Take an organization's desires for quality of construction, space and function and then balance those needs with the budget -- that's the great balancing act that architects face every time they undertake a new building project.

"Balancing those elements is part science and part art," says David Leapaldt, principal at Grooters Leapaldt Tideman Architects. GLTA employs a proprietary balancing methodology during the pre-construction/planning phase of each project. "The earlier we get these three elements into balance, the more successful the project will be."

For this reason, Leapaldt advocates including an architect as early as possible in the project. "With an architect involved from the very beginning, you will be designing a facility that you can afford and which suits your space and programmatic needs.

"If your budget is $1 million," he continues, "and you are hoping to create a building that is 10,000 square feet, then your construction quality is $100/square foot. Enlarge the building, and the budget has to increase or the construction quality has to decrease. All three elements are inextricably linked."

Leapaldt gives the example of St. Mary's, a senior housing and health care campus in Pierre, South Dakota.  St. Mary's had planned to replace their existing nursing home with all new construction at a cost of $4 million, far exceeding their budget.

After an in-depth assessment of the program and needs, GLTA recommended that the existing convent be renovated to accommodate ancillary services, and that the existing nursing home be updated and renovated. The total cost for the GLTA plan? $1.5 million.

"When you employ both critical thinking and creativity -- as we are trained to do -- you can come up with more than one way to satisfy any facility need," says Principal Dan Tideman.