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SPG Guide to Architects Practice: Everything you always wanted to know about Practice (but were afraid to ask)
Ewen Miller, MD CalderpeelFGP, Colin Fox MD Randfield Associates, Roger Burton MD nvirohaus met at the RIBA NW Solo Practitioners Group with Lisa Raynes MD Raynes Architecture on the first Tuesday of this month in Knutsford to share their gems on surviving and growing architectural practice.
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Ewen Miller on The Highs and lows of recruiting
'Our industry has evolved the portfolio interview process which has its failings and I wish I could offer some pearls of wisdom about how to choose good staff. In fact one of our biggest problems is lack of staff turnover. We have a core of staff presently that has been with the business for almost ten years. Staff retention is always bandied about as a positive thing which it is, however keeping the business fresh and open to new ideas is something that new staff can help facilitate.
We do have a problem in this profession, with a long education system (in my opinion) which also costs a small fortune; the returns on any student’s investment will take a number of years to realise. We are paying our part 1 student less than I was paid in this position over twenty years ago. With less work out there and competition being as fierce as it is we need to start having faith in the value of what we do
The biggest mistakes
Allowing clients to run up huge debts
Not making decisions quick enough
Listening to administrators
The best investments
Staff
Buying Carden Croft an architect’s practice which got us into the PFI arena.
Acquisitions and mergers
One of the most painful experiences I’ve had to go through was, following our purchase of Blue Green Architects, having to shut it down six months later.
Hindsight is a marvelous thing but nothing beats due diligence. Sort everything out and agree at the start, it avoids disagreement later. Be flexible, you can’t prepare for every eventuality.
Our mergers include Carden Croft, who gave us diversification and access into PFI markets.
FGP, who strengthen our super homes presence in the market.
Exit Strategy
You need to evolve structures to protect historic investment and involve and encourage staff to develop and achieve their best. Architects constantly promote staff outside their skill set, get people to do what they do best, that way you also make more money.....
Don’t over value your business, it is only worth the people in it, without them there is no business.'
Colin Fox
'In all, my career now spans almost four decades, three practices and four recessions.
My first, a regional practice, grew from less than 20 staff to around 80 in a 30 year period, twenty of which I was a Partner/Director. The second, a national and then international practice as a Director which the particular task of establishing a new office in Manchester, the third a micro enterprise just in its first 6 months established to pursue sustainable, carbon conscious, Passivhaus design.
Key drivers throughout my career and applied to practice have been
Quality – customer focus, understanding their needs and working together; and in the architecture – design embracing construction technology and building performance.
Understanding adapting to change – this has been significant:
changes in procurement from traditional through D&B to PFI, frameworks, contractor led; changes in the client – the contractor is now a significant employer of architects; legislation – a key are being the environment; and the market itself which has become more competitive both in fees, following the end of fee scales, and quality.
The business environment has become more competitive and challenging. Practices must keep up to date and differentiate in such markets.
What has this meant for the development of the businesses in which I have been involved. Throughout my career I have always felt that low energy and sustainability is a key driver and maintained my personal interest and capability at the leading edge of design and construction, with investment in training such as that to become a passivhaus designer. At my first practice I introduced QA, one of the first practices to be registered,; Investors in People; recognised the potential for growth in regeneration and so trained as an urban designer, a return to my alma mater, Manchester, and set up a new business unit as a result which is still a key element of that businesses strategy and workload; engaged fully with the Egan agenda for increased collaboration and integration with the whole of the design and construction team, now increasingly the industry norm for larger projects; and in my last practice developed the BIM capability for over more than five years such that the Manchester office applies BIM to all projects and is at the forefront of the profession.
My new practice continues to specialise in Carbon Conscious Design.
It must be recognised that adapting to change is a key to survival and business development but will need investment of time and potentially cost in research, training, people and resources.
The Solo Practitioners Group is an association of the RIBA NW and meets in Knutsford on the first Tuesday of every month, providing CPDs, food, drink and an environment to share professional challenges. The group is open to RIBA chartered architects who are Solo Practitioners, either freelancers or sole principals/directors of companies. The ‘SPG guide to’ runs events in parallel on a quarterly basis and is open to construction professionals, and the aim is to provide and strengthen core business skills.'
Ewen Miller is managing director of CalderpeelFGP architectural practice in in Altrincham. He has steered the practice through three mergers, the last (Fallows Gowen Partnership) in September of this year, an administration process which took the business from 70 to 25 staff, the opening of new offices in Poole, Deeside and Surrey, the shutting of two offices in Poole and Deeside, two successful PFI equity bids, three unsuccessful PFI equity bids, the creation of a construction company and the establishment of a small development firm. All this over the last three years during which time Ewen has also just completed two years as president of the Manchester Society of Architects.
Colin Fox is managing director of Randfield Associates, and treasurer of the Solo Practitioners Group.
Roger Burton is an architect and urban designer with over three decades experience directing large and small practices. He has recently established a new business, nvirohaus, to focus low carbon design and sustainability. He is the current Chair of Practice for RIBA North West.
Lisa Raynes is Managing Director of Raynes Architecture and employs 3 young architectural assistants. She established her business in October 2010 out of the firestorm of recession and redundancy - and has not looked back. An RIBA chartered architect, she has 15 years experience in commercial development, housing and listed building refurbishment.
Mother of 3, Lisa is Chairman of the RIBA NW Solo-Practitioners Group, Trustee of Outreach, a charity providing residential care to people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. As past Chairman of Women in PropertyNorth West she has an understanding of the particular challenges facing women. Lisa seeks to help fellow architects wanting to start up or return to what is a notoriously un-work-life-balanced profession.
'Our industry has evolved the portfolio interview process which has its failings and I wish I could offer some pearls of wisdom about how to choose good staff. In fact one of our biggest problems is lack of staff turnover. We have a core of staff presently that has been with the business for almost ten years. Staff retention is always bandied about as a positive thing which it is, however keeping the business fresh and open to new ideas is something that new staff can help facilitate.
We do have a problem in this profession, with a long education system (in my opinion) which also costs a small fortune; the returns on any student’s investment will take a number of years to realise. We are paying our part 1 student less than I was paid in this position over twenty years ago. With less work out there and competition being as fierce as it is we need to start having faith in the value of what we do
The biggest mistakes
Allowing clients to run up huge debts
Not making decisions quick enough
Listening to administrators
The best investments
Staff
Buying Carden Croft an architect’s practice which got us into the PFI arena.
Acquisitions and mergers
One of the most painful experiences I’ve had to go through was, following our purchase of Blue Green Architects, having to shut it down six months later.
Hindsight is a marvelous thing but nothing beats due diligence. Sort everything out and agree at the start, it avoids disagreement later. Be flexible, you can’t prepare for every eventuality.
Our mergers include Carden Croft, who gave us diversification and access into PFI markets.
FGP, who strengthen our super homes presence in the market.
Exit Strategy
You need to evolve structures to protect historic investment and involve and encourage staff to develop and achieve their best. Architects constantly promote staff outside their skill set, get people to do what they do best, that way you also make more money.....
Don’t over value your business, it is only worth the people in it, without them there is no business.'
Colin Fox
- I started my own practice in 1986.
- I had been the project architect for an £18m hospital job (about £
- 50m today) with up to 12 in my team.
- The job was shelved and I could see the writing on the wall.
- I knew Brian Randfield of what was ‘Randfield and Morris’ and went to talk to him about setting up in practice.
- I did ‘foreigners’ but had no real job on the go.
- Brian offered me some part-time work and Brothertons wanted me to sort out the big hospital job (1 day a week for 6 months.) Brian had about 1½ days which left me with 2½ days to fill.
- If you want Jam you will have to find some clients.
- By word of mouth the jobs came in.
- I then took out a loan of £10k and brought my first CAD set.
- In 1990 we changed the name of the practice to Randfield associates and although I retained my own practice I became an associate of Randfield associates.
- During this time I issued invoices for my time.
- In 1992 I agreed to buy the practice, (there was one other architect, two assistants and a secretary) and become a partner for one year. When Brian retired I became sole principal.
- The agreed fee was £50k and the practice had a £60k overdraft but the recession came and we had to make all the staff redundant. We closed the office and worked from home.
- Unfortunately Brian died of cancer before we could revalue the practice, so in the end it cost me £30k. There are lessons to be learnt here!
- I now have a small office of two assistants and a part-time secretary.
- Other than cash flow, things are good with a good mixed flow of work.
'In all, my career now spans almost four decades, three practices and four recessions.
My first, a regional practice, grew from less than 20 staff to around 80 in a 30 year period, twenty of which I was a Partner/Director. The second, a national and then international practice as a Director which the particular task of establishing a new office in Manchester, the third a micro enterprise just in its first 6 months established to pursue sustainable, carbon conscious, Passivhaus design.
Key drivers throughout my career and applied to practice have been
Quality – customer focus, understanding their needs and working together; and in the architecture – design embracing construction technology and building performance.
Understanding adapting to change – this has been significant:
changes in procurement from traditional through D&B to PFI, frameworks, contractor led; changes in the client – the contractor is now a significant employer of architects; legislation – a key are being the environment; and the market itself which has become more competitive both in fees, following the end of fee scales, and quality.
The business environment has become more competitive and challenging. Practices must keep up to date and differentiate in such markets.
What has this meant for the development of the businesses in which I have been involved. Throughout my career I have always felt that low energy and sustainability is a key driver and maintained my personal interest and capability at the leading edge of design and construction, with investment in training such as that to become a passivhaus designer. At my first practice I introduced QA, one of the first practices to be registered,; Investors in People; recognised the potential for growth in regeneration and so trained as an urban designer, a return to my alma mater, Manchester, and set up a new business unit as a result which is still a key element of that businesses strategy and workload; engaged fully with the Egan agenda for increased collaboration and integration with the whole of the design and construction team, now increasingly the industry norm for larger projects; and in my last practice developed the BIM capability for over more than five years such that the Manchester office applies BIM to all projects and is at the forefront of the profession.
My new practice continues to specialise in Carbon Conscious Design.
It must be recognised that adapting to change is a key to survival and business development but will need investment of time and potentially cost in research, training, people and resources.
The Solo Practitioners Group is an association of the RIBA NW and meets in Knutsford on the first Tuesday of every month, providing CPDs, food, drink and an environment to share professional challenges. The group is open to RIBA chartered architects who are Solo Practitioners, either freelancers or sole principals/directors of companies. The ‘SPG guide to’ runs events in parallel on a quarterly basis and is open to construction professionals, and the aim is to provide and strengthen core business skills.'
Ewen Miller is managing director of CalderpeelFGP architectural practice in in Altrincham. He has steered the practice through three mergers, the last (Fallows Gowen Partnership) in September of this year, an administration process which took the business from 70 to 25 staff, the opening of new offices in Poole, Deeside and Surrey, the shutting of two offices in Poole and Deeside, two successful PFI equity bids, three unsuccessful PFI equity bids, the creation of a construction company and the establishment of a small development firm. All this over the last three years during which time Ewen has also just completed two years as president of the Manchester Society of Architects.
Colin Fox is managing director of Randfield Associates, and treasurer of the Solo Practitioners Group.
Roger Burton is an architect and urban designer with over three decades experience directing large and small practices. He has recently established a new business, nvirohaus, to focus low carbon design and sustainability. He is the current Chair of Practice for RIBA North West.
Lisa Raynes is Managing Director of Raynes Architecture and employs 3 young architectural assistants. She established her business in October 2010 out of the firestorm of recession and redundancy - and has not looked back. An RIBA chartered architect, she has 15 years experience in commercial development, housing and listed building refurbishment.
Mother of 3, Lisa is Chairman of the RIBA NW Solo-Practitioners Group, Trustee of Outreach, a charity providing residential care to people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. As past Chairman of Women in PropertyNorth West she has an understanding of the particular challenges facing women. Lisa seeks to help fellow architects wanting to start up or return to what is a notoriously un-work-life-balanced profession.
