Start with the owner’s goals.
Translate operational needs and priorities into a clear project brief and measurable criteria.
Design Criteria · Owner Advisory · Concept Design
Purpose · Clarity · Perspective
Savoie Studios / Advise. Design. Develop.Goals · Budget · Project criteria
Family roots / A new chapter
Why I started Savoie Studios.
Watch Steven explain the family values behind the studio—and what they mean for your project.
Watch · 1 min 21 sec
Meet StevenFeatured conversation / AIM Hometown Innovations
A new chapter for Rushville City Center.
Hear Steven Savoie and Mayor Mike Pavey discuss how the project came together through design-build, in conversation with AIM’s Matt Greller.
Episode 160 · April 2025
Recorded during Steven’s tenure with a leading provider of public procurement design-build services.
From the owner / Rushville City Center
“What impressed me most was that Steve cared about the outcome as much as we did. He approached the project as a partner to the City, not simply as our architect. I would have complete confidence working with Steve again on another important community project.”
“What impressed me most was that Steve cared about the outcome as much as we did.”
Read full testimonial
Start with
what matters.
What could your project become?
We turn your goals and practical constraints into concepts you can evaluate. Early layouts and design studies reveal possibilities, resolve competing needs, and help you choose where to invest.
For a closer look at the owner’s brief, read Inside a Design Criteria Package.
Design Criteria & Owner Advisory
Get the brief right.
Make informed choices.
Define the outcomes, requirements, budget, and delivery approach before asking teams to propose a solution.
Test the possibilities.
Use early architectural thinking to explore scope, budget, and constraints before committing to a direction.
Choose a path with confidence.
Compare procurement approaches and carry the owner’s priorities into criteria, proposals, and agreed review milestones.
A collaborator’s perspective / Design leadership
“He brings architects, engineers, and specialty consultants together as one team, united around a clear purpose: accomplishing the client’s goals.”
Reflecting on collaboration with Steven across projects prior to Savoie Studios.
Read full testimonial
Creative thinking · Collaborative leadership
I’ve collaborated with Steve Savoie on numerous projects, and what consistently stands out is his ability to see possibilities where others see constraints. He brings exceptional creativity and practical problem-solving to complex design challenges, grounded in the client’s vision, priorities, and budget.
Steve’s greatest strength is his leadership. He brings architects, engineers, and specialty consultants together as one team, united around a clear purpose: accomplishing the client’s goals. He listens carefully, draws on each discipline’s expertise, and guides the team toward an integrated solution that balances design ambition, operational needs, and the available budget.
As a foodservice design consultant, I especially appreciate his ability to connect our specialized knowledge to the broader architectural vision. He creates an environment where partners contribute openly, challenges are resolved collaboratively, and decisions remain focused on what matters most to the client.
Steve makes the entire team better. He is an architect and design leader I trust to turn a client’s vision into a creative, coordinated, and achievable solution.
— Scott ReitanoPrincipal
Reitano Design Group
Reitano Design Group
Reflecting on collaboration with Steven across projects prior to Savoie Studios.
01 / Services
Two ways to move
your project forward.
01 / Expertise
Design Criteria & Owner Advisory
Preparing to procure a project? Define your requirements and evaluate teams with independent owner-side support.
Explore the service
02 / Expertise
Concept Design & Project Development
Exploring what your project could become? Compare concepts, scope, and constraints before choosing a direction.
Explore the serviceThe principle
Design around your goals. Test against your budget. Choose the right path.
Find your starting point
Where are you in your project?
A collaborator’s perspective / Architectural vision
“He helps the client see the opportunity and gives the team confidence to move toward it together.”
Reflecting on decades of collaboration with Steven across projects prior to Savoie Studios.
Read full testimonial
Architectural vision · From concept to completion
Working with architects internationally, I see a wide range of design approaches and building types. Over decades of collaborating with Steve Savoie, what has consistently stood out is how much thoughtful architectural thinking is already present in his earliest concepts.
As a visualization specialist, I begin with the architect’s sketches, ideas, and design information. Steve brings a clear sense of proportion, character, and place—along with an instinct for finding a compelling solution to a complicated challenge. Even his first sketches often communicate the idea that will give the project its identity.
That clarity makes our collaboration productive. We can explore the architecture, refine the details, and create images that help clients understand the possibilities and make informed decisions. Steve welcomes that exchange while keeping the team focused on the client’s vision and priorities.
What impresses me most is how often I can recognize those early ideas in the completed building. His concepts have the depth and conviction to guide a project forward while allowing others to contribute their expertise.
Steve has an exceptional design sensibility, but his greatest value is making a strong architectural vision understandable and actionable. He helps the client see the opportunity and gives the team confidence to move toward it together.
— Hans C. JohansenFounder, ONEVIEW CG
Architectural Visualization
Architectural Visualization
Reflecting on decades of collaboration with Steven across projects prior to Savoie Studios.
An owner’s perspective / K–12 education
Trusted by education leaders
“His creativity, judgment, and ability to guide important early decisions make him a valuable partner in project development.”
Who we help
Facilities with a purpose.
Owners with a responsibility.
Public and private owners face different requirements. Each deserves a project and delivery strategy shaped around its own purpose, people, and constraints.
01 / Education
School districts &
education facilities
Clarify learning needs, occupied-building constraints, operational expectations, and the scope teams should address.
Support for education owners02 / Public purpose
Municipal &
institutional facilities
Turn public-service needs, staff requirements, and long-term operations into an actionable project brief.
Support for public owners03 / Private ownership
Private &
organizational projects
Explore a new facility, renovation, addition, or a new use for an existing property. Develop the concept and test the path forward.
Develop your project02 / The approach
Clarity at the start.
Continuity throughout.
A practical process that gives the vision room to develop and tests the conditions needed to move it forward.
Understand
Listen to leadership, users, and facilities teams. Identify the outcomes that matter and the constraints the project must work within.
Design
Translate the program into schematic layouts, spatial studies, and concept alternatives. Use experienced judgment to resolve problems and make the possibilities tangible quickly.
Test
Compare each direction with the client’s goals, budget, and project criteria. Refine the design around what matters, with cost input and further investigation where needed.
Guide
Recommend a path with clear reasoning. Carry the owner’s priorities into the brief, procurement, and agreed review milestones.
An engineer’s perspective / A direction the team can carry forward
“His ability to lead that process, communicate across disciplines, and develop concepts that can actually be carried forward by the entire team is one of his greatest strengths.”
Reflecting on collaboration with Steven across projects prior to Savoie Studios.
Read full testimonial
Early concepts · Coordinated solutions
I have had the opportunity to work alongside Steve. He has the ability to understand the clients’ needs, wants, and wishes and lead the design team from ideas into design concepts. Steve understands concepts need to work for the entire project team.
Steve is able to consider how architectural decisions interweave with structural, mechanical, and electrical systems, impact constructability & costs, and ultimately meet the owner’s goals. His collaborative design approach creates early cohesion between disciplines allowing the design team to work together toward the owner’s goal.
This early collaboration is rare. Steve thinks more holistically. He understands that the best early design solutions are the ones that give every discipline a strong foundation to build upon. His ability to lead that process, communicate across disciplines, and develop concepts that can actually be carried forward by the entire team is one of his greatest strengths.
— Mike Billig, P.E.Principal
Advanced Engineering Consultants
Advanced Engineering Consultants
Reflecting on collaboration with Steven across projects prior to Savoie Studios.
Owner’s field notes / 01
Before the RFP.
Get the brief right.
Eight questions to help your team define priorities, surface assumptions, and ask for proposals you can meaningfully compare.
Read the owner’s starting guideExplore all owner resources
04 / The studio
Design experience.
Practical judgment.
Steven Savoie
Work with an architect who brings more than 25 years of experience, including national design leadership for a leading provider of public procurement design-build services. Steven connects creative early thinking with the practical judgment needed to move a project forward.
Creative vision. Practical direction.Meet Steven
Start a conversation
Your next project.
A clearer starting point.
Before an RFP, before committing to a design direction, or when scope and budget need alignment—let’s clarify your next step.
Work directly with Steven—from the first conversation through the agreed engagement.
Let’s talk about your project
Have an idea, an existing facility, or a project that needs direction? Let’s discuss where to begin.