Geneva Frank

Week’s Summary

On Monday, I finished up the renderings for Littleton Adventist Hospital, and began renderings of some elevations of the lobby area highlighting the exterior walls of the chapel design. The objective is to provide drawings that the designers and architects can use to enable them to make a good decision on whether to use laminate or wood for the wall. I also helped Annie finish up the first material run-through for OMG, and packed up those materials so they could be shipped that night to Oregon for a client meeting on Wednesday. I also worked on another project, Parker Adventist Hospital, for which I had to update some finish elements on the plan. The main focus of my week was working on YVMC (Yampa Valley Medical Center), and helping Lydia create a finish board. I will be continuing that next week, and in preparation I cut all the various materials to distinct sizes, and will lay them all out on a board for a client meeting. Besides YVMC, I am working on Community Hospital at Grand Junction again with Elizabeth. I am placing furniture and creating various arrangements in different exam rooms, as well as ordering the materials already picked out so we have a complete scheme. When this is determined, I’ll start picking fabrics that will complement the various pieces of the scheme that have already been chosen.

Week’s Focus 

I asked Gina, one of the senior associate interior designers, about assessment processes, client types, and interactions. Usually at the 11-month mark, the principal or project manager will do a walk-through of the space and make sure everything is okay and the client is happy with the space. The firm has done quite a few post occupancy evaluations so far this year, and are planning for more. (In fact they are currently preparing for one.) They maintain strong relationships with their clients, and are in regular contact and communication so they know what works best for them. When things go wrong, that is when they learn. Then, if something does go wrong, they readily fix it with a better solution. You have to know how to respond to the concern in a managed and calm way. At Boulder Associates, the mentoring program is very good, and everyone wants everyone else at the firm to learn and succeed. Therefore, at bi-monthly office meetings, people share "Lessons Learned," which reveal where and how things have gone wrong on projects, and follow-up by also posting about them weekly on the Biscuitnet. When there is need for change in the future, such as additional scope being added, a fee proposal is done and the firm’s work flow capacity is examined. The answer is usually a "yes" when a past client asks for some small updates. The firm is committed to keeping its relationship with each client.

Boulder Associates is a healthcare firm that also does some assisted-living projects. Therefore, some designs are hospitals and medical clinics, such as Centura, Kaiser, Banner Health. Depending on the project, if the main client is corporate, then there are different standards, because distinct clinics have specific design standards across the board. If it is a hospital design, the directors and various departments are involved, and the firm organizes user group meetings. Boulder Associates also has done work for the government of the State of Colorado, as well as Nebraska, Wyoming, and Oregon. 

Getting to Know Someone New

Trish is one of the first interior designers at Boulder Associates with whom I was assigned to work. She is originally from Michigan, and has worked at BA for about two years. I helped her on the Lakeview rendering design, and sat in on her client meeting with Susan. Besides working on Lakeview, which is currently her main design project, she also is working on Bellevue ERC design, with which I also helped her. Trish loves to play board games and her current favorite to play is Settlers of Catan. It's a great pleasure working with Trish. She is a lot of fun to be around.