Owner priorities
A clear brief covering goals, users, and operational needs.
Savoie Studios / Public Procurement Design Criteria Development
Owner advisory.
Clear design criteria.
Define what you need before selecting a team.
For public owners preparing to procure a project.
Define the project, support procurement, and review the developing design against the owner’s requirements.
Steven Savoie · NCARB · LEED AP · DBIA Professional Meet your advisor ↗
Design Criteria & Owner Advisory
Before the RFP: Define the Right Project
Learn why clear owner priorities, a well-defined brief, and informed early decisions matter before selecting a design-build team.
Watch · 1 min 15 sec
Let’s talk about your projectWhat you receive
Define the project before selecting a team.
Design criteria
Requirements that define what a successful project must accomplish.
Decision support
Guidance to evaluate scope, budget, and priorities.
Deliverables are tailored to the agreed scope.
Independent support at three key stages.
Define what matters, compare approaches, and keep the developing project aligned with the owner’s requirements.
01 / Owner-side support
Define the project
Translate facility needs, stakeholder priorities, and budget parameters into a clear brief and performance criteria.
Explore this stage
Listen to stakeholders; establish capacity, space relationships, quality, operations, phasing, and project constraints.
An owner’s perspective / K–12 education
Clear priorities. A stronger basis for decisions.
“He has a gift for turning broad goals into a clear project direction while keeping the district’s budget and long-term needs in focus.”
02 / Owner-side support
Support selection
Give competing teams a clear basis for their proposals and help the owner understand meaningful differences.
Explore this stage
Prepare technical solicitation content, clarify questions, compare proposed approaches, and support documented decisions alongside the owner’s procurement and legal teams.
A collaborator’s perspective / Design leadership
“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.”
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.
03 / Owner-side support
Review development
Evaluate the developing design against the agreed criteria and explain the implications of proposed changes.
Explore this stage
Review designs at agreed milestones, identify departures from the requirements, and support technical decisions within the engagement’s defined scope.
Explore the details when you need them.
Procurement sequence & owner’s guide
An owner’s guide to Indiana design-build
Before you select a design-builder, define the project.
For Indiana school boards, cities, and towns, the first decision is not which team to hire. It is what the facility needs to accomplish, what the owner can afford, and how proposals will be judged. An early conversation with a design criteria developer gives those decisions room to develop.
What IC 5-30 requires
Indiana’s public design-build law defines a design criteria developer as a registered architect or professional engineer responsible for preparing the owner’s design criteria package. Each design-build request for proposals must include that package. The public agency decides its scope and level of detail. Indiana Code, Article 5-30
From an idea to a team selection
- 01
Define the need and test possibilities.
Identify the goals, stakeholders, site constraints, schedule, and target budget. Test early concepts against what the owner can realistically fund before the scope becomes a procurement commitment.
- 02
Choose the right delivery path.
Compare design-build with other viable methods using the project’s complexity, schedule, desired control, and available resources. If design-build is the right fit, translate the owner’s priorities into clear requirements.
- 03
Prepare the design criteria package.
Give competing teams a common basis for proposals. Depending on the project, criteria may address space needs, site development, quality, performance, budget, and schedule. The agency determines the appropriate detail.
- 04
Qualify and review teams.
Follow the applicable qualifications and proposal process under IC 5-30. Review responses against the published criteria and document material differences with the owner’s procurement and technical teams.
- 05
Select against the owner’s priorities.
Compare proposals against the outcomes established at the start. The design criteria developer remains on the owner’s side and cannot submit a proposal or provide design or construction services under the resulting design-build contract.
Design-build done right
Best practices begin with a clear owner brief.
DBIA’s best practices address procurement, contracting, and project execution. Our owner advisory work starts with the decisions that shape all three: defining the need, testing concepts against the target budget, and setting criteria before teams compete.
Explore DBIA Best Practices
Bring us in while the important questions are still open.
Savoie Studios helps public owners challenge assumptions, align early concepts with a target budget, choose a delivery strategy, and develop criteria for a competitive procurement. There is time to choose the builder and architecture and engineering team after the project has a sound foundation.
Let’s talk about your projectStatutory references: IC 5-30-1-5 · IC 5-30-6-1 · IC 5-30-6-2 · IC 5-30-6-3. Public agencies should coordinate procurement requirements with their counsel.
Service tasks & responsibilities
Requirements that leave room for good design.
A useful criteria package explains what the solution needs to achieve. It establishes meaningful requirements while leaving appropriate room for the design-build team’s expertise and ideas.
Goals & programming
Listen to stakeholders. Define purpose, activities, capacity, space relationships, and essential outcomes.
Design criteria
Coordinate scope, performance, quality, durability, operations, budget parameters, phasing, and project constraints.
Procurement & selection
Prepare technical solicitation content, clarify questions, compare proposed approaches, and document the differences that matter.
Continuing technical review
Evaluate developing designs against the requirements, identify departures, and explain the implications of proposed changes at agreed milestones.
The engagement establishes the documents, reviews, and decision points we support. We work alongside your procurement, legal, facilities, and project teams. The owner retains decision authority and responsibility for its required approvals and procurement process.
This service supports the owner’s definition of requirements and evaluation of proposals. The agreed scope establishes criteria development, procurement support, and technical review responsibilities. Savoie Studios is not offering construction delivery through this service.
Questions owners ask
Is a criteria package the same as construction drawings?
No. A criteria package communicates the owner’s requirements and desired performance. Construction drawings and specifications describe how the selected design will be built.
Can you support our existing procurement team?
Yes. Our scope can focus on the technical brief, proposal review, and continuing design evaluation while your team manages procurement, approvals, and contract decisions.
Does every project need the same package?
No. The content and level of detail should reflect the facility, delivery method, available information, and the owner’s procurement requirements.
Can we begin with an existing brief?
Yes. Bring the material you have. We can identify what is established, what needs clarification, and whether a focused review or further development will best support your next decision.
Inside a design criteria package
From Owner Resources
Anatomy of a Design Criteria Package
A practical walkthrough of the information that helps design-build teams understand the same project. Includes illustrative language, annotations, and a requirement record to adapt with your project team.
Read & download the resourceSee how owner advisory fits the delivery team
Owner advisory / Delivery structure
An owner’s perspective / Rushville City Center
An owner’s vision, clearly understood
“From the beginning, Steve understood that we weren’t simply creating a building. The City Center was an opportunity to strengthen our downtown, create a new gathering place for our community, and demonstrate our confidence in the future of Rushville.”
“From the beginning, Steve understood that we weren’t simply creating a building.”
Reflecting on Steven Savoie’s work as Architect of Record for Rushville City Center.
Read full testimonial
Public Design-Build Markets
Public Owner Support Across State Lines
Savoie Studios helps school districts and municipal owners clarify project requirements and prepare for design-build procurement. The owner-side role and required scope vary by state and delivery method.
IndianaPublic Design-BuildView procurement considerations
Design Criteria Developer
The criteria developer prepares the owner’s design criteria package and cannot furnish design or construction services under the resulting design-build contract.
Indiana Code 5-30; § 5-30-6-2 ↗OhioPublic Design-BuildView procurement considerations
Criteria Architect or Engineer
The public authority obtains a criteria architect or engineer before contracting for design-build. A qualified public employee or retained consultant may fulfill the role.
ORC § 153.692 ↗MichiganSchool ProjectsView procurement considerations
Independent Design Professional
For school design-build, the district engages a Michigan-licensed design-criteria developer, architect, or engineer not employed by the design-builder to assist with scope, team selection, and compensation.
MCL § 388.851a ↗IllinoisSchool ProjectsView procurement considerations
Design Professional
School district scope and performance criteria are prepared with professional assistance. The role may be fulfilled by qualified district staff or an independently retained professional; criteria preparers cannot join a responding design-build entity.
105 ILCS 5/15A-20 ↗MissouriPolitical Subdivision ProjectsView procurement considerations
Design Criteria Consultant
Covered design-build and progressive design-build procurements use an employed or retained criteria consultant for procurement and specified project administration duties. The consultant remains separate from the design-builder.
RSMo § 67.5060 ↗TexasPublic Building ProjectsView procurement considerations
Independent Architect or Engineer
For covered building design-build procurements, the governmental owner selects an architect or engineer independent of the design-builder as its representative. A design criteria package communicates project requirements.
Texas Government Code §§ 2269.305–2269.306 ↗FloridaPublic Design-BuildView procurement considerations
Design Criteria Professional
Competitive proposals use a professionally prepared design criteria package. The alternative qualifications-based route provides for a licensed design professional to represent the owner during selection. Duties depend on the procurement route.
Florida Statutes § 287.055 ↗North CarolinaDesign-Build BridgingView procurement considerations
Design Criteria Design Professional
For design-build bridging, the owner designates qualified staff or retains a professional independent of the design-builder. This representative develops the criteria package and serves the owner during procurement, design, and construction.
N.C.G.S. § 143-128.1B ↗Indiana-based. Additional markets considered subject to required individual licensure and firm authorization.
Licensure & working across state lines
Steven Savoie holds an NCARB Certificate, which supports applications for reciprocal architectural licensure. Each state grants its own license; certification does not itself authorize practice in another state.
Before offering or providing services that require authorization in a new state, Savoie Studios confirms and obtains the applicable individual licenses and firm registrations. The states above identify public design-build markets of interest, rather than a claim of current registration in every state.
Individual reciprocity and firm authorization are separate steps. State-specific prerequisites and business registrations—including professional firm requirements in Illinois and North Carolina—are reviewed before an engagement proceeds. Approval timing varies.
About NCARB reciprocity ↗How we begin
Start with a focused conversation.
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.