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entitlement process, projects can take years to complete – if they ever get approved. Dunn and co-founder Mark Hogan were both associates at San Francisco-based David Baker Architects before forming OpenScope. Both have an institutional knowledge of the ins and outs of the public process, and both are experts in sustainable urban housing. Dunn and Hogan have put their knowledge to good use. Though thefirmwants to remaindiversified, it has also found a couple of niches – installing new housing units in existing buildings, and working with the city’s planning department to interpret some of the most taxing environmental and land use regulations in the United States. Inpartnershipwith the SanFranciscoPlanningDepartment, OpenScope even wrote the 100-page handbook, Accessory Dwelling Units . Other lines of business that are expected to grow, and in which OpenScope is active, are affordable housing for seniors, veterans, and the homeless. “We don’t see that market slowing down in the near future,” says Dunn. As the east end of the city continues to develop into a high- density, high-dollar area, firms like OpenScope expect to remain busy. But even in good times, architecture firms aren’t immune to the problems facing the population at- large. Due to soaring rents and property values, a number of firms are working out of homes, or, like companies across the business spectrum, moving across the bay to Oakland. “When you’re competing with Google, it’s hard to get office space,” Dunn says. Services (Eden Prairie, MN), were given this award in 2015. More firms are expected to win this award in 2016, and Zweig Group is offering a financial incentive for those that do. “With an extensive educational agenda and networking opportunities in a beautiful setting, it’s an event that anyone who wants to learn about success in the industry cannot afford to miss!” Winners of all the awards will be celebrated at the 2016 Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference held at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix on September 22-23. With an extensive educational agenda and networking opportunities in a beautiful setting, it’s an event that anyone who wants to learn about success in the industry cannot afford to miss! Apply to Hot Firm, the Marketing Excellence, and the Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership Award today at zweiggroup.com/awards. CHRISTINA ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s director of research and marketing. Contact her at christinaz@zweiggroup.com.

CHRISTINA ZWEIG, from page 5

Twenty-nine firms were both Hot Firms and Best Firms to Work For. Merger and acquisition activity was partially responsible for large changes on the list, but 62 percent of last year’s firms grew organically during the three-year period. GATE, Inc. (Houston, TX), has climbed the list by leaps and bounds over the past few years to hit the number one spot in 2015. LJA Engineering, Inc. (Houston, TX), just made it onto the list in 2013, taking the number 100 spot, but steadily climbed the list over the next three years to land in the number two spot last year. Landpoint, Inc. (Bossier City, LA), number four on the list in 2015, has stayed near the top of the list after a climb from number 28 in 2013. The firm was narrowly edged out of the number three spot last year by O’Neal (Greenville, SC), a company that is no stranger to the top 10. From 2014 to 2015, the average growth rate increased from 108 percent to 115 percent, and median growth rate increased from 74 percent to 88 percent. Will the trend of increased growth rates continue for 2016? Our experts predict yes, but we won’t know until entries close June 1. Last year, the Trifecta Award was introduced, an award honoring firms that win three separate awards: Hot Firm, Best Firms to Work For, and Marketing Excellence. Three firms, Maser Consulting P.A. (Red Bank, NJ), GARVER (North Little Rock, AR), and Westwood Professional

SAN FRANCISCO, from page 7

economy is awash with cash from Beijing. According to an April report by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Rhodium Group, since 2000, Chinese investors have pumped about $3 billion into the Bay Area, with about $1 billion of that invested just last year, and more is expected in 2016. Regardless of how much money has poured into the city, at least one key problem remains unsolved – housing. There is not enough of it, and what’s available is increasingly out of reach for ordinary residents. The result is a big market for residential, especially multifamily. “When you’re competing with Google, it’s hard to get office space.” OpenScope Studio , a San Francisco firm established in 2013, is in the thick of the action. The firm’s mantra is simple. “From a business standpoint, housing, housing, and more housing,” says Ian Dunn, one of OpenScope’s founding principals. Firms from across the West Coast have descended on San Francisco, and what they have found is that the city is a tough place to work. Growth boundaries, federal parklands, and topography, have all come together to forma challenging environment. And with a rigorous permitting and

THE ZWEIG LETTER May 9, 2016, ISSUE 1151

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