Architects always want their buildings to look good and work well, but recent events have caused them to think more and more about another quality — security.

“Any time there are significant events, the industry has a tendency to react,” explains Gary Chandler, managing partner of McGranahan Architects.

For firms such as McGranahan, which specializes in school construction, the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado were one such event. The tragedy prompted architects to place more emphasis on making student activity areas more visible to staff members, says Chandler.

Now, the threat of terrorism has created more far-reaching security concerns, forcing architects to give even greater thought to “designing buildings around the ability to control comings and goings,” says Chandler. “The challenge for architects is to accomplish that without making our buildings oppressive.”

Look for such features such as plazas, monuments and flagpoles to double as barriers against vehicles crashing into buildings, says Chandler. He also suspects structural requirements may be beefed up to match those already in place for hospitals and police stations.

National tragedies aside, the last three years have been good for McGranahan, says Chandler.

“We’ve enjoyed a vitality that has been unmatched ... in the whole history of the firm,” he says, noting annual revenues are double what they were six years ago.

Two factors fueled that success, says Chandler, a strong economy and a renewed focus on design itself.

“We’ve always been a very pragmatic and practical firm,” he explains. “We’re putting much more emphasis on the design process. We involve the whole firm in the design in a variety of ways.”

Although that focus remains strong, the economy does not. And with the state facing a big budget shortfall, McGranahan is preparing for a possible “pause” in some state-funded projects such as the expansion of Clover Park Technical College. McGranahan recently completed the design for that project, but about 20 percent of the contract involves work that will occur during construction, which could be delayed.

Even so, McGranahan’s focus on public school construction — which is funded mostly by local bond issues and will likely proceed — puts it in a better position than some firms, says Chandler.

“Some of my friends in the industry have some legitimate concerns about the so-called pause,” he says. “But it seems we’ve managed to escape relatively unscathed, at least for the time being.”

McGranahan currently is working on designs for expansion of the University of Washington/Tacoma, where it is converting old warehouses into classrooms.

“It’s a challenging and rewarding process,” says Chandler. “We can create spaces inside these buildings that allow their historic character to show through, but that also are exciting.”