Greg DeLory AIBD


Our Services



The firm of Greg DeLory AIBD provides an array of services customized to the needs of each client, which may include:
  • New home design from the ground up: consult on site-finding, removal of existing structure(s), planning issues; developing plans for new building

  • Renovation of existing homes, from additions to entire properties: expanding the footprint or working within the existing envelope

  • Historic restoration: informed redesign, research, sourcing or commissioning period elements; whole structures or facades

  • Administering project through completion of building phase: as the interface between client and builders

  • Experienced consultant on planning issues; represent client in neighbor negotiations, guide project through local regulatory agency approvals

  • Partnering with structural engineers and other consultants on specific project needs

  • Sourcing building products and services, including contractors, structural engineering, and specialized crafts; extensive network of contacts throughout the building industry

See specific types of designs under Our Projects

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Why Use a Building Designer?



In the past, an architect was just what his Latin name suggested—a “master builder.” Practical experience was the most important schooling such a person could have, and architects thus trained gave us the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the Parthenon, and all the cathedrals of the Middle Ages.

Only during the past hundred years or so has the right to use the title “architect”' been determined by academic degrees and testing rather than by practice… Despite the rigors of this [licensing] procedure, mere possession of an architectural license has never been a guarantee of talent. … It's no accident that each of the gifted nonarchitects cited above learned his craft mainly through practical experience, not through academics.

In many ways, the practically trained architect follows most closely in the footsteps of the “master builder.”


—Arrol Gellner, in the San Francisco Chronicle series “Architects Without Licenses.”




Many homeowners are understandably bewildered when it comes to choosing professional help for their remodel or new-home design. And far too many are unaware that an alternative exists to hiring a licensed architect. Engaging a professional building designer can be a more experienced, economical, responsive, and congenial option for the project you have in mind.

The building design profession has arisen in response to increasingly restrictive licensing procedures for architects in most states—procedures that make sense as safeguards for very large and complex commercial projects but have little bearing on typical residential projects. While it may seem attractive to have a big-name architectural firm working for you, the reality (the main contact point for the client) often turns out to be a young associate not long out of school and with scant practical background. For further discussion of this issue, see the articles on our links page.

Building designers likewise vary in experience, but members of the American Institute of Building Design must meet high standards and are as well qualified as any architect to undertake most residential design projects.

The following highlights from the AIBD website provide a few details about building designers. We encourage you to visit the site for much more information.


“When a new home or home improvement project is in your future, a specialist in residential design is the best choice to guide you through the design/building experience. It makes sense to secure design services from a qualified, experienced source, a member of the American Institute of Building Design (AIBD)…

Since 1950, AIBD has provided its members with educational resources and developed nationwide design standards and a code of ethics for the building design profession… The work of a Building Designer is varied and may consist of residential, both single and multi-unit, and commercial structures as permitted by the architectural statutes of each state. A Building Designer's approach to any problem is based on the practical, functional and economic solutions that will best fulfill the client's requirements, while translating these factors into a concept that is both aesthetic and utilitarian…

Our members consist of professional building designers and architects, who have, for the most part, chosen residential design as the focus of their practice. State laws regulate the practice of architecture, and these laws vary somewhat from state to state. Residential and some light commercial design is mostly exempted from these laws and does not require the services of a licensed architect…

To qualify as a professional member of AIBD, an individual must meet specific educational and professional design experience requirements, and submit their work for extensive peer review. All professional members of AIBD must also maintain their education by complying with the requirements of the continuing education policy.”


Call or email us to discuss your project
774-207-0251
greg@gregdelory.com

The copyrights for all text and photos on this website
belong to Greg DeLory AIBD unless otherwise noted;
do not reproduce this material without written permission – March 2013.


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American Institute of Building Design