November 2005
Hospitality Design Magazine

Excerpt from the article:
Pitching design - What wins owners over?
by Rachel Long

Learning and listening can have big payoffs indeed.  When Degen & Degen architecture and interior design in Seattle set out to win a resort project – master planning, architecture, interior design, new construction of an 85-room hotel, and casino renovation – for the Suquamish Tribe on Washington state’s Kitsap Peninsula, the firm first researched the tribe’s history, lore, and values.  “We went in as a small firm for what is really a very large resort,” says Anita Degen, the firm’s Principal, of the project interview.  “We said, ‘This is what we’ve learned about you, and what we know that you value is collaboration and working together.  We’re not going to tell you how to do this project.’  For this particular project we knew that collaboration was very important, and they responded very well to that.”  In addition, having learned that the cedar tree is important in tribal lore, the Degen & Degen team presented each member of the Suquamish board with a cedar sapling, carefully planted in a small boulder.  “We got the job,” beams Degen.  “They loved the rocks.”

Article inset:
Design 101: Create a checklist

When Degen & Degen architecture and interior design, Seattle, is hired by an independent owner, principal Anita Degen says the firm reviews a lengthy checklist with the client to help them through the process of establishing programming needs.  Up for discussion:

- Space requirements. List every single space and amenity required, and their purpose.

- Details. Details. Details. Get as much information as you need to fulfill the owner’s vision

- Budget. Crunch the numbers: the more exact, the better.

- Schedule. Ask about deadlines and timeframes at the start.

- Competitive set. Learn what factors owners believe will differentiate this venue from others in the market.

- The wish list. Go on, ask. What’s the ideal outcome if there were no obstacles?