What do residential architects need from suppliers?
Suppliers of building materials, including aluminium windows and doors, often work with several different markets. For example, Reynaers Aluminium supplies home improvement companies, but we also support consumers who choose our products for their homes, and architects in both the commercial and residential sectors who specify products for individual projects they are working on. Each market needs something different.
When it comes to an architect designing a new home or upgrading an existing one, the needs are complex. Here is an overview of things residential architects specifically need from their suppliers.
Knowledge
It may sound obvious, but architects need suppliers that are completely knowledgeable not only about their own product range, but also about wider industry issues. While architects will have an over-arching understanding of a wide variety of building materials and their strengths and weaknesses, it’s the responsibility of each supplier to offer more technical information pertinent to each project and product. This requires a high level of expertise, experience, and attention to detail.
Products
One of the reasons homeowners call in a residential architect to design and lead their project is because they are looking for something special. To create an exceptional home, each individual building material needs to play its part. It needs to work seamlessly with all the other materials being used to achieve the architect’s vision. This means that architects need to work with suppliers that offer a wide range of products that suit an array of different property styles, but that also meet all the other project requirements such as security, aesthetics, and energy efficiency.
Sustainability
With the continued drive to Net Zero, architects are coming under increasing pressure to deliver great looking projects with sustainable products. But what does sustainability in building materials mean? It means products that are long lasting for reduced impact on our environment, but it also means sourcing products from sustainable suppliers. Some suppliers are taking this responsibility more seriously than others and already have official sustainable strategies in place that commit to supplying environmentally friendly products and reducing the carbon footprint of their operations.
NBS Presence
When searching for materials to use on a project, residential architects are likely to turn to the National Building Specification (NBS), NBS Source, for specification information for different building supplies. The more detail suppliers can give to this database, and the easier they can make access to this information, the more useful it is for architects.
Partnership
One of the most important things for residential architects to find in a supplier is trustworthiness. They need to be able to trust supply partners to find the right products to specify for each individual project depending on the requirements, and to operate with their best interests and the best interests of the end user in mind. Architects need suppliers that offer flexible ongoing advice and support to suit different projects, and practical help such as finding the right installer for the project.
Reynaers Aluminium – how we work with residential architects
With a long history of building long-lasting relationships with architects, Reynaers Aluminium can offer the whole package. Through a combination of in-depth training and on-site experience, our team has the expertise required to give advice on products, technical specifications, and project requirements. We have a vast range of products to suit all sorts of projects while delivering excellence in energy efficiency, security, and style. As well as our NBS Source Profile we have made specifying Reynaers even easier with our NBS integration.
Regarding sustainability, aluminium windows and doors offer an excellent specification choice because of their durability, but we have taken our commitment to the environment a step further with our promise to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations in our sustainability strategy, Reynaers Act. We can also offer architects support with finding the right installation company for their project with our Reynaers at Home network of installers.
Reynaers Aluminium is a company dedicated to delivering what customers need, whether that client is an architect, home improvement company, or homeowner. For more information, please contact a member of our knowledgeable team.
