MISSION STATEMENT

G.M. Diemert, Architect was established in Owen Sound during February of 1992 as a sole proprietorship. During July of 2003, the firm incorporated as G. M. Diemert Architect Inc. and continues to provide architectural services with the following mission:

G. M. Diemert Architect Inc. will render professional services that are responsive and appropriate to the needs of our clients on an individual and personal basis.

G. M. Diemert Architect Inc. will perform all professional services with high standards of ethical and professional conduct. We will prepare designs that exhibit appropriate regard for historic and contemporary culture particular to the local community. We will work with attention to the aesthetic needs of the users and with respect for the natural environment.

At the heart of our design effort is the commitment to improve the quality of the built environment through sensitive, responsive design. The majority of our commissions are executed within tight budget constraints for individuals who have necessarily modest aspirations. We work at using light, colour, site orientation, landscape, adjacent buildings and the owner's list of requirements to give a value to the construction that will transcend the functional and the inevitable financial limitations. Our goal is to add to the cultural environment wherever possible, within the scope of our client's project.

PRACTICE METHODOLOGY

The G. M. Diemert Architect Inc. Mission Statement provided communicates core values in the firm that are developed as a result of our interaction with our clients and our regard for their budget limitations. We are dedicated to the delivery of architecture that can inspire but that, in the first instance, fulfills the users’ needs while also reducing the potential for a deleterious effect to the environment. It is generally more important to achieve most of our goals within the scope of the financial capacity of the project at hand than to achieve none at all for lack of attention to priorities.

We recognize financial and practical limitations. We understand the necessity to keep projects efficient and we also well understand that daylight, materials, form and colour also contribute to the quality of life and that this must be fundamental to our work. As architects, our objective is to help our Clients prioritize their goals and objectives for the project through the contribution of our experience and our imaginations. Our mutual goal in this endeavor would be to ensure that the University’s resources are brought to bear on the longer-term goals of sustainability, the creation of community and above all, the support of the mandate established for the project which must, within appropriate limitations, celebrate the University and contribute to its heritage.

G. M. Diemert Architect Inc. will provide service to our projects that is driven by these three principles:

Personal attention by the firm’s owners, officers and directors. Grant Diemert and the senior associate appropriate to the stage of the work will be present at design meetings and as required during construction.

The project team will provide practical, cost-effective solutions based on their experience with similar projects. G. M. Diemert Architect Inc. has prepared designs for similar building uses incorporating conventional and pre-engineered long span structures. For pre-engineered structures, we have successfully integrated significant and attractive entrance features that utilize the characteristics of the structural system to best advantage.

We will seek design solutions that would minimize the environmental impact of the project within the scope of the University’s financial resources. We routinely seek design solutions to minimize the environmental impact of all of our projects and we pay particular attention to solutions that minimize capital cost while providing significant benefit. The Green Building Council of Canada, the LEED organization and CMHC, among others, provide a variety of publications which can be effectively used to evaluate options presented by engineers and trades.

G. M. Diemert, Architect Inc. is committed to a team approach to building design. We encourage the participation of building committees and other related groups to continually test our design solutions. We welcome the opportunity to participate in workshops, seminars or similar forums for any of our projects.

Our project teams are comprised of all participating design consultants together with the Building Committee charged with the responsibility for the success of the project. The process is designed to involve the key stakeholders at each step of the project. Many of our projects involve many committee members and occasionally many committees running concurrently.

The completed building projects featured in this section are examples of the results of our design process and they share a common thread of communication with the Client and the building users that has helped to make them successful.

In addition, for all of our projects, the following techniques have become important for each of our designs:

The adherence to the principles of sustainable construction including:

• Very well insulated buildings with air-tight building envelopes.
• The selection of locally produced materials with long service lives.
• The selection of materials that could be reused or recycled.
• The selection of energy efficient fixtures and equipment in all cases.

The design of structures that would outlive their basic usefulness and become useful for a different purpose at a later date.

Designs that reflect and enhance the cultural experience for their community, within the scope of the project’s budget.

DIGITAL VISUALIZATION AND TRAINING

G. M. Diemert Architect Inc. has kept pace with industry changes in computer technology and training through the completion of Autodesk’s Revit Building Information and Modeling software training. We have adopted this software for 3D visualization for all of our current production. Each member of our architectural staff has received training through Revit software licensed providers.

Grant Diemert has obtained consistent training through the Ontario Association of Architect’s Continuing Education program and he has attended a variety of other courses, seminars and education opportunities. Currently, Grant is receiving training in LEED (Leader in Energy Efficient Design) certification for buildings.