GGLO

“This has been a remarkable year for us in terms of project and client opportunities and staff growth,” said Ellen Southard, director of marketing for GGLO. The firm has grown to 95 employees from 82 in 1999. The firm provides services in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, planning and urban design. Primary markets include multifamily housing design and mixed-use, single-family residential, hospitality and retail design.

Gross fees are $8.5 million in 2000 and are projected at $11 million for 2001. The single-family, hospitality and retail market segments have grown considerably, according to Southard, and the firm is expanding regionally with work in Denver and parts of Oregon and California. “The travel schedules can be complicated,” she said, “but with all the gains we’re making in technology, we do not find it necessary to open satellite offices at this time.”

The firm's hospitality and retail markets are growing rapidly, said Southard.

Projects this fall include The Willows Lodge in Woodinville and the Widney Moore Gallery in Portland, Ore. Both projects were set for publication in national periodicals before they were completed, said Southard.

One the greatest challenges this year for GGLO was locating a new affordable office space that allowed for flexibility and future growth. On Nov. 20, the firm will move from the Second and Seneca Building to Harbor Steps North. Harbor Properties has been a client for many years, with GGLO providing interior design services for Harbor Steps.

“We were also our toughest clients when it came to the tenant improvements of our space,” said Southard. The internal design team weighed difficult questions about future staff growth, use of sustainable materials and a space flexible enough to accommodate new technology.

She said the design trend GGLO has most frequently grappled with is the use of sustainable materials. “We have a strong commitment to green design, but it's difficult to convince some clients that there is a long term cost efficiency value to many of the products and systems that are environmentally sensitive.”