Los Angeles
+1.310.904.8493
Denver
+1.303.589.8788
Steve Chucovich, Principal
Alice Hovsepian, Principal
Jean-Pierre Chakar, Principal
ArcS is an internationally recognized multidisciplinary design and planning studio with offices in Los Angeles and Denver with strategic partners on 3 continents. The firm and its principals have developed a reputation of successfully delivering complex and nontraditional projects that often involve unique program, design and project delivery methodologies. The result has been work at multiple scales ranging from comprehensive urban planning and design including infrastructure and transportation planning , to multifamily housing, mixed use office/retail as well as historic preservation and adaptive use. The projects have been recognized nationally and internationally for design excellence in peer award programs as well as through the design and popular press.
To achieve the success of many of these projects, traditional approaches had to be cast aside and new ways of working and collaborating were developed. These experiences evolved into the firm model of ArcS. Initially created with the goal of taking design thinking beyond conventional practice by integrating strategic consulting, planning and engineering into all aspects of the design process.
We found that this did not go far enough.
Frank Ooms
We are now achieving greater relevance and value to our clients by engaging in a focused but flexible team and consultant collaboration throughout the design process.
We benefit from exploring the edges of design practice around and between the traditional disciplines of architecture and engineering. These are areas where new thinking and ideas are less formal and more fluid and where as yet unknown affinities lurk to provide both inspiration and direction in the design process.
Nimble and flexible in our project process by developing alternative ways of delivering design solutions, we use the framework of an on demand business model to build and morph project teams to achieve the best result possible. We work with a core group of architects and consultants whose expertise and performance meet our standards of quality and care and who are dedicated to the goals and aspirations of our studio. This group will scale up or down as the project needs at that time requires.
Strategic Planning
Our past successes are attributed to a clearly defined design priorities and project delivery methodology where communication on all levels is paramount and where the client’s needs, goals and aspirations are the highest priority of the design process.
To achieve this we listen carefully and develop an understanding of the approach needed to be successful with the project.. We do not shy away from the messy and complex design and management issues often found in the complex environments where we will work. We are strategic in our approach developing approaches to challenges ranging from everything from agency approvals, consensus building and construction approaches.
Design Process and Project Delivery
The firm’s design process and project delivery methodology is rooted in an on-demand, non hierarchical team approach. We build collaborations bringing to the table expertise to best benefit the client's neeeds, streamlining the process, and matching expertise to the project. These collaborations can include other architects engineers, policy planners, economists, scientists and physicists, artists, web and game designers, quantity surveyors and even fabricators and contractors; any discipline or expertise that will add value to the design process creating innovative and cost effective design solutions.
Design Thinking and Research
Our design thinking and problem solving is enhanced with research into building technologies, human scale design and spatial programming and sustainability as well as technical standards and material performance. Our work benefits on all levels from this research. We can be contextual or disruptive in our efforts and thinking as each project might require. The ultimate goal in our work is to create uniquely designed structures that support the health and welfare of the user, perform on a high level in energy conservation/energy gathering and contribute to the built environment in the best sense of what architecture can be.
What this offers our Clients:
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The value of this approach is a more realistic engagement of client needs and expectations for design expertise and services in the new economy.
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We will engage the best expertise for the specific project from a regional to worldwide talent pool.
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The cost of the service is less without sacrificing quality, scope or performance.
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Our management structure is scalable and is not impacted by changing project requirements or workload.
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We can structure our delivery to meet any specific practice requirements and schedules required for successful project implementation.
This project delivery method has evolved over 35 years of project experience working on traditional and nontraditional projects around the world.
Since its founding in 2010, the firm has taken on a series of complex planning and design projects and has successfully used this thinking and project delivery method, creating solutions of quality, integration, performance, and value.
Firm Leadership
The work presented here are part of a rigorous and ongoing 40 year exploration of architectural form, materiality, light, technology and human and social interaction. Our work is strongly connected to the urban context. It is authentic. While there are many references to art, history, popular culture as well as architecture and engineering precedents, the work is always a response to specific place, program and time.
Steve Chucovich NCARB, LEED AP
Design Principal, ArcS
Colorado Licence 303121
California Licence C-38840
Steve Chucovich has almost four decades of experience in planning, architecture, and urban design, and spent 23 years as Principal of ArchitectureDenver, a Colorado-based award-winning design practice. His experience includes architecture, strategic sustainable planning & design, large-scale urban, infrastructure and transportation planning projects throughout the US, the Middle East, and China. Notable among the projects is the Denver Millennium Bridge, a downtown Denver landmark that received awards from the American Institute of Architects and The American Institute of Steel Construction as well as recognition in the national and international press.