GL Planning & Design, Inc. (formerly Gicklhorn Lazzarotto Partners) is an architecture, planning and design firm with offices in San Francisco and Sherman Oaks, California established in 1993. Roland Lazzarotto established the firm as Roland Lazzarotto Architects and, in 1997, when Martin Gicklhorn joined the firm, the name changed to Gicklhorn Lazzarotto Partners.
Today, under our new name and identity, GL Planning & Design, Inc., we are excited about being at the threshold of this firm milestone and to a future of continued firm growth and success. We look forward to continuing our work under our new corporate identity!
Our office is in San Francisco in a simple, located at the bottom of Telegraph Hill along the Embacadero. We deliver exceptional value to our clients by maintaining low overhead and meeting clients’ needs. As a growing, medium-sized firm, our aim is to offer our clients the highest quality work, while maintaining close relationships with each member of a client team.
GLP specializes in planning, architecture, healthcare and tenant improvement design for facilities with an advanced technology focus. The firm provides a full range of architectural services for the biotechnology and microelectronics markets, and healthcare, while also providing the educational, institutional and commercial markets with laboratories, manufacturing facilities, and other special purpose buildings. Our staff is experienced in a wide range of projects and works collaboratively with some of the best independent consulting firms in the nation.
Laboratory Planning and Design Capabilities
GLP specializes in the programming, planning and design of laboratory and research spaces. Throughout our years of lab planning and design, we have had the opportunity to produce a wide range of spaces for public and private clients within new and rehabilitated buildings. This experience is complemented by the thorough and conscientious preparation of lab fit-out documentation by our seasoned lab staff, assuring the transfer of critical program information into the final project drawings.
From room finish performance to the newest concepts in flexible lab casework, GLP possesses a thorough knowledge of laboratory equipment and furniture manufacturers and possesses a sound understanding of code issues and requirements for labs and related research and technical environments. We have experience working on a wide-range of technically demanding educational, institutional and corporate projects and are regularly referred by clients, consultants, and peers for their expert knowledge in the laboratory field.
Specialized Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Laboratories
Over the past fifteen years, GLP has planned and designed more than one million square feet of laboratory space, including dozens of bio/pharmaceutical research labs, technical environments, and animal facilities for clients throughout California.
From room finish performance to the newest concepts in flexible lab casework, GLP possesses a thorough knowledge of laboratory equipment and furniture manufacturers. The firm maintains a sound understanding of current code issues and requirements for labs and related research and technical environments. Our team, with more than 75 years of aggregate experience, works on a wide range of technically demanding educational, institutional and corporate projects and is regularly referred by clients, consultants, and peers for their expert knowledge in the laboratory field.
Specialized Knowledge and Resources
The experience gained working on all phases of lab projects, including programming, design, and construction, aided in the development of an extensive network of industry-wide relationships. This provides easy access to a wide group of resources available to answer almost any lab-related question that should arise during the course of our work. We are proficient in the California Building code standards for lab spaces and maintain close relationships with several professional code consultants to assist us in resolving difficult or unique regulatory matters.
Client Relationships
Numerous repeat laboratory and research projects with clients such as Stanford University, Solano College, UC Davis, UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, USC, USF, Stanford Hospital, Genentech, Amgen, Bayer and Glidewell, speak to the type of quality relationships we build and the fact that we closely monitor the needs of our clients. As part of these relationships, we stress the importance of working closely with and satisfying the needs of both the facilities design staff and the lab users. During the early stages of design, we meet with the users to learn about their needs, and how the design can impact their work. We establish open lines of communication from the early stages of design. Good communication is our vehicle for success.
Program Responsiveness
Program control is as important in lab planning as the budget control because of the intense complexity of these projects. Lab projects have thousands of technically-specific requirements which must be carefully included in projects. Our process is designed to ensure all lab components are tracked and included in the program, while also responding to technical requirements and keeping the project on schedule and within the original budget.
Design-Build
In addition to traditional design-bid projects, our experience with design-build projects demonstrates how we partner efficiently with contractors during construction to meet their needs and to help keep our client’s projects moving smoothly. Giving proper attention to the construction effort establishes mutually-respectful relationships in which the contractor feels well supported by the design team and the design team feels trusted by the contractor. These strong architect/contractor relationships result in high-quality, streamlined projects for our clients.
