path to effective product delivery. This allows us to anticipate change and to respond rapidly.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Our commitment to the creation of outstanding design solutions is embedded in research, knowledge sharing, empowerment of thought leaders, continuing education, consensus building and the development of a strategic technology network for information exchange. This methodology benefits the client by elevating performance to the level of best practices.

INTREPRENURIAL TEAMS
We have created Intreprenurial teams within a dynamic organizational matrix. Vision leaders empower team members to deploy a full array of global resources and take mitigated risks in the pursuit of innovation and design excellence, while achieving project goals. Unlike the entrepreneurial structure, intrepreneurial teams are established within the vernal core of our organization and are vectored to a particular project, often with unusual performance demands. As stakeholders, the team members benefit from effective performance as the client derives added value.

PROCESS - STRATEGIES AND METHODS
EDUCATION AND INVESTIGATION
Research and analysis: figure/ground, morphologies and transparencies, demographics and density, geography and geology, infrastructure and services, biographics and the environment, circulation and transportation, land use regulations and public policy, history and culture, needs analysis and resource assessment, bi-polar instigations, deployability and implementation; programming and user needs.

INTERPRETATION
Program potentials and new uses, assessing value added programs, site opportunities and problems, area strengths and weaknesses, regional futures, paradigm shifts, resource and economic development.

INTERACTION AND INNOVATION
Design and planning options, consensus building, regulatory coordination and feedback, client organization and administration, team building and knowledge generation, flexible program generation, product and project development, marketing and publicity shaping, value creation and economic development.