Building Committee Considerations
1. Negotiate and firm up arrangements with the architect.
- The request for proposal (RFP) and interviewing
process could take as much as four to six weeks.
- Determine whether the process requires the entire
building committee, or whether it can be handled
with a smaller designated group.
- You may be able to learn from the experience of
other groups who have already done all this.
2. The design phase involves the committee/board
providing initial feedback to the architect selected.
In general terms, tell the architect what you’d
like to see—give them an idea of your vision.
3. The design firm will take two to three weeks to
produce a preliminary exterior, or “elevation,” rendering.
(This is a façade with no real rooms behind it.)
They will then need to schedule a meeting with the
committee, including undergraduates/advisers, to brainstorm
about the “flow” of the building, the types
of rooms, the amenities, the square footage, etc.
4. Once that meeting takes place, the architect will
need four to six weeks to create the design drawings
for the exterior and interior of the building.
5. Once the design renderings are complete (there
will still be room for some tweaking based on feedback,
if necessary), they can be reproduced and placed in
the campaign brochure folders. They also can be readily
displayed at small alumni functions/gatherings to get
feedback, build enthusiasm, etc.
6. Why does timing matter? Obviously, it takes time
to get the renderings to the point of completion. They
become a valuable marketing tool only when they exist.
The project can still be sold without them, but with
less effect, since people want to know what they’re
buying. Thus, the building committee should move forward
with all deliberate speed.
7. What does the building committee do during the
lead-gift period of the campaign? There are decisions
to be made regarding the renderings. Once those are
complete, there may be a brief down period; however,
building committee members can help garner support
at events and help guide the major-gifts officer(s)
to key prospects. (When we reach the point of starting
a campaign, the major-gifts officer will first approach
all board and committee members for the best pledges
they can make. It’s a matter of building momentum,
confidence and leadership. Other alumni will follow,
and you need to set the bar as high as you can. Others
will strive to reach that bar.)
8. As the campaign progresses, the building committee
will have the responsibility of determining a general
contractor, negotiating the relationship and exploring/beginning
the permitting process. Some of your key committee
members can and should help guide this process. (It’s
not unusual to take 30 months to go through the design
phase to the point of ready-to-build.)
9. How much does the architect cost? It can vary,
but in general terms you should anticipate something
in the range of six to eight percent of your project
cost.
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