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Architecture
NKB Architecture embraces our reputation for having a real-world design team with a broad spectrum of experience. Our Architecture professionals have designed thousands of projects for Federal, State, Health, Corporate, Industrial, Higher Education, K-12 Education, and Facilities clientele. Our architectural designs have a strong base in both principle and application; function and aesthetic.
The success of our architectural designs are the direct result of the careful attention to detail and level of technical competence put forth by every member of our team.For us at NKB, Architecture is successful when the following attributes have been successfully incorporated into every project design: the client objectives have been met, sustainability has been incorporated, efficient planning was used, responsible & responsive use of technology, design reflective of context, and a design that contributes to the public realm.
Constant and open communication is at the core of every successfully completed architectural solution. We prepare documents that continually satisfy and exceed our client’s expectations and deliver our projects on schedule and within budget. We design for the client, not for ourselves.
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Structural Engineering
Small renovation to complex new construction, NKB’s approach to Structural Engineering focuses on providing a safe, serviceable, and efficient structural system suited to the project requirements. Our designers follow through with construction phase services that include submittal review, field observations, and special inspection oversight.
Our design expertise in the full spectrum of building materials combined with advanced analysis capabilities and our résumé of projects requiring seismic design, blast analysis, and force protection allows us to offer direction and proven solutions for your important and essential facilities requiring augmented physical security and strength.
In addition to providing detailed structural building design documents that thoroughly integrate and coordinate all design disciplines, our staff has an extensive working knowledge with a wide variety of unique and specialty structures often needed by our governmental, industrial, and institutional clients. NKB also performs building code analysis, inspections, and investigations to determine the adequacy and suitability of an existing structure for a desired use or upgrade.
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Sustainable
It is our professional and ethical responsibility to minimize the impact of our designs on the world we live in: socially, economically, and environmentally. Every project we design should incorporate some level of sustainability to it, notwithstanding specific stated goals voiced by the Client.
The NKB Team uses a unique approach that emphasizes architecture’s role in energy efficiency. To maximize energy savings, our clients need to begin planning for energy efficiency at the very start of the project design process, when the scope for the project is being developed. Many of the best and most beneficial strategies add little or no cost to the project. As well as identifying possible strategies for energy efficiency, we will set goals for the project against one of the many benchmarks for energy efficiency.
Knowing how to design sustainable facilities is part of the NKB Team’s basic design services. This provides the project with healthier buildings which have less toxic materials, provide a better space to occupy, save energy, and improve the quality of the interior environment.
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Building Energy Modeling
NKB has both the expertise and software resources to provide full building energy modeling services. We utilize eQuest, a widely-accepted building energy use analysis tool that is based on the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2.2 modeling engine. Using eQuest, along with other specialized software as needed, we input a wide variety of data points to produce a comprehensive model of a building’s energy usage. Through the use of energy modeling our clients are able to better understand their existing energy usage, predict anticipated energy usage based on design documents, as well as analyze the ramifications of recommended improvements to various building systems and can assist in the identification of low cost/no cost – high impact efficiency measures to help drive bottom line savings. This provides a powerful tool for building owners who wish to analyze the effects of implementing energy conservation measures or wholesale design changes.
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Civil Engineering
Civil Engineering knits together the built environment with its natural surroundings. At NKB we seamlessly integrate site engineering and utility infrastructure into the full range of potential project types. Our broad working knowledge of the regulatory requirements surrounding permitting, zoning, environmental assessments, and storm water management facilitates the design process from conceptual site analysis and land planning through construction documents and construction administration.
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Thermography
A thermography assessment provides a visual representation of a building’s thermal profile. Our thermography assessments take advantage of the latest digital infrared (IR) thermography technology to analyze the performance of your building’s exterior components relative to their design parameters. The data generated by these assessments, when combined with visual inspections and a review of maintenance records, allows us to make recommendations to correct deficiencies and ensure your building performs at optimal levels over its service life.
Additionally, we leverage technology to improve upon traditional thermography techniques by mounting IR cameras on remote-controlled aircraft. This allows us to capture data from angles that are impossible to replicate from the ground. Using this technology, our qualified drone operators can safely and cost-effectively generate a more comprehensive thermal profile of your building than was previously possible.
We offer thermography assessments as either standalone services or as components of integrated whole building performance assessments.
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Drone Image Capture
Through the use of remote-controlled aircraft, aerial image capture technology in both the visual and infra-red spectrums, in conjunction with cutting-edge image stitching and Building Information Modeling (BIM) software, we can collect field data with a high degree of accuracy and import it into our BIM software. This integrated approach creates a process shortcut where none previously existed, dramatically increasing the efficiency of the modeling process and lowering its overall cost. The result is a precisely-constructed model of the existing structure that can be used as the basis for planned renovations, or as a baseline for a larger design project, or simply to create a record of existing conditions.
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Facility Condition Assessments
Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) helps building Owners understand the condition of their capital investment. At NKB our FCA process includes gathering data during a visit to a client’s facility by documenting conditions of buildings, site and infrastructure that may vary in age, design, construction methods or materials. Our team then uses this data to generate costs and recommendations for addressing deficiencies based on the client’s priority for strategic capital planning and tactical project prioritization.
We provide information that allows our clients to allocate funding more effectively. Our team consists of architects, engineers and cost estimators who contribute based on the specific scopes involved for each assessmentWhether it’s the owner of a single building or a government agency with several hundred thousand square feet of facilities, we tailor our expertise to our clients’ projects on an as-needed basis.
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Interior Design
The Interior space of every built environment defines the character of where we work, learn, live and play every day. Our designers do this by making spaces functional, safe and beautiful. The NKB Designers have extensive experience in corporate, food service, healthcare, education, government, and retail applications. This allows our team to provide cohesive design solutions for our clients with the same high standards they have come to expect.
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Constructability Reviews
Constructability Reviews identify issues that result from inter-disciplinary coordination, phasing or construction activities. We provide these services (as a complement of NKB project management and QA/QC), to minimize change orders, claims and time extensions to the project. When combined with Value Engineering, Constructability Reviews result in increased value for any project design.
NKB provides our clients with Value Engineering (VE) services to optimize the life cycle of the project, including durability and cost. By examining all aspects of the design, we reveal VE alternatives across all disciplines to enhance the value of the project. Our role as Peer Reviewer on a wide range of projects gives us the opportunity to assist other design firms in maximizing the project goals. Our clients recognize the importance of this service and our ability to remain sensitive to the original design intent.