TZL 1392 (web)

We’ve created stronger relationships and can pivot faster. TZL: How do you anticipate COVID-19 permanently impacting your firm’s policy on telecommuting? KH: Moving forward, we’ll have a blend of virtual and in-person. I do know that 100 percent of the staff is interested in returning to work in some hybrid way. We’ve always had a flex work policy, but many people did not even realize it. My office is in D.C. and even before the pandemic I had remote teams. COVID-19 has allowed us to understand that we can be successful working remotely; it gave us more confidence in being able to manage from afar. In fact, it gives people more control. The policy won’t change, but the practice will. “We listen to staff to find out what’s important to them to maintain top retention. We’ve discovered that environmental and social issues are key for many and we are living and breathing that as a firm.” TZL: How much time do you spend working “in the business” rather than “on the business?” KH: I’ve always been a multi-tasker. I enjoy the strategy side and my primary role is to guide the strategic direction of the firm. However, I can’t do it alone. I have a team to help me handle it all. I cannot manage full-time. I trust and connect with other leaders too. I also stay connected to clients – some key ones. I need to do that to stay in touch with the client experience. I don’t want to lose touch. It’s all about balance. TZL: Artificial intelligence and machine learning are potential accelerators across all industries. Is your firm exploring how to incorporate these technologies into providing improved services for clients? KH: AI is already a primary disruptor. We’re always examining the impact and asking, “How much automation can we bring into the business? How can we use this to make our drawings and evolve documentation?” While it continues to be a challenge, we know AI makes processes easier, often foolproof, and more translatable. We’re currently growing

analytics and doing computational design. Clients want us to not just design, but to analyze performance. We’re making improvements to our data analytics to find out how space can improve performance. We’re also working to speed up process in concept phase and to present clients with a deeper understanding. A visualization tool helps to tie design to operational performance and helps us to think faster and deeper. The analytics and computational design tools that we use for design modeling include Rhino with Grasshopper, SketchUp, 3D Studio, Maya, and TestFit. We use Revit with Dynamo for BIM. For sustainability analysis, we use IES, Sefaira, Diva, and Cove.tool. There are others, but these are the core. TZL: How are you balancing investment in the next generation – which is at an all-time high – with rewards for tenured staff? This has always been a challenge, but seems heightened as investments in developments have increased. KH: We offer a great deal of many of the usual benefits – bonuses, promotions, etc. – but we’re working to balance the younger and older generations. We listen to staff to find out what’s important to them to maintain top retention. We’ve discovered that environmental and social issues are key for many and we are living and breathing that as a firm. CallisonRTKL signed on to the AIA 2030 challenge at its inception. In some areas of our practice, we’ve made significant strides in the right direction – while other areas offer greater opportunities to leapfrog current thinking. We offer our clients and partners the intelligence and opportunity to design all projects to be net zero carbon in operation by 2030. We also aim for all projects to be carbon neutral – including materials – by 2050. Our leadership team is committed to shepherding our four primary initiatives: wellbeing, resiliency, technology and mobility, and human-centric design to drive the change and shape the conversations that bring our world to a healthy balance. We, as a practice, are committed to advancing this agenda, increasing the urgency, and using our global platform to drive the needed change for our planet. We have a Social Action Committee which is led by the younger set but tied to senior leadership, and we’ve also recently received our Just Label certification (for our North America region), which is sponsored by the See EMPOWERING PEOPLE, page 8

HEADQUARTERS: Baltimore, MD NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 1,200 YEAR FOUNDED: 1946 NUMBER OF OFFICE LOCATIONS: 22 SERVICES: Architecture, brand building, change management, commercial interiors, customer experience, environmental graphic design, health facility planning and transitioning, healthcare technologies and medical equipment planning, historic preservation, interior architecture and design, landscape architecture, lighting design, operational excellence, performance-driven design, planning and urban design, protective planning, store planning and design, surplus properties, technology design and workplace strategy MARKETS: Academic, automotive, aviation/transportation, civic and cultural, corporate workplace, cruise ships, government, headquarters, healthcare, hospital, mission critical, mixed-use, office building and campuses, residential, retail stores, shopping and entertainment districts, tall buildings and transit REGIONS: Australia, China, Latin America, Middle East/Africa, North America, South Asia, and U.K./ Europe

AY 17, 2021, ISSUE 1392

Made with FlippingBook Annual report