Q. Please describe your firm’s design process.
Isch: There are several scenarios. Additions, remodels and new homes are each handled differently. For additions and remodeling, we meet the client at their house, walk through their needs and discuss materials. Next, we draft a proposal and then replay what we heard them say in the meeting. We review our process to ensure everyone is on the same page before we get started. We gather as much info about them and the building as we can. We ask questions, field measure, photograph the structure and create base drawings. Once we have that base drawing, we generally do multiple options. People usually like a little piece of one option and a little piece of another, and we meld those into a final solution. Then we develop the details, start materials selection and do technical drawings.
This takes several forms. Sometimes a freehand sketch will work just fine. Other times we do 3D modeling on a computer. Our goal is to make sure the client understands what they are getting from a visual and qualitative point of view.
Next, we help that person find a contractor. We help with the bidding process. We apply for the permit. We are with our clients throughout construction.
We review applications for payments from contractors, answer questions a contractor or owner has, and make sure everything comes together the way it ultimately was drawn according to written specifications. We then do a punch list at the end before the owner makes the final application for payment.
We try to make it fun. There are a lot of decisions to make. If we were to list all of the decisions, it would overwhelm every client. They would never want to start that process. So, we organize and expedite some of that decision-making and help them through it.
Mauch: We have so many repeat clients we work with. Why would you go through this twice if it wasn’t fun?
Q. Do you have a project lead who meets with your clients?
Mauch: John and I are there for the first meeting. From that point, a project architect manages all day-to-day activity. A team handles drawing and 3D modeling. Clients come back if the process is good. They request to work with specific people. John and I monitor the process and client satisfaction through the process, attend important meetings as well as make sure our design and technical standards are being met.
Q. What sets you apart from other architects in Cincinnati?
Mauch: Repeat clients. We don’t have to compete with other architects. Also, we know construction costs, so we design to a budget right away. We only have a few jobs on the shelf due to budgets. We have receipts and databases from every project we have done. We look at the last job we did that is similar. It will either cost the same or more. It won’t cost less.
Isch: It’s also our attention to detail. We are obsessive about everything, down to doorknobs and cabinetry detail or how a door swings. People appreciate that.
Q. How many houses do you typically design each year?
Mauch: We don’t keep track like that because they are mostly multi-year projects. Currently, we have a number of projects here and around the country. One is a country club commercial project. For the most part, 38 are going on throughout the year and in all different phases. It could be a bathroom or a big house on 100 acres and everything in between. We also do a lot of kitchens, bathrooms and additions. Some are vacation homes. We currently have more new homes than we have ever had at one time.
Q. What most influenced your decision to become an architect? How did you decide to go into business together?
Mauch: I was always interested in drawing as a kid. I took private art lessons. Later on, I was on the construction side of things and grew up in that business. Then someone said, “You have to go to engineering school.” So, I did, but I didn’t want to do it for the rest of my life. I liked the architecture side and realized someone would pay me to do something I love to do. John and I worked at the same place for a fellow in 1986. We worked together for two and a half years before starting RWA in 1989. After the owner passed away, RWA was started and has been going ever since.
Isch: From the earliest I can remember, I knew it was what I wanted to do. My uncle made a drafting board for me when I was 9 or 10. I taped down paper on it and started drawing. I grew up in a small Indiana town just outside a larger city. They had a building there designed by architect Lou Khan. You couldn’t help but drive by that building when you entered the city. There was something more interesting about that building than all the other buildings. It always intrigued me. That may have been my inspiration.
Q. What do you enjoy the most about being an architect?
Mauch: Working with people. We get to work for great people every day, and every day is different. Sometimes, these people become our friends when the job ends, and we get to watch their children grow up. That’s fun. It makes it all worth it.