testimonials: what our clients say

“Working with Ed Smart and the smartDESIGN team on the GO BARN! project has be en an incredible experience. From day one, they truly listened, not just to what we wanted, but to who we are as an organization and what this project means to our community. Their creativity, professionalism, and ability to coordinate so many moving parts and engineers made the entire design phase feel effortless.

The final design has blown everyone away. We’ve received so many positive comments about how stunning and thoughtful the facility looks, and the excitement from both our community and partners outside the region has been overwhelming. It’s rare to find a team that can capture both the spirit and the function of a project so perfectly.

Although we’ve only completed the design phase, we’re genuinely excited to continue working with smartDESIGN as GO BARN! moves forward. The quality and timeliness of their work played a direct role in helping us secure a grant for nearly eight million dollars, and we are actively working to secure the remaining financing so we can move to the construction phase. smartDESIGN has set the tone for what’s to come, and I can’t imagine taking this journey with anyone else.”

Gregory Hallock, Executive Director
Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO ART!)

Exterior design of a new arts and cultural hub envisioned by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council

Exterior redesign for Visual Federal Credit Union branch locations

“smartDESIGN Architecture delivered a scalable prototype with updated interiors and exteriors that are creative and reflect our brand perfectly. Their professional, collaborative approach and attention to design detail kept construction on schedule and within budget. They’re a great bunch of people to work with!”

Joe Ligouri, AVP, Internal Operations
Visions Federal Credit Union

“I am privileged to offer my highest personal and professional recommendation for smartDESIGN Architecture (SDA). As I have progressed through my career, I have enjoyed a long history of collaboration with SDA. The firm has consistently proven to be an exceptional architectural partner throughout this relationship.

SDA fundamentally understands the importance of client partnership. The team has consistently demonstrated an ability to listen to our company’s needs genuinely and wants and excel at turning those requirements into creative solutions. Furthermore, SDA is incredibly responsive and easy to work with, ensuring a professional and smooth collaborative process even on complex projects.

We saw these core competencies demonstrated successfully during the execution of a prior project, an 83,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in upstate NY. SDA listened to our challenges during this project and provided the necessary creative results.

Our current collaboration highlights SDA’s capacity to manage projects of immense strategic importance and complexity. We are constructing a 32,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility to become our new North American headquarters and manufacturing facility. This project represents our company’s most significant investment outside of the EU.

This significant investment introduced the unique complexity of coordinating international stakeholders with varying opinions and motivations. SDA’s commitment to listening and providing creative solutions is critical in this environment, successfully coordinating diverse motivations into a unified and successful architectural reality. The fact that we have entrusted SDA with this project, which is both our new North American headquarters and our most significant non-EU investment, is a powerful affirmation of our confidence in their ability to manage the architectural scope and the considerable challenge of international coordination.

Based on its core strengths, commitment to listening, and providing creative solutions, SDA possesses the necessary skills to mediate and coordinate the complexities inherent in high-stakes collaborations effectively. I enthusiastically recommend smartDESIGN Architecture for any architectural engagement.”

Benjamin Morrow, Operations Manager
Daldrop SBB, LLC

Architectural design and engineering for manufacturing, warehouse, and office facility.

“smartDESIGN is one of Panera’s preferred architectural consultants for projects across the continental US. I have worked with smartDESIGN for many years, and they consistently provide excellent service for multiple project types, including interior buildouts, ground-up builds, and urban designs. They provide excellent high level as well as project level detail and communication on all projects. Because of the superior service that SDA provides, they will remain a top choice for architectural services within our team in the future.”

Tim Royer, Director of New Café Construction
Panera, LLC

“I have been very fortunate to work with smartDESIGN while designing and building my five dental offices. smartDESIGN Architecture is a highly professional company that strives to provide their clients with the best in design, customer service, and value. They are on the cutting edge of design and pay a great deal of attention to the details. I highly recommend working with smartDESIGN on your next project.”

Dr. Dianna Melman, DDS
Stellar Dental

Architecture branding for a dental office's reception desk

Interior design of Liberty Pumps' large business meeting room– a large “flex space” serving as a high tech conference/training room for up to 80 people.

“I am very pleased to report an excellent experience with the smartDESIGN team on the design and the construction advisory assistance for our 3-tiered project in Bergen. The three phases each had significantly different design criteria: open production and warehouse space; heavily structured research and development facilities; and high-end office and auditorium space.

We were impressed with the thoroughness and organization of their initial proposal and their roadmap to project completion. They had representation at all weekly project meetings and were diligent about follow-up on any resulting questions or action items. The work that was generated was truly impressive in its detail, quantity, quality, and creativity. I don’t think the general contractor could have had a better, more collaborative partner with whom to work. We are very happy with our finished product and would have no hesitation in working with the smartDESIGN team in the future.”