Mulvanny G2

Mulvanny G2 has experienced tremendous growth in the past two years and was recently recognized as the fastest growing architectural firm in the country by The Zweig Letter, an industry trade publication. The firm is currently practicing worldwide and has offices in Bellevue, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Sterling, Va., Boston, Mass., and Taipei, Taiwan. The firm offers architecture, interior design and project management services in commercial office, interiors and retail markets.

In 1998, Mulvanny employed 204 people. In 1999, the firm merged with Seattle-based G2 Architects, and by the end of 1999, the firm had grown to 275. Today, it is still growing rapidly with more than 340 employees, including more than 95 licensed architects.

Firm revenues have also increased significantly with 1998 totals at $16.3 million and 1999 at $27.8 million. Annual revenues for 2000 are estimated to reach $44 million. Clients include The Boeing Co., Carr America, Costco Wholesale, Hines, Intracorp, Nike, R.C. Hedreen, E&H Properties, the Puyallup Indian Tribe, Safeway, Unigard Insurance Group and Worldco Corp./Factoria Mall. Some current projects include the 430,000-square-foot Bellevue Technology Tower; the Eleven-One-Eleven Fourth in Bellevue; the 29-story, five-star Elliott Hotel in downtown Seattle; the 220,000-square-foot Tacoma Convention Center; and the 42-story China

Construction Bank Regional Headquarters in Xiamen, China. Mulvanny G2 is designing a new state-of-the-art office for its Bellevue office. By bringing the recently merged staff of Mulvanny and G2 together under one roof, the firm hopes to hasten the integration process, according to president Mitch Smith.

He said the firm is positioning itself to market “smart” office buildings, with a focus on design that is flexible and tenant adaptable, including air and cable distribution under the floor, redundant infrastructure and support services to reduce risk of downtime, and multiple fiber providers.

One of the firm’s growing areas of practice is the design of new mixed-use “town centers” in outlying urban areas. Projects underway include the Factoria Square Neighborhood and the Tri-Cities Vista Field District complex. Office space design is another specialty. “Office space is designed as a tool, and is less of a symbol of status,” said Mark

Gribbons, principal in charge of Mulvanny G2’s interior design studio. New office features include “huddle space,” which is near the copier room and provides an opportunity for impromptu meetings, fully wired living room settings for casual or individual work, and “touch-down stations” for quick, short-term visits from consultants or out-of-town staff, said Gribbons. In addition, more amenities are being designed into the workplace. For example, Safeco’s new call centers include family rooms where staff can play video games, read a book or watch television. In response to employee requests, Mulvanny G2 is having a rock climbing wall built at ATL Ultrasound’s campus in Bothell.