What is success to you might be different to how the architecture industry views success. One thing is certain: Everyone wants and deserves more. And to have more, you have to learn how.
I am not here to discuss the philosophical concepts behind our drive as architects to be better or have more. I am here to promote a better life for architects. More recognition, more clients, more awards, more money, and what is most important for me personally: more freedom and more time for yourself, your family, travel and spirituality. Maybe you are happy where you are, or maybe you struggle, but either way, all of us could benefit from knowing what to do to improve the state of our careers and the offices we run.
You may think you aren’t motivated by money, but money is a scorecard in the game of business, and “winning” is fun!
Nothing is cheap these days. If you tried to buy a house, a car, or pay for college tuition lately you know exactly what I am talking about. The price of everything has gone up and will continue to as inflation is on the horizon!
It is also a fact that the profession of architecture does not pay well. Working for someone else often means being undervalued, under-appreciated and yes… underpaid. For any brave souls out there, determined to do something on their own, the industry doesn’t make it any easier to start a business. You might be paid to dream up new realities, but how do you create your own success and take control of your well-being?
If you are anything like me, you probably follow the incredibly successful design professionals and celebrity architecture studios thinking that they reap the type of opportunity that never comes your way. They seem to be somehow above the problems you might be facing. But is that really the case? Or perhaps they go through exactly the same struggles as you, except they found a way to overcome them and came out better on the other side?
People say all sorts of things. I am sure you’ve heard things like 'Zaha made it because of family money, Bjarke because of his father’s connections', and many more stories like that. They might be true, but they could also be used as an excuse for why it’s hard for you to be like them.
Therefore, I think it's time to examine our belief system and explore why we think something is or isn't possible in architecture. It is time to take personal responsibility for your career and see if what you have been telling yourself is really all there is to it.
If you have even the faintest dream of achieving more in this industry, becoming a better architect, leaving a legacy and being in control of your life, your freedom, your time and your income, you have to keep educating yourself in business.
“An investment in education always pays the highest return”.
Benjamin Franklin
Therefore, I made it my purpose to help educate you in business, marketing, communications and sales to help you with one thing and one thing only: To attract better clients and projects and elevate your financial wellbeing.
2022 was a specifically significant year for me as I launched Disrupt Symposium- the Business of Architecture virtual event which quickly leaked into physical happenings, tons of press collaboration and now also a Magazine!
I couldn't be prouder and more excited about what this year brought into my life, but what makes it really special is the new relationships I have developed with all of you, the fascinating group of entrepreneurial architects, who valued this idea and continued to support it from its inception by attending these events and joining my personal coaching programs, allowing me to personally influence your successes.
To make this state-of-the-art compendium of knowledge possible I established a very unique collaboration with C-level leaders, partners, directors, founders, and editors-in-chief of the most prominent architecture businesses in the world.
In one year alone at Disrupt, we collaborated with UNStudio, SOM, BIG, Zaha Hadid Architects, Safdie Architects, Snohetta, Gensler, Perkins&Will, Woods Bagot, Herzog de Meuron, Grimshaw, Architectonics, HOK, HKS, MACE, Dewan Architects and Engineers, Amanda Levette Architects, WallaceLiu, Office Untitled, K-Studio, Archdaily, ACTAR Publishers, Architizer, AEC Magazine, The Architects Newspaper, Archisearch, Parametric Architecture, Architecture Hunter, Chaos, Graphisoft, Z by HP, HP Anyware, IE School of Architecture and Design, Tunarch and Zweig Group.
Disrupt Symposium is organised under the tagline:
“Success leaves clues”.
Why? Because I believe that success is not some kind of mysterious code you have to crack in order to get what you want. It's a set of principles, rules, a system, and a plan of action that has been implemented before and worked. Therefore, if you want it to work for you, it can. All you have to do is learn what actions and thought processes behind the blueprints are applied daily by the most successful thinkers in our industry.
Disrupt is where you go to learn more about those exact blueprints of success in architecture.
Of course, by attending the events you immerse yourself fully in the experience and are given the unique opportunity to interact both with speakers and the community at large.
This magazine is a summary of the different topics we have been unpacking throughout the year, as it gathers interviews, articles and tons of other highly educational resources straight from the myriad of conversations generated throughout the year.
Here are some topics you can learn about:
1. How to value your time and get paid upfront.
Big architecture studios give very little of their time away for free. They figure out a way to get paid for front-end work that the other guys don’t charge for. And when they do quote fees they are less concerned about their cost to deliver and more concerned about what they think the client will be willing to pay. They know giving too much away is a slippery slope that is hard to get out of later. So they set the expectations early as they understand this to be fundamental to making money in this business. This year we unpacked the topic of money with American architect and author of “The Business of Architecture” book Kathy Dixon who joined us at the May edition of the Disrupt Symposium to share her expertise and help you understand how to run a financially successful architecture firm.
2. How to be selective about who you work for and begin to only serve the highest quality clients.
Successful architecture firms don’t just jump in their car, or get on a plane every time a new potential client reaches out to them for help. They study the situation and see how that specific client and project fits into the business they are trying to build. And if they sense anyone is going to be difficult to work with or resistant to paying a proper fee for their efforts, they drop them – fast – before wasting much time. You can’t make a lot of money if you work for just anyone.
But how do you create a good business strategy that helps you get the clarity you need as to who your ideal clients are? In our first Disrupt Symposium edition in May, we were joined by partners Chris Mulvey and Sean Scensor from Safdie Architects who shared with us how they realise mega-projects out of a 50-person office in Boston, delivering a “Michelin Star” quality of service to their clients. UNStudio supported us throughout the year with UNSense Director Filipo Lodi speaking about value-adding activities through design services. His presentation was focusing on diversification in business and the importance of practice positioning through research and innovation. This topic was further unpacked in the November edition when Ben van Berkel joined the Disrupt stage to speak about how sustainability has become a unique value proposition and a client attractor for the firm.
In November, we were also joined by Winka Dubbeldam, founder of Architectonics who during her presentation gave many examples of how her practice cooperates with top industry experts on all project delivery as well as how the team uses innovation to save money and deliver highly sustainable solutions to their clients.
Oftentimes architects go into business preoccupied about what's next for them – next client, next project, next paycheck; overlooking the importance of planning for success. Two experts from the Zweig Group: Philip Keil, principal and Director of Strategy and Christina Zweig, Marketing Director joined the Disrupt editions to speak about “Strategic Planning for purpose-driven Leadership”, and “The AEC Workforce of the Future”.
3. How to create an unshakable brand that brings you the reputation and clientele you deserve.
As a business consultant for architects, I work with all-scale architecture firms and solopreneurs, many of whom, at the beginning tell me that if not for their business development efforts, they’d have little to no work. But this is precisely because they don’t invest in branding, communications, marketing and public relations. A way to keep high fees, good quality of projects, and afford to hire and invest in good people is to become good at branding. We covered the topic of branding and marketing extensively by inviting BIG’s partner for Global Brand and Communications Daria Pahhota who gave us an interview on the topic of "Identity of the Architect: Culture and Communication". Finn MacLeod, Global Communications Lead at SOM, and his colleague Fadi Asmar taught the audience about the value of brand differentiation and "Storytelling to Strengthen and Humanise architecture businesses". Archdaily’s very own David Basulto presented a keynote on Digitalisation and Opportunities for Architects. We also learned from the founder and editor-in-chief of ParametricArchitecture Hamid Hassanzadeh about publishing and creating alternative streams of income through expert positioning online. Amanda Ferber, a young architect and curator of the world's biggest, architecture-only, Instagram profile, Architecture Hunter, joined us to teach the audience how to utilise social media to spread your brand message, globally, building an unshakable image for your services. And finally, Marta Buges from ACTAR Publishers spoke about the power of publishing monographs and sharing design methodology through the medium of a well-published coffee-table book.
4. How to get specialised and lead your practice through research and expertise.
Specialisation rules in the AEC business when it comes to making money. This doesn’t mean you can do only one thing. Obviously, the larger you get, the more specialisations you can have. But one thing I know is clients don’t want generalists! They want design professionals who are experienced in the type of work they need done for other client organisations similar to theirs. If you are truly specialised, you should be better at what you do, and you should be able to do it more efficiently than other firms that are doing something different for their clients. Rarely, if ever, have I seen being a generalist pay off in terms of firm success in this business.
Dimitris Karampatakis, founder of a Greek Architecture firm called K-Studio joined us on stage to speak about the power of "Becoming an expert in your Niche". Yehia Madkour, Director of Innovation at Perkins&Will, spoke about how the practice's research efforts into sensor technology has developed into an alternative source of monthly income based on the SAAS model for the practice. Harry Ibbs, former Director of Technology for ZHA, now a director at Gensler disclosed how design and technology can help you grow your business.
5. How to keep your people and build inclusive equitable teams.
Everyone is talking about the upcoming “great resignation” we are supposed to soon be facing. I don’t believe that the crazy percentages of people who are expected to quit in the next year will necessarily apply to firms in our industry, but I do believe those firms that can consistently keep their turnover rates down perform better than those that don’t. It just makes sense. Low turnover looks better to clients and increases efficiency. To have low turnover, firms need a real sense of purpose. They have to pay their people well. They need to invest in the tools and training of their staff. Especially today, it is more important than ever to remain flexible in terms of accommodation of varying work schedules and locations (for a wide variety of reasons). These things are essential if you want to keep your people in your company.
Jette Cathrin Hopp, Director of Acquisition and new projects at Snøhetta spoke about people, processes, projects and how to build a people’s first business. Jee Liu, founder of WallaceLiu spoke about "People culture in the workplace". Kimberly Dowdell, the new AIA President-Elect and a Marketing Principal at HOK spoke about "Diversity and Inclusion in the work environment". We were also joined by Amanda Levete's very own Head of Operations: Martha Darling who disclosed how to recruit and retain your people in order to ensure steady growth for your business.
6. How to be optimistic and confident about your business growth.
Those principals who have real confidence and are optimistic about their futures and the future of their firms do better than those who are negative. The financial performance of their firms reflects the optimism and confidence of their leaders. But what makes you confident and what is the direction confident leaders look into?
Principal of Zaha Hadid Architects, Patrik Schumacher joined us to speak about the metaverse and the new opportunities for design, held in digital realms. We have learned that looking into innovation and staying on top of trends adds confidence and builds new income streams! Given that the topic is very hot these days, I also invited metaverse and NFT innovator Krista Kim who gave us a great insight into the economy of the metaverse: property ownership and rentals. We also discussed future possibilities for business in the Metaverse with Ammar Al Assam, CEO at Dewan Architects. All these experts joined us to give actionable advice as to how to branch out and benefit from this new opportunity.
Technology, digitalisation, alternative business models, and digital marketing all those buzzwords mean new worlds, new possibilities, evolution and progression. With that progress comes the development of both hardware and software that can better support our adaptation.
We spoke extensively about "Information Management to increase productivity and profitability" with Fabio Roberti, Regional Practice Technology Leader at HKS. We also had a wonderful insight into Design Technology and client relations within Herzog de Meuron as well as Grimshaw, as we welcomed their Directors of Design Technology: Michael Drobnik and Andy Watts. Marzia Bolpagni, Associate Director at MACE joined us to speak about "Industry 4.0 for the Build Environment", covering even more innovation and technological approaches to the design and management of your team.
In order to help you fully understand how to best utilise all these possibilities, we have been joined by Barbara Marshall and Ken Hauck, Industry Strategy Directors at Z by HP and HP Anyware, who spoke about how architects can best "Drive business agility and productivity in the age of hybrid work". Access to the right computer can positively impact productivity and profitability, particularly in complex 3D environments like architectural design and engineering.
Chaos, creator of V-Ray technology, have curated their own keynote with Bartosz Domiczek and Artur Tamiola from Commonpoint, who advised on the "Next steps to push your freelance career forward". They covered most of the things that an artist clashes with within the creative industry, like self-promotion, self-development, and high-profit clients. Many architects turned arch-viz artists because the production of renders has proven for them to be a faster turn-around project and a valuable business model to pursue. We were also joined by Nikos Nikolopoulos of CreativeLighting, who in detail showed us how the lighting in our render representations can be a game changer for the way you show and present your design work to clients.
If you are an architect, engineer, or designer within the AEC industry you most likely have not been taught business at school. Until today, universities did not acknowledge the importance of equipping future designers with business education. Jeronimo van Schendel, Director of the Master in Business for Architecture and Design at IE School of Architecture and Design spoke at Disrupt twice this year about “Disrupting the built environment through business-focused architecture education.”
If you are on the professional career path and want to grow your entrepreneurial abilities, you have to start with knowledge. This platform and all of us as professionals are here to help you understand, get inspired and see things from perspectives that have perhaps been hard to access, until now.
You are not alone, you are a part of a global entrepreneurial community of architects and designers who strive for a better and more fulfilled life. So welcome, stay hungry, stay curious and stop hiding. Make your voice be heard and make yourself be seen as this is how you open new doors in your life. Connect with one another through this community and learn to express yourself better to your clients and potential stakeholders!
