Design Resources

The GSA Regional offices, their Service Centers, and Building Managers are responsible for implementing improvements and executing First Impressions projects. Through the Office of Design and Construction Programs, GSA's Central Office provides a range of resources that regional offices can draw on as they work to improve their properties.

GSA Regional Offices

Regional First Impressions Champions advocate, educate, and facilitate program efforts for their regions. With assistance of Regional Champions, ideally, each region develops a prioritized list of projects that they hope to fund, along with a rough estimate of what each improvement is projected to cost. Certain projects are funded as part of the annual budgeting process, while others receive funding only after it is clear that there will be "leftover" funds at the end of the fiscal year. In the case of architectural improvements, typically, firms procured or selected with architectural design abilities in mind; with skill more appropriate for non-utilitarian problems, and high profile projects.

GSA Service Centers and Property Managers

Many of the improvements that happen through the First Impressions program actually take place in GSA Service Centers and with Property Managers. This is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Service Center Associates and Property Managers make decisions on a daily basis that affect the way our buildings look. Often it is their tastes that determine the color of the carpet that is selected, the paint color applied to the walls, or the type of fixture that is purchased to replace the one no longer working. These seemingly small decisions can have a disastrous, cumulative effect.

First Impressions fosters collaboration between Property Managers, Project Managers, and Asset Managers, providing continuity regarding designs of sound construction practice, and employing materials, methods, and equipment of proven sustainability, each important for all Federal buildings. Properties which are economical to build, operate, and maintain, are more cohesively realized, and therefore make a better First Impression.