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Danita Rooyakkers, BUILD

danita rooyakkers
danita rooyakkers

Danita Rooyakkers is one-third of Montreal-based BUILD, along with partners Michael Carroll and Attila Tolnai. The firm, which was founded in 1995, received Canada’s Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture in 2004. The partners believe that it is the overlapping of roles that is critical in satisfying a client and building the finest architecture.

Define design-build in terms of what it means to your practice.

Design-build has a very literal meaning for us in that we design and build the projects we do. We develop the projects ourselves, meaning we purchase the land, research its potential, design the project, build it, and sell it. The fact that we generally do not work for any specific client means that we are our own client as much as the surrounding community is. This being the case, we try to create a project that is architecturally interesting, works within our philosophy of being sustainable and bettering the urban fabric, as well as being a viable project.

Which shop work do you do yourselves and which is contracted out?

We do design, general contracting, site supervision, project follow-up, and all administration related to the design and construction of the project. We subcontract out all architectural working drawings, mechanical drawings, and construction.

Describe the signing-off process required for nonlicensed architects in order to make the building legal.

BUILD essentially does the design component and we oversee the design throughout the working-drawing stage with a licensed party.

How does design-build benefit the client, and how does it benefit the designer?

It provides the client with a more consistent, conscientious, and predictable outcome. It also offers a lot of flexibility during the construction process in terms of design, detail, or finishing, and allows the client to be more involved with the building process, which is usually off-limits. There are no surprises at the end, unlike the typical general contracting process in which surprises are a result of insufficient detailing and/or specifications in the drawings. It benefits the designers, allowing the architect to be more involved in the building process, dealing with onsite issues in a more direct and sensitive manner, and enabling us to make incremental changes at critical points in the process.

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