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April 26, 2000

Omid Nabipoor, Interface Engineering

By ANNU MANGAT
Journal Staff reporter

Omid Nabipoor
Nabipoor
Omid Nabipoor, president
Firm: Interface Engineering
Corporate HQ: Portland; offices in Kirkland, Sacramento and Salem
Established: 1969
Staff size: 150
Focus: Mechanical and electrical engineering with specialties in code consulting/fire protection, architectural lighting and low-voltage power systems.

Q: How does working in Portland compare to working in the Puget Sound region?

A: The business strategy is different in Portland because we have a bigger presence in that market. We're the largest mechanical and electrical firm there, so we have a lot of project experience, pre-existing teaming alliances and long-term relationships.

In the Puget Sound area, the market has changed significantly in recent years, so there has been less time for relationships to be built up within the industry.

I believe that because of the value of land and also the fact that the Puget Sound has been a little bit busier, there are more design-build or negotiated projects in Seattle. But, I wouldn't say there's a huge difference between the two markets.

Q: What are the challenges of design-build projects?

A: On design-build, the challenge is for engineers to find a role that takes the best advantage of their core competencies. As engineers and contractors, we have to respect one another and know what values each party can bring.

We have developed a strategy we call "design-assist," where we come into a team and work for an owner to develop really tight, good criteria early on, so that they can get a contractor on board. Then we act with the contractor as a team to bring the project within budget and within the owner's expectations. The contractor offers their skills in value engineering and construction efficiencies; we provide our core competencies in design and in coordinating the project.

Q: I've heard you were doing work for Disney at the age of 19. What did that involve?

A: I started in this business when I was 16, just out of necessity. Soon after I'd come from Iran, there was a revolution and a subsequent cut in relations between Iran and the U.S. I didn't have any support, so I got an American family to adopt me. I immediately went to work for an engineering company. At that time, I was doing drafting and design soon after that. I was fortunate that two of the lead engineers that I worked for were doing a lot of work for Disney and some casino work as well. So I worked on the Epcot Center and designed an air conditioning system for the Queen Mary.

"We need to satisfy our own desires, but we also have a need to do good for humankind. To me, that means if you treat your clients that way, if you treat your employees that way, you really get the best combination of both."

Q: How do you use technology at your firm?

A: We use technology to make the incidentals of our work -- like document preparation or drafting standards -- as efficient as possible.

Externally, technology has changed the way we design services for buildings. Years ago, design fees for the mechanical portion of projects were much greater than design of the electrical. Now, the costs are a lot closer and sometimes higher for electrical systems in technology buildings. We're seeing that is changing the focus of our clients.

We have offered our knowledge of IT systems to our clients. Recently, we designed and installed a network system for MCA, an architectural firm. We have all the network people in house -- telecommunications designers, electrical engineers, as well as programmers, so we were able to meet all sides of that need. We also procured the equipment, installed the system, did the troubleshooting and trained their employees. It takes us past the traditional role of an engineer.

Q: Which of your specialties is growing the fastest?

A: Code consulting, which addresses fire and life safety issues. Complexities in building design are raising issues that are not easily understood in terms of code. We are probably the only engineering firm that has a special focus on that. We don't expect our mechanical engineers to just become fire protection engineers; we hire licensed specialists in this area.

Q: What values shape your business philosophy?

A: I always had interests in both economics and engineering. More than that, I've always been interested in the human factor, the human aspect of technical work. I found consulting engineering to be a real good combination of those things -- understanding and meeting both the technical and the people side.

As a student, the economists who impressed me the most were the ones that understood that human nature has divergent needs. We need to satisfy our own desires, but we also have a need to do good for humankind, to leave something behind for future generations. To me, that means if you treat your clients that way, if you treat your employees that way, you really get the best combination of both.

Q: What industry trends are you observing?

A: We see a continual compression of schedules. In an active market, especially as facility prices escalate, there's more and more demand for projects to be designed and built faster. Technology tools makes it possible to meet these schedules and come up with efficient delivery systems.

There's also upward pressure on wages in engineering or "salary creep." It's going faster than the increase in fees. Competition from the high-tech industry is one factor. There is also a move toward increased specialization. Core electrical and mechanical systems have pretty much remained the same, but there are more ancillary systems now as buildings become more sophisticated -- such as lighting, fire protection, low-voltage services, security systems and the need for telecommunications.

Q: Given the high demand for engineers, how do you recruit them to consulting?

A: By having them understand the creative side of the profession. Not everybody wants to inhabit a world where compensation is high but you're stuck in front of a computer all the time. We offer exposure to the people side of engineering. We also offer ownership. Interface is an ESOP company, so each employee is a participating owner.

We do a lot of outreach with universities and offer internships to raise students' awareness of what consulting engineering is and what we do. The challenge for a lot of consulting engineering companies is not always the technical need; it's finding people who know how to communicate in a manner understood by the client.

Marcus Whitman Hotel
Interface is providing mechanical and electrical engineering services for the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla. The architect for this mixed-use renovation project is Fletcher Farr Ayotte of Portland.
Rendering courtesy of Fletcher Farr Ayotte
Q: What are your thoughts on sustainable design?

A: We're really happy to see the concept being addressed by the design and construction community. We have been practicing green design for years and have a number of showcase projects in our portfolio.

I see a danger in taking an all-out approach to sustainability, which could alienate our clients. We should not measure all projects by the same yardstick; sometimes small steps can be as important as large ones. Green thinking can apply to an individual system within a building, even if the entire building may not fit the classification. For example, cooling through indirect and direct evaporation is simple and effective. We have used occupancy sensors, which automatically turn heating, lighting and air conditioning off in spaces that are not occupied. Just air conditioning and lighting a space account for the majority of energy consumption in a building.

Education of owners and tenants is really important for the ultimate acceptance of the concept.

Q: What types of projects do you find most interesting and why?

A: Personally, I like renovations of old buildings. I started my career doing projects that were aesthetically sensitive and spatially complicated. I find it interesting to see how things were done 100 years ago and how you can improve a building.

We're now doing the EcoTrust project, a historic building in Portland being renovated with a lot of environmentally sensitive strategies, such as evaporative cooling, natural ventilation and daylighting.

Another renovation project we're working on is the 70-year-old Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla. In addition to the hotel, it is being re-developed into office, retail, residential and convention space.



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