Project Overview
Construction doesn’t begin when the first wall goes up. It begins months earlier.
Before permits, before budgets are set. For Design Within Reach and Herman Miller, some of our most valuable work happens long before we’re building anything: evaluating sites, preparing ROM budgets, testing schedules, checking whether a project even makes sense before capital is committed.
Some become projects we build. Some don’t. Our job is the same either way — give the client the confidence to decide.
The Challenge
Expanding a national portfolio takes more than one good project at a time. Every location brings its own lease, jurisdiction, and landlord, while the brand has to stay consistent and predictable.
Our Approach
When the teams wanted to fix recurring storefront delays across the country, they asked us to find the cause. We analyzed procurement timelines, shop-drawing durations, and vendor performance, then recommended a standardized regional vendor strategy — improving not one project, but every project after it.
