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BUSINESS NEWS CREATIVE ENERGY UNDER ONE ROOF Siegel & Strain Architects ’ search for new office space was labeled “Under One Roof” because the firm had accommodated its growth in two office spaces for some time. The new light-filled studio, at 6201 Doyle Street in Emeryville, is just two blocks from their previous home and comfortably accommodates the whole team in one place. Being together is an essential ingredient in the team’s collaborative process and office culture. The firm, which first opened its doors in 1985, is busy with a variety of projects and recently promoted several staff members: ❚ ❚ Senior Associate Marjorie Smith, AIA, is leading the UC Berkeley Hillel Center project, which is currently in construction. ❚ ❚ Senior Associate Michael Hayden, AIA, is leading the firm’s many projects in Yosemite National Park. ❚ ❚ Senior Associate Karen Richards, AIA, is engaged in the schematic design of the new Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree, another National Park Service project. ❚ ❚ Lindsey Moder, AIA, is the director of historic preservation. The scale and scope of the firm’s historic work has grown over time. Moder is currently leading the Golden Gate National Recreation Area Historic Hangar Buildings project in the Presidio of San Francisco. Several Siegel & Strain projects are hitting key milestones, and practice leaders are active in industry and community events: ❚ ❚ Two projects will start construction this winter: The Brisbane Library and the Oakley Recreation Center. ❚ ❚ The National Environmental Science Center
in Yosemite National Park has reached an important construction milestone as the first five buildings near completion. Principal Nancy Malone, AIA, notes that the shape and intention of the full project are coming into view. ❚ ❚ The Bishop O’Dowd Center for Environmental Studies was recently honored with the Acterra 2017 Business Award for Sustainable Built Environment. Principal Susi Marzuola, AIA, highlighted that project in her recent talk at the Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change conference in Sacramento. ❚ ❚ Principal Henry Siegel, FAIA, recently served as a juror on the national Solar Decathlon competition organized by the Department of Energy. ❚ ❚ Principal Larry Strain is presenting at Greenbuild this week in Boston and participating in a day-long workshop of the Carbon Leadership Forum. BURNS & MCDONNELL APPROACHES MAJOR MILESTONE AND PREPARES FOR RAPID GROWTH IN ATLANTA After supporting hundreds of projects across the Southeast U.S. throughout the past two decades, Burns & McDonnell is expanding operations in the Atlanta metro. The 100 percent employee- owned global engineering, architecture, construction, environmental, and consulting firm will hire its 100th employee-owner in Atlanta before the end of 2017 and plans to grow its workforce by 25 to 30 percent in 2018. “With the complex regulatory and infrastructure challenges our clients and communities face, there is a great need for quick, comprehensive engineering, architecture, and construction services,” says Oko Buckle, Burns & McDonnell principal and general manager of
the firm’s Atlanta and Orlando offices. “We’re focused on expanding our team so we can provide even more sustainable solutions to our clients.” Backed by an international team of more than 5,700, the firm’s Southeastern offices support the region with a wide range of services, from water, wastewater, power generation, transmission infrastructure, environmental, and business technology to aviation and industrial facilities. The office has successfully managed nearly $160 million in projects with clients in a variety of markets such as Hartsfield- Jackson Atlanta International Airport, McCain Foods, Boeing, Monsanto Company, Duke Energy, Southern Company, City of Madison, Georgia, and Fulton County, Georgia. The firm is currently ranked No. 1 in Power by Engineering News-Record and named an Alpharetta Business of Excellence by the city of Alpharetta for the third consecutive year. Burns & McDonnell also ranks No. 16 among Fortune ’s 100 Best Companies to Work For and has been recognized by more than 20 publications as a best place to work across the country, including the Atlanta Business Chronicle . Buckle says the foundation of its award-winning company culture is employee ownership. “Employee ownership drives everything we do, our growth and our employee engagement,” says Buckle. “This ownership culture allows us to attract and retain the most innovative, entrepreneurial, and client- focused professionals in our industry. Our commitment to our clients is that we have the best team that will work the hardest on their behalf.”
CONFERENCE CALL, from page 7
leadership development program for staff in the prime of their career, and we use outside programs such as the ACEC Senior Executives Institute for those advancing into top lev- els of firm leadership. “We only use historical data as a check when establishing budgets. We develop a zero-based estimate for each project when establishing the budget. Every project and every client is different and should be treated individually.” TZL: What’s your prediction for 2018? AM: 2018 will be better than 2017 as our backlog has grown significantly and we don’t see any slowdown in opportuni- ties.
AM: We only use historical data as a check when establish- ing budgets. We develop a zero-based estimate for each project when establishing the budget. Every project and ev- ery client is different and should be treated individually. If we can control the scope and schedule, we prefer to use a lump-sum contract as it allows us to establish a fee that best represents the value we bring to the project. TZL: The talent war in the A/E industry is here. What steps do you take to create the leadership pipeline need- ed to retain your top people and not lose them to other firms? AM: We’ve created a staff development office that focuses on the training needs of our staff – both assisting in iden- tifying the training needed/desired and finding the train- ing resources. We also have three levels of leadership devel- opment: a young professionals group to assist in the lead- ership development of interested younger staff, a senior
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THE ZWEIG LETTER February 5, 2018, ISSUE 1234
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