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For regional design consultants, the economy has pulled out of its long turnaround and is accelerating dramatically.
Most Design 96 survey respondents are growing, and some are growing rapidly. Architecture, interior design and engineering firms report new opportunities in the private sector and in certain public markets such as schools and prisons.
New public/private partnerships and alternative delivery systems continue to produce a heady mix of government buildings, retrofits and historic renovations, institutional projects, cultural and civic facilities, economic development projects and low-income and special needs housing.
Strength in high-tech and higher education markets is also reflected in survey responses. A surge of investment in the private sector is bringing hotels and even speculative office projects into the offices of Northwest design firms.
Among niche markets there are some interesting surprises. Evangelical congregations continue to build and expand. Credit union projects are keeping some firms busy.
Service niches such as underwater bridge inspection and fiber optic cable engineering support thriving small companies.
Small firms in markets such as housing, restaurants and retail are holding their own and gaining.
But in much of the public sector, uncertainty is the only constant, and consolidation is the order of the day.
The future of low-income housing, which has grown into a very important market for architects, rests on private financial participation but uncertain government support. Firms in the transportation infrastructure and health care markets are also weathering the doldrums of uncertainty in public policy and funding.
Environmental consulting, which has represented a growing market for geotechnical engineering firms for over a decade, faces a future of unpredictable government funding and uncertain private support. A recent Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce survey shows that the days of rapid and steady growth in environmental mitigation contracts, especially from the public sector, is over, and a period of consolidation and downsizing is underway.
Coffman Engineers Inc. is seeing an increase in gross sales of about 40 percent in 1996 over a volume of $9 million in 1995.
The firm has increased staff size over the last year by about 20 percent, largely due go the merger with the Spokane engineering from of Peden, Petersen, Lee. Seattle office growth of about seven percent reflects strong markets in health care, office buildings, technology, and program/construction management markets. Coffman also maintains full service offices in Spokane and Anchorage.
Coffman has seen the need to deliver structural, mechanical and electrical engineering design documents within extremely short time frames continue to present challenges in permitting, owner review, and quality control. Industry leaders such as Microsoft, Nordstrom and Kaiser Aluminum have multiple projects ongoing with short completion deadlines, requiring early on intense communication between contractors, owners and design team.
Increasing owner dependance on construction managers to assist in preconstruction project development has allowed Coffman to expand services in this area. The firm is currently managing a $95 million construction program for the Yakima School District and is providing construction management support for the Benaroya Music Hall in Seattle.
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Emick Howard & Seibert Inc. (EH&S), reduced staff overall in the first three quarters of 1996, but is now adding to the current staff of 20 to accommodate an increased work load through 1998. Sales and construction remains even with 1995.
According to principal Jack Emick, "Our business and marketing strategy has been substantially altered to eliminate our involvement in retail franchise roll out and multi-unit retail locations. In the first two quarters of 1996, we resigned our accounts with Seattle's Best Coffee, World Wrappers and others to more effectively concentrate on prototype and one-off retail projects."
He expects high occupancy rates and the tight leasing market in Seattle and Bellevue to reduce space planning and interior design services volume in the office, but consequently to increase architectural volume via built-to-suit projects. Space planning and interior projects will also increase proportionately through the year as architectural projects develop.
EH&S's main areas of practice continue to be financial, corporate, broadcast and retail. Significant projects on the boards include: Financial facilities for Catholic Credit Union in Yakima, Columbia Credit Union in Vancouver, Wa., Monterrey Credit Union in Monterrey, Ca., and others in Texas, Louisiana, California and various locations in Washington and Oregon; corporate facilities for Chateau St. Michelle, Optiva Corporation, Multiple Zones, and others, broadcast facilities for Entercom in Seattle and Portland Fox Network, TCI and Bonneville; and retail facilities for AT&T Wireless and others.
"We will soon see construction starts in new office building developments of all scales, as well as an acceleration of build-to-suit activity in various geographic locations," said Emick.
Client optimism about growth is apparent, with some build-to-suit clients choosing to build to the maximum allowable limits for a site and to lease out extra space in the expectation that their own space needs would eventually fill the building.
Overall, construction volume and fees grew an average of 76 percent at EH&S between 1993 ad 1995, and Emick expects similar growth in the future.
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Olson Sundberg Architects continues to grow as a nationally recognized design firm specializing in residential, museum and institutional design. The staff has grown from 30 to 37 over the past year.
Current projects include the School of Law for Seattle University, a planning study for the University of Washington Burke Museum, St. Mark's Cathedral renovations, the new Frye Art Museum, and Whatcom Community College's new library and performance hall. Current residential projects can be found in Washington, Colorado, Texas, Idaho and California.
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| The Washington STate History Museum, Tacoma, designed by Olson/Sundberg Architects. Photo by Timothy Hursley. |
"We continue to associate with other architects for special projects including the Washington State History Museum with Moore/Andersson Architects and the Seattle University Chapel with Steven Holl," said Principal Walter Schacht. "These projects have meant a great deal to us in terms of professional development and international exposure."
"We see the effects of increasing globalization," he said. "Increasingly, our clients come to us from foreign countries and other parts of the U.S."
Those clients, said Schacht, are technologically literate and have high expectations for information transfer, graphics and presentation capabilities.
"We strive for a balance between increasing staff demands and maintaining the intimate size of the office," he said.
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In less than two years, Swenson Say Faget, Inc. has nearly doubled in staff size, and anticipates future growth of approximately 10 percent per year. There are plans to add staff within the next several months.
During the last year, billings have totaled approximately $1 million. During that time, the firm has worked on over 500 projects representing a total construction cost of approximately $125 million.
Swenson Say Faget specializes in structural engineering for architectural structures, the firm began practice in January of 1995 with principals who have worked together continuously for over 18 years.
Anticipated growth areas include: multi-family housing, expert opinion, seismic study and renovation to public and private sector buildings.
Samples of recent projects include: the Eagles Auditorium renovation; the Salish Lodge addition; Epiphany Church seismic upgrade; North Mason County Library; the Hoodsport Library relocation and renovation; an addition to the University of Washington School of Social Work; and renovations of Plymouth Congregational Church Chancel, Seattle Vocational Institute, Thompson Hall at Washington State University, and Hutchinson Hall at the University of Washington.
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Business is booming at Coughlin Porter Lundeen. After two very successful years providing structural and civil engineering services in the Northwest, the staff has grown from 16 last year to 26 this year. Billings for 1996 are expected to reach $2.4 million following a $1.7 million total for 1995.
New projects underway include the $25 million Quadrant Lake Union center for Adobe, the Seattle University Law School, Highline Community Hospital, Zymogenetics R&D Facility, Northshore Junior High School and Brezza Condominiums. Coughlin Porter Lundeen continues to gain strength in the seismic upgrade and renovation market with projects such as KCPQ Studios, the Lyon Building, Seattle's East Police Precinct, Microsoft Studios, Commodore Duchess Apartments and various K-12 renovations.
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Associated Earth Sciences has hired approximately seven people over the past year and is keeping everybody very busy. Much of the work consists of ongoing projects that actually started years ago.
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| Skybridge Middle School, Camas, John Graham Associates. |
The firm's ongoing, long-term business strategy includes strong, long-term client relationships and a very low turnover rate with employees. As a result, the firm is able to offer a high degree of stability and understanding of each client's specific needs.
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KPFF has experienced steady growth over the past few years, with billings for the firm up 22 percent in the last fiscal year. The firm was identified last year as one of the 10 fastest growing firms on ENR's "Top 500" list. New offices have opened in the past three years in San Francisco, San Diego and Phoenix, and the total staff number is 331.
Seismic and historic structures are a big part of the business, according to Ralph Iboshi, vice president in the Seattle office. KPFF was one of three firms nationally selected to participate in the SAC Steel Moment Frame Study and has seismically retrofitted several bridges for the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The Seattle office is designing an emergency operations Center for Washington State, and the Portland office is at work on design of seismic upgrades for the Pioneer Courthouse. Both building designs will incorporates the first "base isolation" systems in the Pacific Northwest.
KPFF continues to build on a long history of design marine and port projects. It is presently involved in development of a major container terminal at Pier T for the Port of Long Beach, Ca., and at Terminal 5 in Seattle. KPFF is also designing numerous ferry terminal projects for Washington State Ferries.
Bridge engineering work is a significant portion of the Seattle office workload, and KPFF continues to provide bridge designs for WSDOT in three counties.
"Within the private sector," said Iboshi, "we are seeing a trend toward flexible, multi-use facilities . . . especially in the biotech and healthcare fields. Renovations of existing mixed-use and commercial facilities and regional malls continues to be a wide-spread trend."
KPFF is beginning the initial phases of the Northgate Shopping Center renovation.
Development of new sites remains steady, especially on the Eastside, the firm said.
Building demands for Redmond Town Center continue to grow as new tenants locate to the site. Phase one of the project is already under construction.
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Geise Architects is nearing the end of the second year in the 81 Vine Building in the Denny Regrade, for which the firm was partner in ownership and development as well as architect. In the move, the staff dropped from six to five and consolidated into 20 percent less space. With the addition of CAD stations ad emphasis on computer technology, Geise is able to produce nearly the same volume of work.
The firm is currently at work on two new houses, remodeling of two churches, Cottage Lake Park Structures, a residential remodel and a new 22-unit apartment. Just beginning construction is a project for Homesight which provides nine units of housing for first time home buyers on property reclaimed from the I-90 corridor.
Clients want more participation in the design process and greater value for their money, according to Carolyn Geise, FAIA. They are often choosing smaller spaces -- not because they can't afford larger but because they want to simplify their lives.
Geise also observes that "the permit process is becoming impossible . . . it appears that DCLU is way understaffed." The permitting process for the Homesight project took eight and a half months.
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SvR Design Company has grown in the last year to a staff of 26, hiring four engineers and CAD technicians since January.
Projected billings for 1996 are around $1.7 million, up 13 percent from last year. Of the total work load, 70 percent is in the public sector. A higher percentage is in planning for future improvement projects. This component of SvR contracts has doubled since 1995.
Some current projects include the Ravenna Creek daylighting feasibility study for King County Department of Natural Resources, Holly Park Redevelopment for the Seattle Housing Authority and Popkin Development, and Terminal 30 improvements for the Port of Seattle.
"We see an increasing number of projects with very tight schedules," according to principal Peg Staeheli. Such projects include design for $1.3 million in improvements to Terminal 30 (one month); and construction documents for a $6 million infrastructure replace at the Rainier Vista Housing Community (2-3 months).
From the perspective of a consultant to the public sector, Staeheli cites some emerging challenges and trends: Finding funding for replacement of aging infrastructure; changes in the public procurement process, including reexamination of the low bid selection process; and an increase in public/private partnerships that involve innovative teaming.
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Seattle's longest-established architectural and engineering firm is thriving, according to senior associate Denise Slomian. Now in its 97th year and celebrating ten years of employee ownership, John Graham Associates/DLR Group is the seventh largest A/E firm in the nation, with offices in 12 states and $48 million in annual billings (Building Design & Construction, July 1996).
In the Seattle office, billings rose to $7.6 million, which represents an annual increase of 43 percent with corresponding staff growth from 45 to 68, with more hiring planned. A two-year old Portland office, JGA Architects, also experienced growth.
As designers of more than 83 million square feet of shopping centers and department stores worldwide, the firm intends to obtain more national and international commissions in retail, mixed-use and entertainment. The current Ala Moana Center Phase V-A Expansion ($120 million) serves as an excellent springboard.
K-12 schools are a becoming an established niche. In 1996, Graham/DLR designed projects totalling over $20 million for the Longview, Camas, Lakewood and Bellevue School Districts. North Whidbey Middle School in Oak Harbor and Whittier Elementary School in Seattle represent another $18.5 million currently on the boards. A new instructional technologist adds depth and keeps the firm responsive to trends in education.
Justice projects continue to flourish at the city, county, state and federal level. The most recent project is the $93 million, 1,400-bed prototype for stand-alone institutions in Oregon: the Women's Prison/Intake Center.
John Graham Associates/DLR Group remains active in the design of medical, residential, office, industrial and sports facilities. Projects include McMurray Park Apartments in Richland; the Navy's Disease Vector Ecology and Control Center at the Naval Submarine Base Bangor; and the Hospital Utility/Life Safety and Interiors Upgrade at Fairchild Air Force Base.
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Notkin has a staff of 22, relatively unchanged since the beginning of the year.
The first three quarters of 1996 were profitable for this mechanical engineering firm even though total fees were 3
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| The Frye Art Museum renovation nears completion. Photo by skip Howard |
Significant projects include Benaroya Hall, a new performing arts facility for the Seattle Symphony Orchestra currently under construction in downtown Seattle. The facility will include a 2,500 seat performance hall and a 540 seat recital hall.
Notkin is also at work on the Experience Music Project, an addition to Seattle Center to celebrate the music of the Pacific Northwest, especially the significance of rock and roll legend Jimi Hendrix. Although the "museum" will contain artifacts, it will be an educational and interactive adventure into the world of music. Construction will be complete in late 1998.
Phase I of the Electrical Engineering/Computer Science & Engineering Building at the University of Washington is almost complete. It will house research labs, auditoria, computer rooms, classrooms and teaching labs. Virginia Mason Research Center, a five-story laboratory and associated support facility, is currently in design development.
The firm is also at work on a base area expansion project at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and design and construction services for the Fleet Support Building, the Physical Fitness Center, and the Beverage and Convenience Store and Warehouse. These facilities will provide better services for the increasing population of Navy personnel and their families.
Starbucks Corporate Headquarters Expansion involves renovation of the seventh, eighth and ninth floors in the SODO Center to provide space for additional staff and support functions.
Notkin is also responsible for energy and water conservation projects at Harborview Medical Center and installation of energy-efficient and improvements in the north, south and center wings.
Construction is almost complete on the Bristol-Myers Squibb Barrier Vivarium and Laboratory Expansion, a renovation and addition for transgenic and immunosuppressed animal research.
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CNA Architecture Group has hired seven new people in the last three months, and continues to grow. Gross fees for 1996 are up an estimated 15 percent over gross fees for 1995, which was $6.3 million. It continues to be the largest architectural firm on the Eastside, and continues to specialize in private commercial and industrial buildings, healthcare, and the biotech/biomed industries. CNA has recently emerged as a designer of very large religious facilities.
"In the big picture of development today," according to CNA's Eleanor Walker, "we see a large supply of available funding, a short supply of available land, and a growing demand for the efficiencies and cost effectiveness that result from the nontraditional delivery of design and construction services."
CNA's growth strategy includes continuing to provide integrated design and construction services tailored to the business objectives of clients, willingness to play a range of roles on project teams, from leader to subconsultant, initiate teaming strategies with developers, consultants, other professions, and even clients themselves, and "help our clients align themselves with sources of funding and with sources of land. Be a part of the deal rather than the recipient of award to design a building."
Current project include: Boeing Headquarters (Joint venture with Gerald Gerron Architects), Fife Corporate Park for Security Capital Industrial Trust; Image Entertainment automated warehouse and distribution facility in Las Vegas; a Class A office building for Proctor & Associates in Redmond; and an American President Lines maintenance and repair facility at Terminal 5 for the Port of Seattle; and a Class A office building at Monte Villa Business Park for Quadrant in Bothell.
Healthcare projects include: Children's Hospital at Providence, a family care center at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage; Deke Slayton Center for Brain Cancer Research for Northwest Hospital, Seattle; a medical office building for Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue; ongoing remodels and renovations at University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle; additions and expansions in Wenatchee; a new free-standing clinic in Omak for Wenatchee Valley Clinic, and a variety of projects for Northwest Hospital, Providence Medical Center, and Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound.
Biotech/biomed projects include: climate controlled warehouse for Dey Laboratories in Napa, Calif., research and development laboratories and support spaces for Ostex in Seattle; GLP facility for Panlabs in Bothell; Laboratory for Prolinx in Bothell; and manufacturing spaces for Procyte in Redmond.
Churches include: a new facility (5,000-seat sanctuary) for New Beginnings Christian Center in Portland, in a joint venture with Vern Delgatty; a new facility (1,200-seat sanctuary) for Evergreen Christian Fellowship in Issaquah; a new facility (1,000-seat sanctuary) for Timberlake Christian Fellowship in Bellevue; and a new 2,400 seat sanctuary for Trinity Life Center in Sacramento (joint venture with Vern Delgatty.)
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R.W. Beck's staff has been fairly consistent in size for the past three years, although the composition continues to change in response to client needs.
In order to avoid being buffeted by the inevitable turmoil of evolving markets, the firm is taking innovative approaches to career management.
The intent is to increase the value of R.W. Beck's services to its clients by connecting its staff to market realities -- allowing people to create adaptable, long-term careers with R.W. Beck that remain as highly beneficial to clients as possible.
"Two major changes have motivated R.W. Beck to pursue these innovations and others," said John Forman of R.W. Beck, "the restructuring of the electric utility industry and the rise of privatization. In many cases, the two are combined. The one constant that R.W. Beck's clients have relied on for more than 50 years continues to be the firm's combination of disciplines and skills."
Earlier this year, for example, one of R.W. Beck's clients, an international financial institution, hired the firm to provide Phase I technical review, environmental site assessment, construction monitoring and performance testing for a geothermal project located south of Jakarta, Indonesia.
Closer to home, the firm is working with long-term client, the City of Seattle, in the exploration of a design-build approach for proposed water treatment facilities on the Tolt River. Engineers with water/wastewater experience are joining with others with backgrounds in solid waste and electrical facilities, as well as environmental scientists, economists and financial analysts to give the city the best perspective in making its decisions.
R.W. Beck provides engineering services in the areas of solid waste management; environmental mitigation; electric, thermal plant and electrified transit facilities; water, wastewater and surface water; and construction management.
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Both staff and billings have increased for Mahlum & Norfdfors McKinley Gordon in 1996.
"The West Coast healthcare market has grown in Washington, Oregon and Alaska," said principal Vince Nordfors. "Existing and new healthcare clients are releasing projects."
The firm has began a marketing push into the Alaska healthcare
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| Disease Vector Ecology and Control, NSB Bangor, John Graham Associates. |
Education projects have traditionally been a part of the firm's practice. In the past year, educational work has increased to over 65 percent of the total load. The Suzzallo Library Renovation, the new School of Law, the new U.W. Bothell -- Cascadia Community College Campus for the University of Washington plus the Fulmer Hall renovation and the Student Services Addition for Washington State University have all contributed to the shift, along with the new Chief Leschi School in Puyallup, the new Ballard High School, Seattle Preparatory School Addition, te new Hillsboro High School in Oregon, Bellingham High School Renovation and Tacoma's Lincoln High School addition.
Principal Patrick Gordon sees steady growth in the commercial markets for the next year, and opportunities for the firm in the hospitality arena. Marketing successes so far this year include new corporate headquarters for Audio Precision in Beaverton and the planning/feasibility study for Kruse Woods Athletic Club in Oregon.
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McGranahan Partnership in Tacoma will show earnings of 20 percent over last year and expects even greater growth next year. Although the work is very diverse, the firm's primary focus continues to be in the K-12 school market. The 25-person firm has also been successful is the retail market.
Current projects include a $16 million middle school for the Renton School District and a $16 million juvenile detention facility for Snohomish County.
The firm has focused heavily on pre-design and project startup services and has developed several tools to assist clients in planning overall capital improvement programs.
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Surveying and mapping services have driven growth in the Bellevue office of W&H Pacific, which now fields five survey crews and is on schedule to reach a sales volume of $1.25 million for 1996. In 1995, the survey group's sales volume reached $457,000.
Business at W&H Pacific, which has a total staff size of 250 in five offices throughout the Northwest, has also grown in land development, aviation and transportation services. Total sales of $16 million in 1995 will be exceeded this year. The staff of the Bellevue office, which had decreased dramatically in the early 1990s, has now grown from 40 in 1995 to 54 this year.
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Millett Associates Architects is a small firm specializing in restaurant ad retail design as well as moderate and high-end residential design. The firm's services, which balance efficiency with design impact, are appealing to design-conscious clients with limited budgets.
Project load and staff size are up slightly this year. Millett will contract the assistance of independent professional consultants to handle future growth.
Millett Associates is currently at work on an expansion to Szmania's restaurant in Magnolia and a new Capitol Hill restaurant called the Capitol Club and continues to consult with Beppo, Little Italy at South Lake Union. The firm recently completed a Decatur Island residence.
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Halvorson, Beach & Bower, Inc. (HBB) continues to emphasize the design of mechanical systems for schools and colleges.
Some of these contracts have lead to related opportunities. Work with Washington State University lead to a position on the design team for the new Phi Kappa Theta fraternity house at Pullman. This Paul Allen funded project also allowed for special systems not in the typical school budget. Each room has an individual climate control system which also shows the outside temperature to facilitate major decisions like "should I venture forth or sty inside and connect to the world via the net?" If the choice is to go out, the Phi Kappa Theta parking lot is equipped with an underground heating system to keep it ice-free in the winter.
HBB revenue and staff have remained constant for the past three years, and the firm plans no major changes.
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Berona/Langebartel, Inc., which provides mechanical and electrical design services for public works, healthcare and educational facilities, has retained its staff size of 15 and yearly gross fees of approximately $1 million through 1994 and 1995. The firm anticipates growth of approximately 10 percent in the coming year, based on growing infrastructure needs -- especially in the area of transportation. Berona/Langebartel designs mechanical and electrical systems for facilities needed to support the transportation of people and goods across land, air and sea. The firm intends to obtain more contracts in the private sector, working toward a balance of two thirds public work to one third private.
Major projects include: The Key Arena at Seattle Center, where the firm provided mechanical design services for over $8 million of mechanical systems; the Legislative (Capitol) Building in Olympia, which is undergoing a major systems upgrade; the new Anacortes and Bainbridge Island ferry terminals for WSDOT; the study and design for future renovation of the Hec Edmundson Pavilion at the University of Washington; Washington Elementary School modernization for the Mt. Vernon School District; and work at Providence Yakima Medical Center, Yakima, where the firm has been providing services for almost 10 years.
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Gross revenue from design fees and the value of projects designed has increased 50 percent from the preceding year at Degen & Degen. Favorable market conditions and greater firm recognition have contributed to growth in hospitality design and renovation.
Correspondingly, the staff has doubled in size with the addition of experienced designers and architects.
Projects completed during the past year include interior renovation of the Bellevue Hilton Hotel and national award-winning renovation of The Riverside, a hotel in Portland. New commissions include expansion and renovation of McKinley Village Resort at Denali National Park in Alaska.
The firm anticipates doubling again in size and volume of work during the coming year and continue to market our services for hospitality design both locally and nationally.
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As 1996 draws to a close, Bassetti Architects will begin the celebration of 50 years of architectural practice.
Gross revenues have remained stable, with technology allowing the firm to complete its work with a slightly reduced number of staff.
Business development at Bassetti is focused on several market niches while also responding to the unusual projects that continue to add interest and vitality to the practice.
Public sector projects constitute the majority of the firm's work with educational and cultural projects leading areas of activity. With the completion of the Eve Alvord Theater for Seattle Children's Theater, SCT is again focusing on a planned scene shop addition to their performing arts complex which will be designed by Bassetti. Master Planning for cultural and arts facilities for the City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs is nearing completion. The project includes the evaluation of 12 cultural/arts facilities, 6 of which are historic buildings.
According to Bassetti Architects' principal Lorne McConachie, "Projects for K-12 clients continue to present a thriving market for Bassetti Architects. We are particularly excited about the
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| The new Redmond Library, designed by Bassetti Architects. |
Gargoyles, gateways and elevator cars add an unusual dimension to the portfolio. Working with a local artist, a series of gargoyles are being designed for Mary Gates Hall on the University of Washington campus. The firm is developing design ideas for gateway markers to identify Mercer Island's downtown district. New elevator cabs have been completed for the Space Needle.
Despite a workplace dominated by the drafting board and computer terminal, Bassetti Architects also finds inspiration in the sand and dirt of a construction site. After winning last year's Sand Castle competition, the firm again joined forces with Mortenson Construction Company to construct sand castles as part of the Special Olympics fundraiser at Westlake Park.
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Entranco began the year with 83 staff working in the Bellevue office and have increased their staff modestly this year, by 6 percent. In contrast, offices in Arizona and California have increased staff by 50 percent. The Bellevue office is anticipating adding another five to six staff members in 1997.
The engineering firm, which specializes in transportation, will finish the year with about $7 million in sales for Washington, which is at a typical level with past years. Washington sales volume for 1997 will be in the neighbrhood of $8 million.
Approximately 35 percent of the work is for private clients, with the balance performed for public agencies including King County, Washington and Oregon Departments of Transportation, Lynnwood, Tukwila, Bellevue, and Renton, among others.
Entranco principals continue to be concerned over the lack of funding for local Washington communities much-needed transportation improvements. There does not appear to be a solution on the horizon any time soon.
One market that continues to grow is construction administration and management services for public agencies. Agencies in Washington and Oregon are finding it harder to keep enough construction inspectors and other experienced construction on staff to keep their roadways, waterline, sewer and other projects on schedule. Entranco has a long history of providing these kinds of services.
Over the years, Entranco has placed substantial marketing resources into maintaining and growing relationships with existing clients, in addition to tracking and winning new strategic opportunities. A new in-house ``Client Champion'' program continues to reinforce this emphasis. The program pairs individuals with a particular client. Each client champion is responsible for learning more about their client's organization, and serving as the client's advocate and contact.
What has been different this year has been the increased involvement of younger professional staff in the Client Champion program.
Dale LeMaster, Northwest Regional Vice President noted: "Starting our professional staff with marketing assignments early in their career accomplishes several critical objectives. It encourages people to grow their careers at Entranco. In this business, we all recognize that our strategic advantage walks out the door each night in the form of our employees' collective experience and knowledge. We also do a better job building relationships since there are more of us making the contacts. The advantage of taking a long term perspective with our marketing will prove more valuable with each year."
Another big step in 1996 was the opening of an office in Beaverton, Oregon in the spring. The growth that has taken place in the southwest corner of Washington, along with rapid growth in Oregon, can be better served by a Portland-area office. Entranco projects in the southwestern part of the state include the recently completed environmental process for the City of Kelso's Allen Street Bridge and also on-call construction administration services for Clark County and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Entranco turned 35 this year.
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Mithun Partners, Inc. grew from 62 to 80 staff members in the last year, for a growth rate of 29 percent. Fees also increased substantially to approximately $7.5 million. Of that, 72 percent is for architecture, 18 percent for planning services and 10 percent for interior design.
Mithun is responding to a perceived trend for clients to hire "specialists." A directed marketing approach is based on three project/marketing alliances (grouped by client and project type) within the firm, with the intention of becoming regional specialists in each market sector.
The biggest project for Mithun this year has been the REI Seattle Flagship Store, which has drawn national recognition. Other retail clients are SBC and Torrefazione Coffee, which will be rolling out nationally.
The hospitality market is growing in importance, with hotel, spa, conference centers, and golf club work increasing exponentially. The new Spa at the Salish Lodge has also won a great deal of national attention. Mithun's specialization in this area is taking the firm out of the region, to other areas of the U.S. and abroad. There is now a team in China designing a clubhouse.
Particularly strong is the residential team, with the bulk of the projects in new large master planned communities, specialized senior housing facilities such as the new Kline Galland project on First Hill, small urban infill projects, and American style housing exported to Asia.
The firm anticipates continued growth in staff, plus many more projects outside our region.
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Chalker Putnam Collins & Scott Inc. opened an office in Seattle this year in addition to the main office in Tacoma. In 1996 many major projects are either recently completed or under construction, including the Washington State History Museum; High Schools for Kent, Issaquah, and Chief Leschi; the new Science Building for Central Washington University and the University of Washington Tacoma Campus. The firm anticipates hiring two engineers in the next several months to meet an increasing workload for both the Tacoma and Seattle offices.
The structural engineers, who specialize in consulting to architects, report that it took over $300 million in building construction last year just to maintain a staff of 25.
"Although we have seen a softening of the K-12 education market as many bond issues have failed in the past 18 months, we are currently still doing a number of them which we rely upon for just about half our work load," said president Daniel Putnam. "Once the pent up demand for K-12 facilities is fully funded by the taxpayers, we foresee another wave of growth for our firm and our clients."
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| Columbia Credit Union, designed by Emick Howard & Seibert. |
Keeping pace with architects' different approaches to technological advances is one of the challenges faced as a structural consultant. Some architects' delivery systems are almost to the point of paperless contract documents, as drawings are E-mailed back and forth until final printing. Yet for some architects, the engineer must generate CAD drawings from scratch -- without the benefit of architectural backgrounds. Most architects are somewhere in between these two extremes.
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Loschky Marquardt & Nesholm (LMN) maintained a staff size of 85 last year, with gross fees at an increase of about 12 percent over 1995. Occasionally, temporary staff has been hired to handle increases in work load. The firm has a strong backlog of work, and anticipates that gross fees will increase by 10 percent to 20 percent in 1997.
Much of this increase represents future phases of current work. LMN has participated in a key change in the design and construction industry -- alternative project delivery for public projects as public clients look for opportunities to improve cost, schedule and quality control. LMN has active projects utilizing design/build, general contractor/construction manager and private-public partnership contracts.
Current and recent projects include: the Cougar Mountain/East Village masterplanned community; the Redmond Town Center retail complex; the Hawaii Convention Center, the Washington State Trade and Convention Center expansion and Seattle Symphony's downtown Benaroya Hall.
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Ackroyd, Inc. joined forces this year with the international Rider Hunt Levett and Bailey group, a 210-year-old British quantity surveying firm with a worldwide network of 36 offices. U.S. offices now include Seattle, Portland, Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Ackroyd's recent projects include Benaroya Hall, University of Washington Tacoma Campus, Point Roberts Border Crossing, U.S. Courthouse, Portland, Oregon State University Library Expansion, and Law Enforcement Center Prospectus Development Study, Portland.
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Portland-based Zimmer Gunsul Frasca has had a firmwide increase in staff of 22 percent in the past year, which is attributed to a growing national practice and a strengthened economy in the Northwest. The 60-person Seattle architecture office represents a corresponding increase of 16 percent.
Buildings completed in 1996 include an addition to Group Health Cooperative's Port Orchard Tremont Medical Center; Science Facility III -- Math, Technology and Science Education -- at Western Washington University; the Bothell Library for the King County Library System; and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory in Richland for the U.S. Department of Energy.
"We have always maintained a very diverse practice," said associate partner Nancy Fishman, "and are experiencing strong activity in all sectors, including corporate, commercial, institutional, research, health care, and entertainment."
In Seattle, some of the significant commissions underway include the proposed World Trade Center office buildings for the Port of Seattle and Wright Runstad & Company; continuing work for Microsoft; a hotel at 4th & Spring for Kimpton Hotel Group; a new Marriott Hotel along Seattle's central waterfront; a new academic building for the University of Puget Sound; Phase II of the Mary Baker Russell Music Center at Pacific Lutheran University; and Safeco's corporate facilities needs, nationwide.
Construction is proceeding on projects such as the Phase II Clinical Research Building at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the International District Village Square, a multi-specialty clinic for Kootenai Medical Center in Post Falls, Idaho; and the Haggard Hall Renovation at Western Washington University. Planning is also underway for multi-modal facilities for the City of Everett and for The Link in Wenatchee; and on the Thea Foss Waterway Public Esplanade in Tacoma.
Other major projects firmwide include the Clinical Research Center for the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, a 250-bed hospital and 250,000 SF of related clinical research space; a science complex at Williams College; major terminal expansions to Portland International Airport; a new office building in downtown Portland for the Oregon Dental Service and Wright Runstad & Company; and several light rail transit projects for New Jersey Transit and Tri-Met in Portland.
"We are constantly monitoring our client's respective markets to anticipate their potential expansion or contraction, and issues they are facing," said Fishman. "We are watching closely the impact of construction cost increases in certain parts of the country and continue to see trends toward more partnering of design, construction and development teams to implement projects.
Fishman expects moderate growth in the upcoming year with increases in the commercial office and hotel marketplace, and also foresees increased international opportunities.
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