Licensed architect Dave Douglass AIA wants to help people sail through the permitting process when building a new construction or adding on to an existing building. He can help design and gain approval for a plan that will work for the location and meet all of the town ordinances.
“I knew I was going to be an architect
before I was 19 years old,” said Douglass. He attended Wentworth Institute of
Technology in Boston and is now licensed in Maine and New Hampshire. He is also
certified nationally by the National Council of Architectural Registration
Boards and a member of the American Institute of Architects. He is also the chairman of the Windham
Planning Board.
“I have been doing architecture since I
was out of school in 1999, designing commercial properties, residential
housing, real estate developments and car dealerships. I’m never going to do
anything else. I love technical things.”
His full-time job is as a building
envelope consultant for a local firm. However, he is taking on clients to help
them design everything from a single family home to a multi-million dollar
estate on the lake. He works closely with town code enforcement officers to
help with permitting for people’s projects and providing them with stamped
drawings they need to meet ordinace.
“As a licensed professional I can take a
few hours of my time and make a client’s life much easier,” he said. “The
(building) code is getting stricter and changes all the time. The old fashioned
way of doing things isn’t working anymore.”
Douglass has been involved with a Windham
program call “Bridge the Gap” which strives to help people go from plans to
permit with as little problems as possible. Working with the code enforcement
officers, he is able to put together what they are looking for in plans and
create a marriage between what the client wants and what the code enforcement
officer says the project requires .
Douglass describes his job as fun. “I
like designing for people. I’m extremely good at problem solving. I have the
patience to work through an issue and come up with the right solution,” he
added.
The difference between a drafter and an
architect is that plans created by a drafter then have to be approved by an
architect. With Douglass the process is streamlined.
“I want to offer my professional
services to the local community because there’s generally a need for it,”
Douglass said.
Designing additions is not his only
talent. Douglass has a knack for fixing and building cars, creating furniture,
painting with watercolors and welding, to name a few. With his experiences he
is able to explain to builders how things can be done to meet the codes and
make sense in the real world.
“I just enjoy the design, meeting people
and helping others,” he said. Typically when someone needs design work they
have an idea, they’ve bought the land, have saved items to Pinterest or have
ripped pictures out of a magazine, then they call Douglass for his help. He
will go to the client’s home where he can get to know them, what they are
looking for and to see the site in the case of an addition. “I’ll go wherever
they want,” he said.
“Architecture should be very personal. Good
design doesn’t have to be expensive,” he added. Prices range depending on the size
of the job and the amount of time put into it. It can run from $500 for
something small to $25,000 or more for an expensive custom home.
“I’m a really simple guy. I have a good
eye for detail and I see the big picture. I’m really good at finding the right
solution,” Douglass said.
His dream job would be to create a
monument or a world class museum, which is typical of all architects, he said.
In reality, he would like to create a monumental estate on the lake with a
contemporary flair, something he hasn’t had the opportunity to do yet.
For more information or to get in touch
with Douglass call at 207-807-6661 or email davepdouglass@yahoo.com.
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