The Crew is Getting Bigger!

Fearless Leader here for a special news update from Blogville: You heard right, the Crew is getting bigger....and much better.

As you know we are registered to practice in 14 (soon to be 16) states, mostly in the West and South. We work in all of them from time to time but with limited resources and travel budgets it is hard to be in a single market consistently. So what's a firm to do?

Image via Wikipedia

Well, seems a whole lotta folks in this profession have some time on their hands right now, some pretty talented ones, too. So, we have rounded 'em up and put 'em to good use.......Sorry, I'm getting a little bit of a twang to my writing ever since I added that picture (that is not us by the way).

Actually, we did a very in depth search for just the right people and have added them from afar via a very forward thinking arrangement. So with our new collaborations there are now crew members in Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas and New Orleans.

This is a very exciting adventure. With over one thousand people responding to our calling, we found a dozen really great people to associate with. Over the next weeks and months you will see how this gives us the ability to service our clients in a much richer and relevant manner in the aftermath. I can't wait to share.

Jumpin' on the Greenwagon

Everything is going Green. From the new Green Network on cable to a book I saw at the store last week about "eating green". Every where you look its all about the green. Green plumbers, green pest control, green, green, green. I've been told by the Crew to be very careful about this subject. They know my disdain for fakery and nonsense in the business world. So bear with me as I try to navigate some tricky waters here.

I think the underlying movement of a greener humanity is remarkable at its very roots. We started on this planet as a part of nature like every other plant and animal inhabitant and have managed to move beyond that through our technological genius. The industrial age of technological genius, however, is leaving the planet in ruins. What we are doing cannot be sustained. So instead of returning to the old ways, which is never going to happen, nor should it, we are merging the two worlds of nature and technology to create a better place for all creatures. That part I really like.

What I don't like is the Greenwagon. Everyone that cares more about how they look to the rest of the world is jumping on in amazing and stupid numbers these days. I mean, do we really need green yoga? In my opinion yoga is already about as green as it gets, so a phrase like that is redundant and self serving. There are examples like this everywhere you look and our profession is no exception. I want to expose a really big one and this is where the tricky waters part comes in.

Lets get right to the heart of the matter, right to the very center of the Greenwagon with a thing called LEED. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit organization, and it provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Individuals recognized for their knowledge of the LEED rating system are permitted to use the LEED Accredited Professional (AP) after their name, indicating they have passed the accreditation exam given by the Green Building Certification Institute, a third-party organization that handles accreditation for the USGBC.

What that really means is that you can put LEED AP after your name if you have passed a test that shows that you understand how to rate products and buildings, not a test that shows that you are proficient in green design. Big difference! I am a registered architect and passing that exam was all about my knowledge of architecture and not about my knowledge of how to rate architecture. This is where I have a problem with the Greenwagon.

A couple of years ago I toured a building in downtown Boise, Idaho that was the first LEED certified commercial building in that city. It was an old warehouse that had been turned in to offices and it was brilliantly transformed. I was curious as to what exactly qualified it as LEED certified and was astonished at what I discovered. One of the qualifying criteria they got points for was planting trees. I'm pretty sure that the least environmentally conscious architect on the planet would have gotten points for that because the City of Boise would have required by ordinance for those trees to be planted, regardless.


Front 5 Building, Boise, Idaho -Modus Architecture


There are many similar aspects to a LEED certified building. For example, you get credit for using certain materials even if it is the only cost effective building material in the region and nothing else is available. In other words, everybody gets those points. I don't fault the attempt to rate buildings so much as I don't like some professionals using it to make them look superior to their competition; using LEED as a Greenwagon marketing tool.

The other big issue is one that, interestingly enough, is a direct result of our economic downturn. There are an untold number of architecture and interior design graduates that are unable to find a job. To keep themselves relevant in the profession they are taking courses and becoming LEED certified, allowing them to put the LEED AP designation behind their name. We get several resumes a week like this. Now, mind you, these are kids who have never worked a day in an architectural firm, never had a meeting with a client, never dealt with municipalities or general contractors. Probably never even been to a jobsite! But they are LEED accredited experts! I was a newly graduated architecture student at one time and when I look back, boy was I dumb. It takes years of experience to become an expert at anything in this profession and still every project brings on new, never-before-seen, challenges. I'm sure that in time, these students will also realize this once the market picks back up and they actually get a chance to work.

Where am I going with all of this? Well, I guess I'm trying to say "buyer beware". Any good architect, LEED AP or not, will use the skills he or she has learned over the years to make a building work to the best of the client's needs. Just having the initials after the name doesn't necessarily do the trick.

In this month's issue of Architect (www.architectmagazine.com) the cover story is about a clever little storage barn in Washington, Connecticut. This building is about as green as you can possible imagine, with solar panels for electricity and a ground source geothermal system for heating and cooling, just to name a few of its features. But not once does the article or the architect elude to LEED certification. It simply goes without saying. The Greenwagon need not come by because they don't need to get on!

Storage Barn -Gray Organschi Architecture

Curtis Architecture started our green practices in 1994 and actually had a "Green Architecture" division that was quite passionate in digging up what few ideas existed at the time. It was a struggle back then and things have come so very far in 15 years. We dropped the division in 1997, not because we gave up, but because we decided that everything we did naturally was green in its intent. We didn't need a special classification within the organization to prove that. We also decided that much of the green that was going to happen needed to be with product manufacturers. We thought the market was turning in the right direction and sure enough it was. LEED was established in 1998 and it's been off to the races ever since.


So, I hope I've made it through the rapids unscathed. I don't hate LEEDS or being green. Like Kermit the Frog used to say, "it isn't easy being green", but it is the right thing. And it will be a better place faster if we all stay green in the right context.

So, what kind of architecture is it that you do do?

Sometimes the responsibility of being Fearless Leader comes with waking up at 3:30 in the morning thinking about things and not being able to get back to sleep. It's really ok. My most creative thoughts come to me at that time and it's usually best to just get up and put them down while they are fresh.

Image via Wikipedia

So this morning I am mulling over that question that is most often posed to me in casual conversation right after I say "I'm an architect". Usually the very next question is something like "What kind of architect are you?" or better yet, "Do you do houses or buildings?" I can always tell the knowledge level of my new friend by how that question is phrased. It allows me to decide whether the next thing out of my mouth is, "Yes, exactly, do you come here often?", or "I think I hear my mom calling, I gotta go."

But it actually is a very legitimate question to ask and it was something The Crew and I were discussing just yesterday. Well, most of us anyway. Jon has decided to backpack in Colorado for three weeks so he is probably looking at the great Milky Way every night pondering far deeper things.

So, for us, we decided that what kind of architects we ARE is more important than what kind of projects we DO. For instance, if you have never used an architect before and you are opening a small restaurant with your life savings you are going to want someone to walk you through the process, step by step. You may really need us as an ally to help you through the tumultuous permitting phase. You may need us to help with kitchen equipment selection and colors and finishes. You will also feel more comfortable with your contractor if we help you oversee the construction process. On the other hand, if you are seasoned in the construction process, work for a large company and have a prototypical product that repeats dozens of times in dozens of cities you will probably need us in a far different way. You will already have materials and methods that you want to adhere to. And you may only need us to help obtain a permit, leaving the construction process to you.


I am very lucky to have The Crew, like minded creatures that leave their design egos at the front door every morning and truly look at what it is each client needs. Sometimes it is high design. More often it is not about the design at all, but all about the service. As a bunch we truly do seem to get more satisfaction over great problem solving and making people happy than how a design is going to make us look to others. Don't get me wrong, The Crew can design when called upon to do so. Just look at the samples at www.curtisarchitecture.us. But better yet, they all have a knack for being able to customize their services to meet the specific clients needs at a specific point in time. That's what kind of architecture we "do", and it makes a leader proud. (lump in my throat)

Enough said, if you want proof, you will just have to try us out. I don't know of a better way for you to really know if what I say is true. Now, it's only 4:30 am, I'm going back to bed.

How to get by in the Aftermath

The way the Crew sees things, this whole economic meltdown was caused in great part by two things.....early on,greed. Then fear.

The housing boom started sending things in the wrong direction and was mainly fueled by speculation. Small investors wanted a piece of the action and went way over the line by buying 2,3 or more extra homes so they could flip them for a quick buck. Banks and other lenders jumped in the fray offering loans with ridiculous terms and gave them to investors that had nothing but hope for collateral.

In Phoenix, the census gods follow housing starts to estimate population growth and told us all how many people were moving here. Retailers bought in to that and started leasing space and opening new stores wherever they could. Developers built lots of new space to hold them all and rents skyrocketed. They also built lots of new office buildings to house all the new workers that were going to fill all the new houses.

And with all the new stuff we were going to need to buy from China and elsewhere overseas we built lots of warehouses to store it in, because California was out of space to hold things, we decided to step in and save them.

Dentists and doctors by the dozens opened up new fancy practices on the city fringes waiting to take care of all the new citizens...........that never came.



Now it's obviously not as bad as the picture would indicate, but there are some lessons to be learned here and if you learn those lessons you should do just fine in the Aftermath.

Lesson One: Don't be greedy, we are all in this together; architects, engineers, owners, landlords, brokers, users, lenders and contractors. I know of an owner who recently bid a project and it came in over budget. 15% over what the bank would lend him. A friend of the owner told him that the three bids seemed high in this economy and he should easily be able to get them to come down 20%.

Well if you know anything about this industry right now you would know that there isn't a contractor in the country that has that kind of fat in a bid. What needs to happen is the owner needs to build what he can afford and not try to blame the contractors for charging too much, the bank for not lending enough or the appraiser for not valuing his collateral high enough.

Lesson Two: Understand that the Great Recession is not just a lull in the status quo. There will be permanent changes in the Aftermath. Those days of 2003-2007 are days gone bye-bye. The comeback will be a cautious one for everybody involved. There is simply too many houses unlived in, too many see-through office buildings standing as lonely reminders of this.

Foreclosures on the housing front are starting to stabilize but the commercial foreclosures are just beginning and may need several years to sort themselves out. Status quo won't cut it. What cool heads and great minds figure out will determine where we go from here. And it might just turn out better than we now imagine.



Now that picture is more like it! For us, caution, courtesy and caring is the way to go. If that sounds a little cheesy so be it. But I have found that contacting old clients and other friends in the industry and talking through our troubles together has had a great effect on our mutual attitudes. The human side is starting to resurface. One where greed and fear seem to have no future.

The Aftermath

I've given quite a bit of thought as to where we head as a firm in the Aftermath of the Great Recession. And when I say Aftermath, I mean when things start on the upswing and clients are looking for architects once again. I don't really think we are there yet. New work is still pretty scarce and cash is flowing like thick mud.

But as we do move ahead into the Aftermath, things will be different. Kermit Baker, chief economist for the AIA states that "...architecture is a cyclical industry, with very rapid growth or steep declines. The steady state is never there." I have indeed noted that over my 25 years in the industry and it's never been more obvious than this time around. The recessions of 1984, 1993 and 2001 have nothing on this one. There was another bad recession in 1976 that I am too young to remember, but those that do say this is even worse than that one, too.



For us, things were crazy busy from about 2003 until 2007. We could not get enough work out the door. We could not find enough good employees because they already had jobs. It was hard to take vacations. We were making mistakes because we rushed things and clients were willing to overlook them because they had even more work for us to do. We even had to start outsourcing as a way to get work finished on time. Things were hectic.

Now things have changed. Clients are still demanding. Business is still hectic, but in a very different way. Every detail of every project is scrutinized by our clients as they attempt to make their thick mud spread as far as possible. Invoices are being rejected if every reimbursable expense is not clearly backed up with receipts. Hourly rates are questioned. Timelines are being stretched as clients wait for bank financing to pay fees. No one seems to be in a hurry. And to make things harder, the competition for new projects just got a whole lot stiffer. Large architectural firms are now going after work that they would not have even considered a year ago. Employees that have been laid of are striking out on their own.

So the simple formula is this; less work, more competition means more or less, no work!

But it's not the end of the world. For those firms that are creative and can see the big picture there are opportunities. Reinvention in the Aftermath is a must.

Next: Our formula for reinvention in the Aftermath.

Remodeling-The Way to Go in This Economy

As we sloooooowwwly start to come out of the Great Recession I think everyone is going to be just a wee bit cautious about jumping headlong in to things. Being prudent only makes sense. And with so many buildings left vacant it will be a while before full out construction of new buildings happens. Remodeling and fixing up what you have will be the status quo for a while.

Enter Curtis Architecture and the Curtis Crew. We have been remodeling and renovating from the start so this part comes easy for us. Many architectural firms that used to get big work are now searching for tidbits like this. And sometimes they just don't do it well. They try to run it the only way they know, like a big job; nice and tidy and official.........and expensive!

The Crew can get in there and get our hands dirty like no other. What's are secret? Well, I'll tell you outright what it is and no big firm is gonna copy this one, because they are scared to.

Big sissies!

What we do special is this: We, as architects, design our own mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.

"Oh!" you gasp, "can they do that?"

The answer, of course is yes. In every state we work in it is legal. But almost every architectural firm in the US refuses to do this. Because they don't know how, don't want to take the time to learn and are afraid of the insurance implications..........because they don't know how and don't want to take the time to learn.

I, Fearless Leader, learned to do all of that as a way to keep more of my fees during the early lean years. I then taught the entire Crew. So, with one meeting and one Crew member we can look at your space with a very different eye to remodeling and save you tons of cash at the same time.

Are you in the mood for a remodel? Call me direct: Dustin Curtis, on my cell phone: 602-620-4088 and let's have a little conversation.

Oh, did I tell you we're easy to reach?

Now for Something with Substance

It has been a few years now since it dawned on me that a good specialty for architects to get in to would be the design of nursing homes. With the aging Baby Boomer population reaching retirement age it only made sense. But like any specialty in our business you don't just waltz in and start doing nursing homes.

But it still was something I had an interest in and we recently got a big break in that department. A small design firm out of Vancouver, Washington asked if we would be willing to collaborate with them on nursing home projects. They had the experience, we had the ability to work in multiple states. It was a match made in heaven and we have already begun our first joint project in Gresham, Oregon.

The company, SCM Design, has worked in this field for over six years and has good relationships with several nursing home operating companies. The types of projects include skilled nursing facilities, assisted living centers, and Alzheimer's special care units.

Give us a call, let's talk. There's more to learn in an interview than can be written here.