BartonPartners in Norristown, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia, has been providing architectural and planning services since 1991. They are a busy firm with clients spread out over the eastern portion of the United States.
With business booming, mostly in the residential sector, their Building Information Modeling (BIM) department is very active turning out renderings of designs that allow clients to visualize what their project will actually look like before it’s built.
In fact, due to all that rendering activity, several months ago the in-house BIM team needed an outside resource to help them with the overflow work. But, they didn’t have one. Little did they know that the outside resource they were looking for was already on the inside.
Rendering Rescuers
The ARC service center in nearby King of Prussia has been providing BartonPartners with Managed Print Services, supplying printers and plotters as well as paper, ink, and service, since March of this year. When Regional Account Manager Steve Martin mentioned that ARC had its own BIM department — covering everything from BIM services to construction simulation and photorealistic renderings — BartonPartners took notice.
After viewing some samples and receiving a quote on a project, they took ARC on as a rendering partner.
Since May, ARC has completed several jobs for them. They did a rendering for a pool and social deck on the roof of an apartment building in a historic neighborhood in North Philadelphia.
“We sent them loose sketches of our initial proposed design as a digital file,” recounted Steve Bickel, Director of Architectural Design at BartonPartners. “They did a great job with the rendering, which helped us sell the ideas and concepts to the client.”
Other assignments followed, including one for Soko Lofts, an apartment complex in the South Kensington section of Philadelphia, with ground level parking garages and rooftop areas.
“I enjoy working with ARC immensely,” added Bickel. “Their process mirrors our internal one and that makes for a very smooth transition.”
Good Work Starts with Teamwork
Not only is BartonPartners happy with the work ARC has done, they’re impressed with their ability to produce it quickly.
“Kudos go out to Darren Boihem and his 3D team that specializes in renderings and animations,” noted Account Manager Martin, referring to ARC’s Director of Technology, BIM & Rendering Services. “They do this day in and day out and they’re extremely efficient.”
In addition to quality and speed, the architectural firm is quite taken with how ARC is able to handle the inevitable client changes.
“They’re very responsive and flexible,” said Matthew Henigan, Project Manager at BartonPartners. “They take feedback and implement it easily with the end result being a totally fluid process.”