Philosophy

RBSD uses a project team approach for developing designs for its projects. This approach uses Principal-in-Charge and a Project Manager to orchestrate the work of the designers, programmers, planners, consultants, and production personnel. 

The Principal-in-Charge is responsible for the overall policy of the project, the contractual relationships between RBSD and its client and consultants, and the quality of the end design. The Principal-in-Charge at RBSD plays a key role, especially in the early project definition and design stages, working with the project team to facilitate understanding of project goals, teamwork, and process and actively assisting, as a “hands-on” designer, in project planning and the development of the design. The Principal-in-Charge continues to play an active role throughout the project. 

The Project Manager is specifically chosen for experience related to the project and serves as the day-to-day manager of the project for RBSD, reporting directly to the Principal-in-Charge and maintaining constant contact with the client’s project representatives. 

The Project Manager manages rather than designs, concentrating on coordinating the workflow, maintaining the project schedule, meeting quality standards, and applying the resources needed to accomplish the job of designing the project, leaving the specialized area of the design itself to the planners and designers on staff. In addition, the Project Manager serves as the focus for all project communication, receiving information from clients and team members and transmitting information to them. This system creates a complete record of the project’s development and decisions and provides a sole source of responsibility and authority for the day-to-day development of the project. 

Because the Project Manager is responsible for and takes a holistic view of the entire project, he or she is able to anticipate opportunities and resolve potential difficulties in project development before they have adverse impacts on project progress. This overall perspective enables the Project Manager to keep the design in line with project goals. 

The key members of RBSD’s design team stay involved with the project from the beginning to the end, reviewing appropriate documentation and issues during all phases, as needed, and providing continuity throughout all project phases. 

For over 100 years, RBSD has provided superior architectural services to clients around the world. Based in New York City, the firm provides a carefully developed integration of planning, programming, architecture, and interior design services to create functional, attractive environments specifically tailored for unique areas of the built environment. The firm specializes in creating environments for healing, working, learning, and aging and also offers a diverse range of experience in other specialized building types. RBSD’s extensive experience includes the following types of projects:

As a medium-sized architectural firm, RBSD is large enough to successfully deliver major new multi-building projects while being small enough to give each and every project principal-level attention. RBSD has gained renown in today’s top industries through superior design and high levels of technological sophistication and by maintaining a high quality of service delivery.

RBSD also has a subsidiary, Project Management International (PMI), in Cairo, Egypt. PMI provides project management services in the Middle East.