How to Build a Bank: Design
Bank Architecture, Site Selection, and Branch Design in Wisconsin
Starting a bank construction project in Wisconsin is a process we know well, having guided thousands of financial institutions from planning through completion. Whether you are launching a new bank or expanding your branch network in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay or a growing rural community, success starts with the right strategy and the right bank branch location. As bank architects specializing in financial institution design and site selection, we help Wisconsin banks and credit unions make informed decisions that set every project up for long-term performance.
You don’t need to be an expert in bank design, technology or industry trends. That’s our role. Through evoBank®, our evolving-bank process, our architects bring insight that goes beyond the building itself. We incorporate operational strategy, emerging technology and the changing role of banks in Wisconsin communities to design branches that serve customers today and adapt for tomorrow.
Start With Strategy: inVision
Before design begins, we lead Wisconsin banks and credit unions through inVision, our programming and feasibility study process, to define a clear path forward. This phase uncovers the full picture of your bank design project by aligning goals, budget, schedule and operational needs from day one.
Choosing the right bank branch location is critical. Using our proven 9-point site selection model, we evaluate visibility, access, market presence and long-term viability to identify the strongest sites for new branches across Wisconsin, from busy urban corridors to growing small-town markets. The inVision process concludes with a defined project scope, conceptual design, schedule and budget, giving you confidence before moving into full architectural services.
Co-Branding
Our bank architects specialize in co-branded bank environments that bring complementary businesses, such as coffee shops, cafes and community spaces, into the branch. For Wisconsin banks and credit unions, co-branding is a proven way to increase foot traffic, boost visibility and strengthen community engagement. As one of the fastest-growing trends in modern bank design, a co-branded branch gives people a reason to walk through your doors even before they become customers.
Bank Design
Bank Design Makes a Difference
Our approach to bank design goes beyond what the space needs to do and delves into how the space can be best utilized. Our bank architects do this in terms of the bank’s convenience for their customers and the role the bank can serve within its community. By designing a bank with customer convenience in mind, we can shift the experience from one of necessity to one of relationship-based.
Efficiency, Convenience, and Functionality
We design warm, welcoming bank environments while applying financial services planning expertise to improve operational efficiency and reduce long-term cost. Through new construction, renovations, or tenant improvements, our bank architects can optimize workflows and right-size staffing, helping institutions meet client needs with fewer full-time roles over time. That can mean avoiding a backfill after a retirement or reducing projected hires, creating meaningful life cycle savings across the branch network.
We Do It All.
Our bank architects’ interior design services deliver a complete, brand-forward package, from durable materials and finishes to coordinated furniture, fixtures, artwork, and merchandising displays, plus long-lasting carpet and tile selection. Your branch interior is a direct expression of your bank brand and culture, shaping first impressions, improving the customer experience, and supporting employee attraction and retention.
Making Bank Interior Design Work
Blending the interior design within a bank’s floor plan is essential. Whether a project is new construction, remodeling or a tenant improvement, we know during the design phases to account for essential interior design elements that will eventually fill the space. Part of what we look for when we’re listening to our clients and asking about their vision for their bank is to uncover elements of their brand and culture that can be built into the image of their space.
Explore PocketBank
Expanding into new communities is a top priority for today’s financial institutions, but traditional brick and mortar construction is often seen as costly and slow. PocketBank is HTG’s compact branch design approach that uses the latest technology and efficient project delivery methods to make branch expansion faster and more affordable. A physical branch remains the most powerful way to build relationships and show long-term commitment to a community, and PocketBank helps Wisconsin banks and credit unions do just that for less.
Bank Architecture
Our Area of Expertise
Our bank architects have thousands of financial institutions in our portfolio, and while banking might look different today than it did even five or ten years ago, the value of banks and the role they play within communities is as strong as ever.
inVision, Programming and Feasibility Studies were specifically created for our community banks. It was a way for them to establish the Scope of the Project before committing to full architectural and engineering services.
Through inVision, Programming and Feasibility Study, we focus on listening to our clients and uncovering how our bank architects can best help them. You see, there’s no single answer for what the right approach to bank architecture is, but once we hear our clients and combine what they bring to the table with what we bring to the table, the results tend to speak for themselves.
Working Hand in Hand
Once all of the Research and Planning, Programming and Feasibility Study and Architecture and Engineering drawings are complete, the project can go out for bidding and permitting. By using our project management services, we will help our clients select a local General Contractor. We work hand in hand with our client, the contractors and vendors responsible for all elements of bank construction.
New or Remodel?
Whether your project is new construction, a remodel of an existing space or a tenant improvement, we will work with you throughout every step. We will not only design a space or a building, we will also coordinate the furniture, signage, banking equipment, city processes, contractors, etc. This allows you to continue spending your time running your bank while we take care of the project needs.
Our goal is always to serve the client and listen to them, and we stay right by their side, handling the various needs that can arise throughout the project and ensuring the design we put together is executed.
There are unique differentiators within your brand, your story, your community, and your vision. Those differentiators, combined with our experience and expertise, can create partnerships beyond buildings.