About: Universal Design Partners is run by Scott and Sarah Pruett; both of whom are health care professionals who specialize in Universal design and accessibility. Their passion is helping businesses design things that are functional for the greatest amount of people.
So, Sarah, give us some background on your company. What do you do and why do it?
We both have a background in physical rehabilitation and made a decision to apply our skills in the community instead of in a clinical setting. I’m an occupational therapist and Scott is a therapeutic recreation specialist. Back in 1999 Scott was in a skiing accident, broke his neck, bruised his spinal cord, and has been using a wheelchair ever since. It wasn’t really one of those things he planned for and life changed quickly. Lesson learned: life isn’t predictable. I know we’re not alone in realizing that.
We’ve each worked with people whose lives have been turned upside down by some sort of physical issue, whether age, injury, or illness – speaking very generally here – that has affected ways they interact with nearly everything in their homes and communities, and we see tremendous opportunity to help make life easier for them.
We’ve chosen two things to focus on:
Encouraging widespread use of universal design, which is about the design of things that are highly accessible and highly usable for the greatest amount of people, regardless if a health condition exists or not.
Consulting with businesses and organizations to help make the things they offer more accessible and usable. Not only does this increase value of what they offer, but if enough businesses and organizations get on board with the idea of universal design, it will ultimately will make communities more “welcoming” and easier to access for people who live in them, again regardless if health-related needs exist or not.
There are places that people want to go and things people want to do on a regular basis that are more difficult than needed, simply because of the design. When things are designed well, whether a place, product, or program, all sorts of stuff in life becomes easier and less stressful. Who doesn’t want that?
Do you have an ideal client? If so, what do they look like?
Yup. We ideally want to work with businesses or organizations who are designing, building, or creating new things. This can include everything from residential homebuilding, commercial construction, product development, leisure service, and all sorts of things in-between. We want to work with clients that value the intellectual capital that we can provide as healthcare professionals to increase the functionality of their products and/or services.
What is your favorite success story in the past few years?
We love to travel; two years ago we were able to move to a small mountain town in Colorado for 4 months as Scott was finishing his graduate degree in Parks and Recreation Management. We rooted ourselves in Crested Butte while Scott worked at The Adaptive Sports Center – an outdoor adventure organization that specializes in providing opportunity for people with disabilities to participate in outdoor adventure sports. These sports, activities, or programs offer tremendous therapeutic value through increased physical skills, confidence, and other context-specific benefits. It was a wonderful change of pace and gave us the time to challenge ourselves both physically and vocationally. We also worked with local lodging providers to increase accessibility for participants of the center, and we saw firsthand that all that’s necessary to catalyze big results in people’s lives is a little problem-solving. It was rewarding personally and professionally as we saw positive changes as the result of our efforts.
What do you like to do for fun in Harrisonburg? Favorite Restaurant? Favorite place to spend a Saturday afternoon?
Well, Strite’s Donuts isn’t really a restaurant, but we live downtown and they conveniently park their donut truck within easy walking distance on Tuesdays and Thursdays; we love their hot and fresh awesomeness. Union Station and Dave’s are also downtown favorites. We enjoy getting away from the quick pace of everyday life and getting outdoors, whether taking a walk around the neighborhood or taking our Subaru or Jeep up into the mountains for a little off-road adventure. If we stay in for something low-key, it often includes Netflix, coffee, and maybe a dark craft beer. We’ve also developed some close friendships through our church community, and regular evenings with them provide entertainment and some borderline unhealthy amounts of laughter. I play volleyball once a week too.
What is on your (iPod, radio, phone) while you work?
It depends. Sometimes we need to work in silence, but usually Pandora is streaming something in the background. I typically work best with music from film scores or other classical music without words so I won’t get distracted by the lyrics and start singing. However, when doing mindless data entry you’ll probably hear either oldies, folk, contemporary bluegrass, or acappella music of all kinds coming from my computer. Scott’s music preferences are a little different from mine, but again dependent on what he’s doing. It’s typical to hear everything from acoustic folk/bluegrass/americana to bass-heavy uptempo stuff.
What is your favorite book?
I’m not a big reader these days, but I read Real Simple Magazine often. Scott’s a nerd and reads mostly non-fiction. His recent recommendations for business-related stuff are “The Personal MBA” by Josh Kauffman, “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” by Chip & Dan Heath, and the book of Proverbs from the Bible.
What is your favorite app for your phone?
Haha, other than Facebook and Pinterest? When out-of-town I use “Around Me” to locate places to eat or get gas. I’m definitely known to play several games of “Ticket To Ride” on long car trips. Scott’s are Any.Do, Buffer, Catch, and Flipboard.
Where is your favorite place to vacation?
I like the mountains and the beach. My favorite trip was a Caribbean cruise (our honeymoon). Scott doesn’t have a favorite, but he’d likely gravitate to the mountains for something quiet. Or, on the total flip side, he’d suggest a road trip to a big city for a bit of culture change and entertainment.
Doing the first LEED for Homes certified project in the Southeastern United States in 2005 was a great honor and helped us build a solid reputation for delivering innovation at an affordable price. Over the years we have done multiple LEED projects and have shown time and again, innovative design done right can be done on a tight budget. Using LEED as a tool instead of a goal allows the designer and contractor to deliver the best value project for the homeowner.
Leed for Homes is a green home certification system for assuring homes are designed and built to be energy and resource-efficient and healthy for occupants. Compared to a conventional home, a green home uses less energy, water, and natural resources; creates less waste, is smartly located and built with as little impact on the land it sits on as possible; and is healthier for the people living inside.
It is exciting to announce that we have two more successful LEED SILVER projects finished with happy clients living healthier and paying lower utility bills. 501 / 503 was our first LEED for Homes duplex project for repeat clients Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. This project has a long list of innovations that saved the client money, lowered the impact on the site/environment, and cut utility costs.
All Native Plants to reduce the need for irrigation
90% permeable lot to reduce stormwater runoff
The strategic location of trees to shade hardscape areas thus reducing the heat island effect
Effective landscape design that prevents erosion
Water efficient plumbing fixtures
30% more energy-efficient than the average home built today
Advanced Framing
95% of all construction waste diverted from landfill
Proper ventilation system integrated with the heating and cooling system
Best of Houzz Awards – The Gaines Group receives the honor for a second year in a row.
The Gaines Group, PLC Architecture and Design Receives
Houzz’s 2013 ‘Best Of Houzz’ Award
Annual Survey and Analysis of 11 Million Monthly Users
Reveals Top-Rated U.S. Professionals
Harrisonburg, VA — January 24, 2013 – The Gaines Group, PLC Architecture and Design of Harrisonburg, Va has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” 2013 by Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design. The 26-year-old Architecture and Interior Design firm was chosen by the more than 11 million registered members of the Houzz community.
The Houzz “Best Of Houzz” award for 2013 is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from architects, and interior designers to contractors and other residential remodeling professionals. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the community of 11 million monthly users, also known as “Houzzers,” who saved more than 124 million professional images of home interiors and exteriors to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site, iPad/iPhone app and Android app.
The Gaines Group, PLC is thrilled to be included in this elite list of Houzz “Best of Customer Satisfaction” 2013 Award winners. Principal, Charles Hendricks states: “It has been a tough year economically, but we have had some incredible clients, interesting projects, and survived to face another year. This award shows that our dedication to our clients is paying off – they are happy.” This is the second consecutive year the firm has been names “Best of Houzz.”
“Houzz provides homeowners with an in-depth, 360-degree view of building, remodeling and design professionals through images of their work, reviews and an opportunity to interact with them directly in the Houzz community,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of community. “We’re delighted to recognize The Gaines Group among our “Best Of” professionals for exceptional customer service as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”
With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like The Gaines Group, but also those whose work matches their own aspirations for their home. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.
About The Gaines Group, PLC
The Gaines Group, PLC is an architectural firm that specializes in common sense green solutions that add value to your project through energy-efficient, durable, and low maintenance designs. With 25 years of experience in Virginia, this award-winning architecture firm works hard to deliver excellent service at an affordable price. With offices in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, the Gaines Group can serve your design needs anywhere in Virginia or North Carolina. Constantly looking for the best answer, they work tirelessly staying on top of latest trends and best practices in the construction industry.
About Houzz
Houzz (www.houzz.com) is a leading online platform for home remodeling, providing inspiration, information, ‘advice and support for homeowners and home improvement professionals through its website and mobile applications. Houzz features the largest residential design database in the world, articles written by design experts, product recommendations, a vibrant community powered by social tools, and information on more than 1.5 million remodeling and design professionals worldwide who can help turn ideas into reality. @houzz_inc
As 2012 draws to a close I sit here thinking about what we have accomplished at Gaines Group architects, what we have left to get done, and the potential for our future. Unfortunately, the construction economy continues a very SLOW recovery and we continue to be faced with hard financial decisions. Our firm was fortunate through the last five years to retain all of our employees, even adding an intern position to the Harrisonburg office, but that has not been without sacrifice. Our clients have continued to show faith that our work adds value to their projects through healthy, energy-efficient, and durable design solutions, but those projects have come with tighter design scopes and shorter development timelines. Our planning process has been embraced by clients looking to renovate their basements, add decks, remodel bathrooms and kitchens, build new homes, develop commercial ventures, and even a couple of warehouses and industrial facility remodels. To say the least, we have a broad reach of projects and clients from all backgrounds. I hold fast that 2013 is the year that we emerge triumphant knowing that we have survived and will have the opportunity to serve many more happy clients for years to come throughout Virginia.
Some of our successful ventures in 2012 are listed below include:
1. Participating with many different community organizations giving presentations on green building, building science, social media, solar power, rainwater harvesting, and healthy environments. Our venues included the Spotswood Garden Club, James Madison University, University of Virginia School of Architecture, UVA Darden School of Business, Shenandoah Valley Technology Council, Shenandoah Valley Builders Association, Massanutten Technical Center, Department of Energy, and the Construction Specifications Institute.
2. The construction of our Crossroads Farm Custom Home was completed in February with some final punch list items left to get done. This energy-efficient home features vegetated retaining walls, a rainwater harvesting system, a high-performance HVAC system, self-cleaning windows, local materials, and a high-performance insulation package.
8. Worked hard to support our community giving time to Charlottesville Habitat, Greene County Habitat, SVBA, BRHBA, HR Chamber of Commerce, HR Green Network, Parkview Church Creation Care Building Committee, and EMES PTF.
I had a conversation yesterday with an architect from Oregon who was visiting the Harrisonburg Green Expo with a friend. He and I were lamenting over the state of our profession and how so many architects focus on aesthetics alone. We both agreed that holistic design including building science, function, aesthetics, and durability is the key to a brighter future for our industry and our world. Architects have the power to change the future of a community through design. Architects have the ability to change the conversation in a community through design. Architects have the ability to lead through design. It is up to our profession to take on the challenges ahead and to make the positive decisions we need to make a brighter future. It was a good conversation. It was a challenge that I believe both of us have accepted. It was a glimpse into the future of our profession.
We spoke about resources that we each use to meet this challenge in front of us. I mentioned my connections around the country to the leading experts in the construction industry, otherwise known as CSI. These friends are people I can ask a question about door hardware when I run into a dead-end that allows a project to get back on track. They are people who I share a common bond with of wanting to deliver the highest value project possible to my clients. These are my friends that want to help and support my career growth. Of course this does not come with membership in an organization alone. It comes from being involved at all levels of this organization. It comes from attending meetings, local, regional, and national and building those friendships. It comes from having trust that we all want to find success through excellence. CSI is the place, out of all the industry organizations that I belong to, that not just the local members, but the regional and national members want me to be successful and will support me through mentoring, guidance, and expertise.
We are all looking for a place to belong in this industry. I have found mine in the CSI community. If you want to be a leader of the industry, this may also be the right organization for you.
If you have thought about joining in the past, there is a special offer right now, see below.
Join CSI at www.csinet.org/joinby Friday, November 16th and pay only $192 for national dues — a 20% savings.
Select “Join Now”, and then click “Sign Up as a New Member”
Enter Promotion Code CSI1220 when prompted
Click the “Add Discount” button
We recommend you also join a chapter, where you can attend local education sessions and networking opportunities (chapter dues are not included in this promotional offer).
