Who Sets crbs Apart
John Richert is the founder of crbs (Crossroads/Blue Sky). John received both his undergraduate and Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and is a Licensed Architect in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. John has been passionate about residential design since his introduction into the workplace in 1989. John is the company’s creative and emotional leader, as well as the lead designer for the all of the firm’s projects. John’s designs have been highlighted in both national magazine publications and the Dream Homes of Chicago coffee table book.
What Sets crbs Apart
crbs is committed to advancing the art and science of residential design and construction through the use of thoughtful, constructive dialogue at all points of the design/build process. Realizing that great projects are the result of partnerships between clients, designers and craftsman, we engage our patrons in a process that synthesizes their dreams and the talents of our designers and craftsmen into beautiful and efficient spaces.
crbs is the culmination of many years of experience serving the design and construction process from a client-driven perspective. crbs is not your average design firm. Nor are we your average contractor. What sets us apart from other firms is our unique approach that seamlessly integrates the design and construction processes for the benefit of our clients. There are no external or internal handoffs between a design team and construction team. This unique process is pure design/build with true, single-source responsibility throughout the entire project from start to finish.
crbs’s truly integrated approach simplifies the overall process for everyone involved, ensures consistency in quality products and workmanship, and keeps project costs from escalating throughout the process. Company owner John Richert charters the project through its various stages so that there is never a “pass-off” between design and construction. By bringing a true, single-source design/build approach together for our clients, crbs provides more consistent communication and reduce errors, thus improving the overall quality of the project and the experience.
In the late 1800’s, John Ruskin wrote: “It is unwise to pay too much but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”