| NEWS | DESIGN | BUILDING | DESIGN TOOLS | ENVIRONMENT | CULTURE |
| CULTURE | ||
|
|
International Practice | |
|
|
First Hong Kong Biennale | |
|
|
|
|
||
|
International Practice New market for a specialized capability. Some of us have specialized practices, and we are always on the lookout for clients who need that expertise. Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) and Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) are just two of the firms whose commitment to high-rise office design makes it logical that they pursue opportunities overseas where many of the most challenging high-rise projects are being planned. Creation of an interesting practice. I used to refer to our initial international projects as "yeast" — they helped make the dough (our practice) rise. This might be a clumsy analogy, but creating a challenging and interesting practice is a valid objective. Interesting practices attract better staff, media attention, and clients. As Burt Hill CEO Peter Moriarty noted, "The prospect of overseas travel and international work could and should be a recruiting and retention assist — especially since so many of our staff in the future will be immigrants or their children — many of whom will retain ties to their country of origin." Building credibility for future domestic opportunities. Some firms find that they can get projects overseas that enhance their ability to get similar work back home. Because international clients are often not as focused on demonstrated expertise in a particular project type, it is often possible to get projects that can be used to convince a more focused North American client that you are qualified to design their project. Scope and challenge. The scope and challenge of some overseas projects is unmatched domestically. For those who find the opportunity to design multimillion-square-foot mixed-use developments, entire new university campuses, and new cities exciting, most of these opportunities are overseas. Profit. Some international work can be extremely profitable. The 2006 AIA Survey on "The Business of Architecture" found that the surveyed firms reported that, while the cost of doing business internationally is higher, "profitability is comparable" (AIA 2006, 57). Mission. Some of us believe in the oldtime religion — that our design expertise can change people's lives for the better. In our case, our professional commitment to the belief that the physical environment plays a part in the health and health care as well as the housing of the frail elderly has helped support our involvement overseas. We — and many other firms — believe we can make a meaningful difference in people's lives, and that alone justifies the effort to work overseas. Globalization. National boundaries are becoming less relevant each year. Firms are not only working internationally but using international resources to carry out the work. Each year more firms are outsourcing drafting, rendering, and other tasks to the highly talented, low-cost resources developing in countries like India and China. Thus, as the AIA Handbook of Professional Practice article "Practicing in a Global Market" states: "International practice has become a reality for American design firms" (Williams and Meyer 2001, 100). Case Study: Personal Global Practices It is possible for a centrally controlled firm to operate globally if the founders have the appetite and stamina required. Two large U.S.-based firms — Arquitectonica and Rafael Viñoly Architects — have demonstrated that major, global practices can be built to support the design interests of the founders. Arquitectonica is a 400-person practice, based in Miami, with overseas offices in Lima, São Paolo, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Paris, and Madrid. Rafael Viñoly has a New York staff of approximately 150, with overseas offices in England and South America. Both firms have many projects around the world. In most cases, these projects came in because of the founders' design reputation. What is hard to understand is that both firms are the personal extensions of their founders: the husband and wife team of Peruvian-born Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear leads Arquitectonica, and Uruguayan-born Rafael Viñoly leads his firm. While both have strong supporting casts, the founders lead virtually all aspects of their practices from business development to design. In both cases, it involves record-setting airline mileage. Case Study: Been There, Done That International practice is neither necessary nor of compelling interest for many firms. For firms that have the option to work internationally, deciding to stay home requires discipline. Polshek Partnership Architects is the type of firm that could do work internationally if it wanted. With its high-profile work for a long list of major U.S. clients, it has the reputation and expertise to compete effectively for a wide variety of international projects. But after successful projects in France and Korea, the firm stopped pursuing work overseas. As Managing Partner Joseph Fleischer explained, "We are busy closer to home. In addition, most of the partners have young children, and the required travel would be a hardship." Discuss this article in the Architecture Forum... Bradford Perkins, FAIA, MRAIC, AICP, is the founder of Perkins Eastman Architects, a 750-person international architectural, interior design, and planning firm based in New York. He is also the author of Building Type Basics for Elementary and Secondary Schools and the coauthor of Building Type Basics for Senior Living and Architect's Essentials of Starting a Design Firm. This article is excerpted from International Practice for Architects by Bradford Perkins, copyright © 2007, with permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons.
|
|
|
