Construction Business Review

Kalin Associates
Bridging Design and Construction through Clear, Sustainable Specifications

Mark Kalin, Kalin Associates | Construction Business Review | Top Architectural Specification Writing ServicesMark Kalin, CEO
A design vision is what architects and designers begin with, shaping spaces that inspire, function, and endure. Yet between concept and completion, that vision often collides with unavoidable demands: engineers adjusting systems, contractors chasing budgets, and schedules tightening by the week. In this vulnerable space, where design intent risks being diluted, Kalin Associates steps in to safeguard it.

Founded in 1984, the firm has carved a niche as one of the industry’s few independent specification consultants. Its twelve-member team manages a database of more than 700 continuously updated specification sections, drawing from decades of experience across 6,000 projects. CEO Mark Kalin and President Jay Ford have built a practice grounded in clarity, sustainability, and close collaboration with architects, engineers, and owners.

“Specs need to be clear, concise, and complete,” says CEO Kalin. “They’re what keep design intent intact and costs under control.”

Jay Ford, President
This philosophy drives the firm’s role as an extension of the design team, translating drawings into enforceable specifications that contractors can confidently price and build from.

The process begins early, at the schematic design stage, when decisions about scope and materials carry the most weight. Ford, known for championing rigorous scope reviews, ensures each project starts with a comprehensive checklist that surfaces critical questions before design advances. By design development, Kalin Associates delivers a complete project manual, coordinating input from as many as 20 consultants into a single cohesive document. Specifications are structured to include multiple manufacturers, providing owners with cost flexibility without compromising quality.

A defining strength of the firm is its leadership in sustainable design. Since 2002, Kalin Associates has written specifications for hundreds of LEED-certified projects, ensuring that sustainability goals enhance rather than compromise the architect’s vision. It is equally fluent in sustainable design standards such as Living Building Challenge, Estidama, and Passive House. At the same time, its proprietary database incorporates research on green materials and performance metrics, giving designers confidence that their choices will withstand scrutiny in the field. In one project, a client shifted mid-design to pursue LEED certification, an abrupt change Kalin’s team absorbed without derailing either the design intent or the construction schedule.

The scale of its work is another differentiator, with the team managing roughly 300 projects annually across 37 states. This diversity of codes, climates, and materials allows lessons from one project to inform another. Its reach spans higher education, airports, public agencies, and large mixed-use developments. Notable work includes specifications for the Museum of Fine Arts Expansion in Boston, Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, Boston’s Logan Airport, NYC Science Towers, and numerous multi-family projects.

  • Specs need to be clear, concise, and complete. They’re what keep design intent intact and costs under control


A clear example of impact is its collaboration with MIT. Over three years, Kalin Associates worked with MIT Facilities to update the university’s extensive design standards, integrating innovative technologies without losing the protections that safeguard design integrity. Today, those standards guide over $6 billion in construction, ensuring MIT’s ambitions are realized consistently.

Behind these results is a team deeply engaged with the profession. Kalin, a Fellow of the AIA and CSI, has chaired national committees and taught at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Ford, on the other hand, brings operational rigor and decades of specification experience. Together, they lead a staff whose expertise influences both client projects and industry standards.

For architects and owners, Kalin Associates delivers more than documentation. It provides confidence that design intent will be upheld, sustainability goals achieved, and costly surprises minimized. In an industry where clarity can make or break a project, the firm ensures vision and reality align.