We help organizations extend their brand into communication strategies that reach stakeholders, cultivate new support and break into new markets. Our graphic designers and communications talent work in concert with our design-solutions team to develop images and messages that growing organizations such as churches, educational institutions and health care organizations can use in print and promotional materials.

With our in-house graphic and communications talent, we give organizations new capabilities to build powerful brands.

A strong brand helps bring an organization's strength to life. It communicates personality, affirms leadership and cultivates support.

Our graphic design staff help organizations infuse their brand into built environments. Product showcases, environmental graphics and signage design all add to space solutions, engaging people in authentic and exciting strategies. Using images, materials and colors, our designers help organizations discover branding strategies that complement their organization's purpose and personality.

What many refer to as sustainable design has taken on an added dimension at BWBR through our commitment to performance design. By "performance design," we mean:

• Designing projects that cost less to own and operate
• Creating environments that enhance the well-being and productivity of their inhabitants
• Using the Earth's resources efficiently

Performance design encompasses the evaluations, studies and cost-analysis recommendations people seek based on LEED^® requirements and other benchmarking standards, such as Minnesota B3 Benchmarking. They are an integral part of our design methodology.

With a reputation among clients and local contractors for quality documentation, BWBR works with organizations to identify goals, create strategies and help produce outcomes that benefit employees, managers and their stakeholders.

As a leading health care facility designer in the Upper Midwest, we take as much pride in our understanding of applicable codes, including those administered by The Joint Commission and the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services, as we do in the efficient and engaging environments we help create.

We plan and design facilities to meet appropriate regulations and work hard to ensure that they are built in accordance with all applicable design standards.

BWBR's designated code team conducts code reviews at every stage of a project's design, from programming to construction documentation, as an integral part of our quality-assurance system. They are familiar and experienced with The Joint Commission reviews for the Statement of Conditions. Our construction administration team is also experienced at working with regulatory officials who may visit the site during construction to inspect the site's interim life-safety standards and other site situations.

Working on more than 150 health care projects each year, BWBR has an exceptional relationship with the appropriate regulatory agencies that will be involved in your project, and will work closely with them to meet your needs.

Our philosophy about codes is simple: Do things right the first time and you won't have to fix them later. Our code specialists have reputations for successful code compliance and maintaining positive working relationships with regulatory agencies and personnel in municipalities throughout the Upper Midwest. At every stage of design, from programming to construction documentation, code reviews are an integral part of our quality-assurance system.

We maintain a designated code review and compliance staff. Throughout a project's design process, a member of our code group works with the team's architects and engineers. They work to identify and resolve code conflicts as early in the process as possible, minimizing schedule and budgetary impacts. Our internal code-review process, which includes completion of a code-review form, is followed by review with the local building officials, fire marshals and zoning administrators. These meetings keep the local building authorities informed and uncover concerns in addition to those identified during our internal reviews.

We believe the most successful projects are those in which the elements are constructed as designed.

Our in-house CA staff provide the bridge between design and construction, ensuring that the intent of the design solutions are constructed as planned and finding options that can minimize change orders, control costs and maintain the project schedule. While services vary depending on a project's particular needs, our construction administrators resolve issues with contractors, write observation reports, verify payment requests, process change orders and generally provide assurance that construction is proceeding in compliance with the construction drawings and specifications.

When projects rely heavily on mechanical and electrical construction, we utilize our engineering partners to provide construction-observation services to complement our own services. We work together and share our expertise. All disciplines review shop drawings, assist contractors, work through issues and observe construction. BWBR and our consultants also provide extensive office support during this construction phase.

Preparing for the future takes more than a road map. It requires a shared vision. The planning process is about creating that shared vision.

Master planning is a process of exciting discovery. Working together, we consider real-estate factors such as location, site characteristics, and cost/value; design considerations such as site image/visibility, topography/environmental opportunity, accessibility, orientation, expansion options, integration with the surrounding landscape and the broader community, and options for different and evolving health care delivery models; and engineering criteria such as the availability of infrastructure, site conditions, local/city/regional master plans, environmental impact, etc.

We base our conclusions on an understanding of existing conditions and evaluated program needs rather than emotional responses to perceived needs. Our team is knowledgeable and skilled in addressing campus integration issues in ways that single consultants specializing in either architecture, planning, or landscape architecture are not.

Each institution we work with has different goals, objectives and philosophies. Each also brings a different set of circumstances, existing facilities, local and regional markets, operational needs, etc. When our team joins your team, the best solutions surface.

Integrating interiors with architectural design creates dynamic solutions that bring to life a project's goals, both inside and outside of the building. Color, texture and materials combine to create spaces that inspire people and evoke emotion.

As we design space solutions, we seek out furniture that is appropriate to the function and intended ambience, light fixtures that complement the architecture, and fabrics and color that tie exterior and interior architecture into a pleasing composition. By carefully and purposefully melding interiors with architectural solutions, we successfully design engaging and comfortable environments.

Great design is a balance of aesthetics and flow, of form and maintenance. With this in mind, we pursue a project's goals through a process that puts quality and function first.

The facilities we help clients design are generational investments. They must be timeless: pleasing to the eye from all directions and relevant despite changing trends. They must be durable, with materials and finishes that are easy to clean and maintain. They must be fundamentally sustainable, produced using energy-efficient means and incorporating environmentally friendly materials that are recycled where appropriate. And they must be flexible, adaptable to change and future growth.

From predesign and programming to schematic design, design development and construction documentation, we will help you develop solutions that match your desired outcomes.

We believe that careful planning is critical to meeting goals and to ensuring that the time and attention spent on each aspect of a project is appropriate. Because organizations entrust us with a significant amount of resources and ideas, we take our stewardship of projects to heart. We create realistic schedules and monitor progress closely; we manage budgets carefully and find value-based solutions; and we communicate frequently with all team members.

Stated simply, a project's success comes down to leadership and people skills. In the end, our approach to design and project management is characterized by straightforward common sense: We ask good questions, keep discussions focused, encourage and build consensus, stay flexible, exercise good judgment and remain uncompromising in the quality of service we provide. We believe that the journey should be as pleasant as the destination.