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about us

We are a team of architects and builders who offer new techniques and technology to regular players in the construction industry of Louisiana and the Gulf South in a way that they can easily adopt. We help smaller firms with the core of what they do to become more profitable, and help them compete with their larger rivals.

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Our modeling puts advanced construction management tools, such as 3D coordination of critical trades, animated models testing schedules, and other services into the hands of all sizes of construction companies. Our services reliably reduce overhead, risks, and help you provide a better product to owners.

Our virtual studio allows sole-practitioners and small-firm principles to focus on the necessities of their business — work only they can do. You can add the quality of an associate to your projects while simultaneously decreasing your biggest expenditure.

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As one of the biggest risks to a general contractors’ business is schedule overruns and the biggest contributors of volatility are the MEPFP subs, any contractor trying to remain afloat has to be looking at control of these trades in their critical path.

How we help contractors

A builder or a craftsman is only as good as his tools. No matter how experienced your project manager is, you wouldn’t expect him or her to undertake a major commercial project without a critical path schedule.

In the same way seeing a building in three dimensions makes a project tangible to any construction professional. The best general contractors use tools like these to extend their share of the market

We recommend BIM coordination as a first step because it’s the easiest to adopt but there are many other tools in our box. We want to provide these tools to regular shops so they can survive and so that they can compete with the best.

THE BIM COORDINATION PROCESS

MODEL

Your MEPFP subs model in 3D as they do their shop drawings.

INTEGRATE

We pull their models into the 3D design model or a 3D scanned model of the existing building.

TEST

Using computer algorithms, we find and evaluate every single conflict in the project.

RESOLVE

We direct your subs on corrected routing so that they can finalize their shop drawings.

CONTRACTOR SERVICES

We offer a narrow range of services centering around building information modeling. Coordination service is the easiest step to take, but the value increases as our services get more integrated and sophisticated.

  • 3D COORDINATION01
  • MEP SHOP DRAWINGS02
  • RENOVATIONS03
  • PRE-CONSTRUCTION04
  • 4D SCHEDULING05
  • ADVANCED MANAGEMENT06

3D COORDINATION

This service adds very little to your project cost while significantly lowering your risk. Most detailers produce their shops in 3D already - our job is to integrate them into a complete 3D view of your project. Detect and eliminate problems before they happen; keep your crews working. Avoid the cycle of one 'fixed' clash turning into two or three new ones. Save time, save money, and increase your peace of mind.

MEP SHOP DRAWINGS

Our shop drawings for MEP trades are accurate, intelligently prepared, and match or beat most competitors on price. We have staff experienced in both the design and installation side, using the latest software such as Autodesk Revit(c). We will match your specs and provide a clear roadmap for your system installers.

RENOVATIONS

The amount of money built into renovation bids for wasted time can be staggering. We partner with 3DIS, one of the nation's leading scanning providers, to verify the as-built condition of the building. You can then proceed with the speed and efficiency of new construction, giving you a better chance to win the bid on cost.

PRE-CONSTRUCTION

Our pre-construction BIM modeling services boosts the accuracy of your quantity estimates and take-offs. BIM modeling offers tremendous value for negotiated work, and will demonstrate to the
owner exactly how you plan to stage and construct a difficult project. Making it a part of your statement of qualifications is a proven proposal tactic that can win you the bid on the spot.

4D SCHEDULING

Our 4D scheduling services will help ensure your subs keep their production promises. Even the most experienced PM will appreciate the ability to walk through ongoing projects day-by-day in 3D. You won't have to rely on assumptions or guesswork when you can actually 'see' the building process as it unfolds.

ADVANCED MANAGEMENT

Our services give you the ability to support subcontractors who use best-practice tactics for advanced pre-fabrication. A time-actuated model gives them the form work they need for resource planning, workflow coordination, and crew management. If you want these sophisticated subs on your project you need to support them with advanced BIM.

Only a minority of small architecture firms are substantially profitable. Profitability makes good work possible; they are inseparable.

How we help architects

In comparison to other industries, an architect’s work process for the core of their business is inefficient and makes poor business sense.

The majority of an architectural firm’s revenues and costs come from billing time for the cost of labor to produce construction documents. This leads to commodification – firms compete on price alone reflecting their respective costs of rote production – it’s obvious this weakens the profession. Firm principles and highly trained architects spend too much time doing work that is below their skill level and pay grade.

Integrating with our virtual studio to handle these tasks can immediately make your firm more profiteble and free your high-value staff to develop a high value product.

Put more of your time into design and express your expertise by turning your lower value tasks over to us. You can then have the breathing room to price your services based on the value you provide your clients, not on the cost of production.

TIGHTENING YOUR BUSINESS MODEL

SAVE

Using your time and those of your best employees for the rote production of construction documents is a recipe for low margins; be an entrepreneur and focus on the things only you can do.

INVEST

Put your time and that of your employees into the things that create more substance for your firm and your clients: design, marketing, development of services, and building your reputation.

GROW

Developing your services lets you price based on the value you provide, not the cost of production. It leads to a better product, financial security, and more satisfaction in your career.

ARCHITECTS SERVICES

We put the capabilities of a full studio at your disposal, giving you the associate-level experience of our staff for the cost of a green drafter. Use us at need, so you can give us as little or much as required, without the burden of filling 40 hours a week. We can produce for you.

  • A FULL VIRTUAL STUDIO01
  • HELP FOR MOONLIGHTERS02
  • THE SOLE PRACTITIONER03
  • SMALL FIRMS04
  • Revit Modeling, Spec Writing, and Visualization05

A FULL VIRTUAL STUDIO

We put the capabilities of a full studio at your disposal giving you the associate-level experience of our staff for the cost of a green drafter. Use us at need, and produce like a much larger firm, without the burden of filling 40 hours a week the rest of the time.

HELP FOR MOONLIGHTERS

Every commercial architect sooner or later gets approached by friends to work up drawings for a house. But it takes time and effort, and pulls you from the primary work of your firm. Kick the nitty gritty to us, offload the hassle, and actually make money to boot. Just give us the schematics, we'll develop a full construction set from your instructions. You'll end up with a profitable side project rather than an onerous
favor to a friend.

THE SOLE PRACTITIONER

If you wear every hat in your firm, you're working on lot of tasks that don't fit your experience or expertise. Your time is simply too valuable for everything you have to do when you go it alone. Our company combines project architect experience with efficient, trained drafters to handle the repetitive tasks of document production. But we understand that letting go of such an intimate part of your business isn't something you would take lightly. Give us the opportunity to demonstrate that we can meet your high standards.

SMALL FIRMS

If you have a small, established office the best thing about our virtual studio service is that it increases the value of your current staff. You hired quality people and they should be working on high-value tasks, work that increases your service and reputation. And they'll also enjoy increased job satisfaction when you delegate the routine stuff to us.

Revit Modeling, Spec Writing, and Visualization

Sometimes you need to add experience just for a single project. We have deep and diverse experience with 3D modeling programs and can efficiently flesh out your project for an affordable price. And even for the most complete firm, writing specs can be an onerous drag on your designer's time. Task us withthe project manual. It's easily separable and a fast way to stiffen your bottom line.

THE VIRTUAL STUDIO PROCESS

MEET

We’re centered in New Orleans and thrive on face to face meetings with our clients. In fact, if we can’t drive to your Gulf South office, we’ll have to suggest that we’re not a good fit for your firm. We want to learn how you work, understand your practice, and partner with you as your ‘virtual associate.’

OPEN

We’ll provide you with detailed instructions and techniques on how to effectively integrate with your virtual studio. At the meeting with your virtual associate he or she will show you a model project set up, how the process works, and then guide you through our typical workflow and best practices.

COLLABORATE

Once you’re up and running, give us as much or as little work as you need done. Whether filling in schematics according to your detailed instructions or merely picking up redlines, the project will steadily progress while you concentrate on the future of your firm.

meet our team

We are a disciplined team of designers, developers, marketing specialists and much more...

Aaron Baczkowski
President
Dan Brown
Vice President
Chris Wells
Lead Modeler

Virtual design and construction runs nominally at half a percentage of construction cost, and for that you have all the benefits of constructing the building before there are boots on the ground. You find all the choke points and friction between trades. You can make substantially better decisions by seeing the process. The expense pays for itself and further, substantial research demonstrates that there is significant, positive return on that investment.

Blog posts

The Gamification of Architecture 17 Jun
The impact of video game technology on architectural visualization has the potential to be immense.
Full story
Architects: Make Specified 3D Coordination The Norm 6 May
Looking back at my biggest C.A. headaches as a designer,  a third would have been relatively painless to solve with BIM clash testing.
Full story
Ductwork: Custom Built China in a Bull-Pen 2 Mar
The construction industry is a strange mix of comraderie and betrayal; I’ve sometimes thought of a job site like a pirate ship: everyone has a job to do and is signed on, by contract, for their share of the loot.
Full story
Driving Change to Change Faster 2 Mar
A mixed picture for architecture: getting worse nationally, better globally–but changing increasingly fast regardless.
Full story

Architects have the lowest ratio of compensation to liability and required expertise of any major profession. If you run your firm as a business and minimize costs on the least distinctive – yet largest – area of your practice we can’t say you’ll get rich, but I do know at least that the balance of projects you have to do versus the projects you want to do will tip towards the side of satisfaction.

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Contact us

2026 Philip St. New Orleans LA 70113

877 412 9292
info@archcessory.com

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PO Box 17 Buffalo NY 14205