business plan
RGM atelier
R J Hillier Bank
Prepared by
RGM atelier
RGM atelier 20 Jay Street Suite # 960 NY 11201 t: 609-858-4709 e:atelier@rgmatelier.com
For
R J Hillier Bank 2 Wall Street NY 10005
May 07, 2012
I believe we are at the dawn of a new age of mankind. One in which we would have taken all our past differences and ambitions, all our achievements and knowledge, and learned to use them together for far more ambitious and collective endeavors. I am an architect, heading a team of architects, urban designers and technologists. But above all, above our professional interests, our human curiosities and personal desires which makes us relate the world to our own selves, we are sharing everything: from our cities, to our public transportation, our air, our water, our economy. It is our ethical role and our passion to use the energy and skills we have built through years of work, education and practice to take part in the new age of consciousness not only toward the natural environment, but also toward the built one. We need to live in the present, plan for the future, and build on our past in order to create better cities, sustain natural habitats, help the economy and infrastructure work together. RGM atelier is determined to engage the multiplicities and complexities of the current social, cultural, political and economic context and contribute with our best efforts and relentless work. I believe in partnerships, and I know that great causes need great support and trust. At RGM atelier we trust that R J Hillier Bank is our right ďŹ nancial ally to support us through the ďŹ rst steps of founding our independent practice. The ethical values proven by R J Hillier as well as commitment to giving back and helping building a better world are in line with our own professional beliefs. With great strength comes great responsibility. I believe that our professional strength, endorsed by your support and trust could further the endeavors we both believe in. The current business plan is an overview of our ďŹ rm. Please do not hesitate to contact me personally with any questions. Sincere regards,
Razvan Ghilic-Micu RGM atelier principal
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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WHAT does RGM atelier believe in Our mission in the field Our vision for a critical contribution to the profession
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WHO is RGM atelier Meet the team: Principal : Associate Architect: Architect: Architect: PR + :
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Razvan Ghilic-Micu David Jude Heyworth Margaret Denise Quigley Joseph Gordon-Levitt Edward Valentine Giamatti
What makes us unique Ownership | Who makes decisions Organization | Structure and organizational chart Operation | How we run our practice WHY hire RGM atelier Services offered by the office The range of clients attracted to the office How we use our expertise to augment the potential of projects
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WHERE does RGM atelier fit Business market landscape Our colleagues, partners and relationships within the field Expected professional growth and office long term agenda
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HOW can RGM atelier enrich the professional milieu
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Reaching out and establishing work relationships What is it that we’re after Who else is after it What is out there to pursue How can we seize the opportunities 43
HOW does RGM atelier reach out Marketing Strategies WHAT makes financial partnership with RGM atelier profitable
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Payroll Operational Costs Revenue Marketing and Promotion Balance Sheet Liabilities Overheads Key Stats Charts SWOT
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WORK in progress
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Legal Page
ConďŹ dentiality Agreement
The undersigned reader acknowledges that the information provided by RGM atelier in this business plan is conďŹ dential; therefore, reader agrees not to disclose it without the express written permission of RGM atelier. It is acknowledged by reader that information to be furnished in this business plan is in all respects conďŹ dential in nature, other than information which is in the public domain through other means and that any disclosure or use of same by reader, may cause serious harm or damage to RGM atelier. Upon request, this document is to be immediately returned to RGM atelier.
___________________ Signature
___________________ Name (typed or printed)
___________________ Date
This is a business plan. It does not imply an offering of securities. 9
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Executive Summary
RGM atelier will be a design consultancy firm specializing in urban renewal, expansion and infill, based in New York City. The firm will provide services related to master-planning, architectural design, adaptive re-use and strategic development in dense urban areas and seek partnerships with complimentary expertise practices in order to properly engage the diverse and complex issues posed by contemporary urban environments. The target clients are governmental institutions, building-owners, developers and real estate agents. Our competitive edge will reside in the ability and passion for the existing, the heterogeneous, the imperfect fabric of the city, and its manifold potentials as a base plate upon which new construction and clever development could take place. Our ability to enter collaborative consortiums will also be a point of firm differentiation. Last but not least, we are particularly well positioned both in terms of location and timing. Having New York City as our home base, we get to interact daily with one of the most complex and assorted cluster of urban conditions in the world, and acquire a heightened understanding and sensitivity for architecture and development having to knit itself into an already existing dense milieu. Time wise, we could rapidly be situated at the forefront of the imminent wave of urban renewal projects that most North American cities will undergo in order to retain their vitality in the 21st century. Although the current architectural practice community is well furnished with extremely capable individuals and enterprises, there is a surprisingly low percentage of architects accepting and willing to embrace the city as a found object, one to work with, as opposed to conceptually sticking within the confines of the particular site. We believe that the broader vision of governmental agencies, city officials, land and real estate owners is addressed improperly, with a series of design tunnel visions whose aggregation would lead soon to urban stagnation and crisis. 11
Our agenda is to quickly prove ourselves both as noteworthy designers by intervening in existing buildings expansions, as well as critical thinkers by teaming up with city officials and offer our services to the planning board as an external consultancy firm. In order to properly commence offering our services to our first clients, we would need a stsarting capital of $ 234,000. We are hoping to be profitable at the end of our third year on the market. We do need a financial partnership with your institution in order to assure our startup functionality. Such partnership is crucial for securing a fitting location, equipment and initial payroll needed to begin unfolding our activities. The present business plan outlines our objectives, focus, methods and operation of RGM atelier.
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WHAT
does RGM atelier believe in
Our mission in the field RGM atelier believes in interdisciplinary collaboration. Increasingly more, the current cultural, social and economic contexts are posing questions with far more variables than ever before. North America is most certainly exiting the mirage of the suburbia and starting to look more seriously than ever at its urban condition. Our generation cannot afford to build on greenfield sites anymore, and has to re-use, re-imagine, rethink and reassess not only architectural design, but also its long term social and economical implications. RGM Atelier is embracing the urban culture of congestion, the eclectic, nonpedigreed milieu of our cities and strongly believing in achieving density through the adaptive re-use and expansion of existing infrastructure. Our mission is to bring our design, planning and creative problem-solving experience together with other fields of expertise in order to create proficient think-tank consortiums able to engage unique situations. Our disciplinary discourse is based on the fusion of professional practice values with the precise scientific expertise of our collaborators. Our scope is to respond to the global phenomenon of urban intensification and densification through projects ranging from re-masterplanning existing areas to designing expansions and infills to existing buildings or existing urban sites.
Our vision for a critical contribution to the profession RGM Atelier is not only active as a part of local design consultancy consortiums, but also reaching out to form partnerships nationally and abroad. We believe that important lessons are to be learned internationally, and global cross-pollination of ideas and practices can only increase our efficiency and creativity. 13
In a professional practice still dominated by ambitions focused on prolonging the unfeasible model of the architect as a creator of ‘new matter’, RGM Atelier is focused on creating fresh forward thinking conditions by re-arranging, reprogramming and expanding ‘old matter’. Our goal is to be at the fore-front of the imminent wave of urban renewal projects that most North American cities will undergo in order to retain their vitality in the 21st century.
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WHO
is RGM atelier
RGM atelier is a collaborative collective of architecture and design enthusiasts interested in bridging disciplinary discourse with professional practice with the end goal of contributing to the future shaping of urban environments. We are seeking to bring a consequential expertise into the professional ďŹ eld through our body of research as well as furthering the knowledge of the discipline through our built work. Located in one of the most heterogeneous and energetic urban global centers, New York City, RGM atelier is pursuing a range of work, scales and collaborations in its multifarious interests residing in the fringe area of the overlap between theory and practice, design and urban development.
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TEAM RGM
Razvan Ghilic-Micu Principal Born and raised in Bucharest, Romania, Razvan has early on developed a critical awareness of the European metropolis as a hub of constant change and renewal as his home country was progressively re-establishing its voice and position within the European Union. Not until his family relocated to Toronto, Canada that he felt an increasing attraction to the heterogeneous social, cultural and urban fabric of truly global cities. His academic background is richly informed by his architecture studies in the “Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism”, his Honors Bachelor of Architecture from Ryerson University and his Professional Master of Architecture from Princeton University School of Architecture. Before establishing RGM atelier, Razvan Ghilic Micu’s career constantly and consistently bridged the world of academia with that of professional practice. As a scholar, he taught design studio at Ryerson University and Architecture History and Theory at Princeton University with the School of Architecture’s previous dean, Stan Allen. He also collaborated with Princeton SoA’s current dean, Alejandro Zaera-Polo as part of the Princeton Envelope Group, work pending publication by Lars Muller Publishers. Professionally, Mr Ghilic Micu completed a range of high profile built projects in collaboration with Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects in Toronto, and Front inc. in New York City. His built work portfolio encompasses expertise ranging from innovative high performance building envelopes, to complex programs such as office towers, concert halls and university educational facilities. 16
Statement:
I believe that we are witnessing a unique moment in the profession. Having to face an unprecedented condition of global peak densities, economic disparities, scarcity of resources and new sites, the profession will have to handle a consistent paradigmatic shift in the methods of collaboration and ultimately design. As both a practitioner and a scholar, I think that now more than ever, these two aspects of any architect have to reconcile and push the rigorous and lucid research in a realistic and practical direction. I believe that the conditions we are facing do not have answers in austerity and frugality, as approached in the past few years, but in a complete re-thinking of the role of expertise consortiums and collaborations with jurisdictional authorities and developers. I strongly trust that this is only the beginning of a new exciting chapter in our understanding of cities, social structures and infrastructure, and I want to position RGM atelier at the forefront of the global think-tank emergent in graduate school a few years back, enterprise whose time to feedback into the real world has ďŹ nally come.
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David Jude Heyworth Associate Architect
Born and raised in London UK, Mr. Heyworth has spent most of his life in large cities. Holding a Honors Bachelor of Art from Cambridge University and a Master of Architecture from the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, his research has constantly been preoccupied with bridging the sensibilities and unique optimistic view that art has on society, with the pragmatic and real issues of contemporary society. Through his professional development under the lead of world known architects such as David Adjaye and Norman Foster, Mr. Heyworth has acquired and perfected a unique set of professional skills.
Statement I am a visual man. I don’t only see the city, but envision it in my mind’s eye. Even the densest environments have so many opportunities to offer, that walking daily by missed chances saddens me deeply. Together with Razvan I am planning to no shy from any challenges posed by urban planning or speciďŹ c architectural designs, and utilize my wide palette of skills in our future collaborations with other like-minded practices.
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Margaret Denise Quigley Architect
Of both English and Cantonese descent, Maggie spent most of her youth in Tokyo, Taipei, and Hong Kong. With a Honors Bachelor of Architecture from Hong Kong University and a Master of Urban Planning from the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation of Columbia University, Maggie has spent her academic years studying two of the most complex cities in the world. She has recently joined RGM atelier, hoping to further her knowledge of strategic planning and use her unique charm and determination in collaborations with planning boards, city officials, real estate agents and owners and developers.
Statement As long as I can remember, to me the horizon line was a myth. I have lived in crowded cities all my life, and I have learned not only to navigate them, but to find their hidden treasures, to find “life” and the explanations for how things work beyond any scholarly abstractions. I am at the RGM because I strongly believe in the vision Razvan has put forth, and I know that my experience and determination will best be nurtured and made useful here. 19
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Associate Architect
Mr Gordon-Levitt was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After obtaining a Honors Bachelor of Architecture from Sci-Arc and a Master of Architecture from Yale University, he interned with Skidmore Owings and Merrill in New York City. A true believer in technology and smart systems as a vehicle for merging the infrastructure of the city with that of buildings, Gordon is bringing to RGM atelier his rich experience gained in SOM’s research group.
Statement I am a tech guy. I love building systems, and I believe that a rethinking of architecture’s relationship to technology and infrastructure is both under theorized and under developed. RGM atelier is the right kind of ďŹ rm from the standpoint of size and goals to fully allow us to engage many different entities collaboratively and push the project of the contemporary city forward into new directions.
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Edward Valentine Giamatti PR, Accounts, Masterminding
Ed Giamatti a native of New Haven, where his father Angelo Bartlett Giamatti also served as the president of Yale University is one of the most interesting characters in RGM atelier. With a Honors Bachelor of English and a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University, as well as a MBA from the Wharton School at UPenn, he is the mastermind behind the relentless PR campaign and complex collaborations RGM atelier is involved currently. A passionate golfer and cigar aďŹ cionado, Mr Giamatti can be found socializing in these environments when not busy looking after the RGM creative team.
Statement I am a man of the world. I have been many places and worn many hats in my insatiable appetite for rubbing shoulders, shaking hands and building long lasting friendships, but the enthusiasm these kids have proven got me more than excited when joining their team. I think they have something valuable to say, the vitality, passion and intellectual vigor to take the issues my generation has identiďŹ ed (and in great part caused) and reshape them into a visionary approach to life. My door is always open and my phone is never shut. We have many great things to say and to do, and I’m here to see that no opportunity escapes. 21
What makes us unique We believe in cross-pollination of ideas both within the firm and with our clients, consultants and collaborators. RGM atelier is a practice willing to embark consortiums and joint ventures, preoccupied more with the complex and proficient outcome of such collaboration than with pursuing single handed design visions. Our people come from the most diverse backgrounds, both geographical and educational. Hence, the variety of skills that we can employ and nurture within our office can address design, logistics and planning issues ranging from product design and interiors to buildings and master plans. Our relentless pursuit for the idea of a collaborative total design is keeping us interested in what our clients and projects have to offer and stimulate as unique opportunities and constraints. Our strength lies in the unique energy that our various complementary disciplines can generate only when brought together under one vision.
Ownership _ who makes decisions. RGM studio is set up as a sole proprietorship, owned by Razvan Ghilic-Micu. Currently, given our studio size of five employees, we are starting a 401 (k) retirement plan. The entire team is currently extremely motivated to stay a long term with the firm as a core collective, and open to hiring more support architecture staff upon securing more work and stabilize around a steady work income. We do not want our firm to exceed in the future the 50 employees benchmark. Such criteria has been established based on the fact that one senior employee can successfully establish an effective communication with only seven other employees. Given our atelier type of project-based team organization, at no point should the proprietor’s communication with any other member of any team be filtered by more than one manager.
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We believe in democratic think-tank decision making in design matters just as much as we’re interested in the proliferation of our multi-disciplinary endeavors. Nevertheless, the decisions regarding the work to be pursued, the contracts in hand, project management as well as the HR or PR aspects of the firm shall be taken by Mr. Jude Heyworth and Mr. Ed Giamatti, with Mr. Razvan Ghilic-Micu. In addition, shares of the firm’s profit shall be awarded to long term employees as an acknowledgment and statement of appreciation for their commitment and loyalty to the atelier.
Organization _ Who is the team and how it is structured RGM atelier believes in project-based team approach to design continuity and discussion. Regardless of the scale or the scope of the work, the same team will take the project through all the stages, from Pre-Design through to Contract Administration and Occupancy. From our personal experiences with previous employers, firms exhibiting the tendency of having distinct “divisions” staffed to handle specific stages of any one project are not only creating a workflow in which the overall design vision and communication with the client and other consultants could suffer from each “change of hands” within the life of one project, but also over time lose the freshness and design motivation behind the core values of our profession. Razvan Ghilic-Micu or Jude Heyworth will be the architect in charge of any one project. Once the firm will start hiring more personnel, Ms. Maggie Quigley and Mr. Joseph Gordon-Levitt shall assume Project Architect positions with the newly employed staff and coordinate their various teams. 24
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Operation _ How we run our practice. RGM atelier’s operation values reside both in the aforementioned appreciation of open sharing and communication both within the team as well as with our clients and collaborators, and in the fact that we are, as a collective, seriously taking our mission in the discipline of design as well as in the professional architectural practice. As both scholars and avid practitioners, the research we are undertaking both through our invited teaching positions, as well as in our built work is an optimal vehicle inviting to discussion. Our open mindedness about the range of clients and collaborators we are willing to engage as well as the type of projects we would undertake and consider as worthy exercises percolates through our own work ethics down to our very involved presence in both the architectural community as well as the social milieu of our home-base urban area. Our management and staff are practicing such views by: - Nurturing a safe, mutually respectful, open minded and optimistic design environment. - Being available and transparent in dialogues with our clients and collaborators. - Making our intellectual and professional presence felt in the architecture and design community though organizing events in our ofďŹ ce, as well as participating with our own work and research in events organized by the design community. - We believe in technology. Our door is always open to representatives of ďŹ rm pursuing interesting research and new collaborations. Only through keeping these channels open and available to anyone, we can truly stay in touch with the fast pace development of alternative and innovative technologies, and situate ourselves at the forefront of the profession. - RGM atelier is committed to continuously acknowledging where our responsibilities and allegiances reside: with the community and larger society. We would not pursue the different aspects of our professional interests and agendas without the larger human and social aspect to be engaged and explored. We believe that the effort of any designer is futile and misaddressed should the project develop in the vacuum of one ideology or another. 26
RGM atelier has open house days, where we showcase our work and accept input from our visitors. Maggie and Joseph are part of the mentoring programs in NYC high-schools as well as participants in different community council meetings. - Team work and team spirit are very important for all the aforementioned activities to be possible. Weekly debrieďŹ ngs with Mr. Giamatti and Mr. Heyworth, as well as by-weekly all-ofďŹ ce presentations and forums will be the vehicle through which we shall ensure that any other aspect of working together and advancing our project is being addressed. - We do not believe in secretarial ďŹ ltering. Each of us has a phone on the desk, and both our consultants and clients will be answered promptly and directly by the person they would like to consult. For us speed and communication are of essence, therefore our transparency and availability is paramount.
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WHY
hire RGM atelier
Services offered by the office RGM atelier, through the collective intelligence and experience brought to the table by our staff has no fears approaching any scale and scope of project. Our pragmatic yet inquisitive nature makes us both suitable for leading design project as well as collaborating in joint-venture projects with other design firms when pursuing larger projects. Our collective portfolio encompasses featured work ranging in scale and scope from Educational, Commercial and Performance buildings, to urban public space design, master planning and strategic design.
Our Architectural services include: Feasibility studies and preliminary programming and planning of the project with our client and eventual collaborators. The life-cycle of getting a project built encompasses all the duties outlined in the Architects’ Handbook of Practice related to the stages: Pre-Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents and Specification Writing, Tender and Bidding, Construction Administration and Post Occupancy Services. Our design ethics are inclusive of the pre-determined goal of achieving high energy efficiency on each project, as well as exploring any opportunistic design direction that would enhance the interaction of the project with its larger social context. Meetings with zoning boards and community representatives are also a strong point upon which our design collaboration is built. Both the client and our consultants shall be present for important meetings throughout the life of a project. 29
Our Interior Design services include Feasibility studies and preliminary programming, as tightly related to the branding and ideological profile of the entity employing us. We believe that each such opportunity is a unique chance of exploring qualities beyond the obvious physical and formal. Working with standards as well with our programming and code consultants, we will explore all the opportunities for extracting the most potential out of an already given interior space to be re-created.
Our Master Planning and Strategic Planning services include Visionary research on behalf of entities, as related to their own goals, as well as in the mindset of building a long term symbiosis with the larger historical, cultural and socio-economic context to be addressed. We are experienced in designing public spaces, as well as re-vitalizing brown field sites and existing structures within dense urban spaces. Landform research and integration of building with habitat and ecology is another strong point of our office. The portfolio of typologies and clients of our firm includes: - Office buildings for Corporations - Educational buildings for Universities - Performance halls for both Established Philharmonic Institutions as well as Private Festival Operators - Public space design for urban entities with public private funding. - Large Scale high-rise typological research for the European Union Commission. - Master planning and Facilities design for Art Foundations - Collaborations with Hong Kong department of housing for re-thinking the issue of urban density. 30
Range of Clients attracted to the ofďŹ ce. RGM atelier is currently collaborating with entities from the size of a private owner, to city ofďŹ cials and large development consortiums. Given our various skills, comprehensive potential and mission statement we are not pursuing work involving clients in need of egotistic statement architecture. We believe that architecture as a discipline and profession should be focused on larger social and urban ideologies and constraints. At the same time, we reject little work, should it be engaging existing structures or involve re-programming of existing spaces. Consequently, our clients could be: - Home-owners in urban areas. - Retail facility operators in urban areas. - Land and real estate owners in urban areas. - Planning and zoning boards. - City Hall, City ofďŹ cials. - Large corporations doing research in conjunction with issues of habitat and urban life. - Foundations interested in large scale development and strategic planning.
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How we use our expertise to augment the potential of the projects. RGM atelier works with no templates. We consider that each project is important and unique, hence treat it as a special case and construct unique logical narratives for each challenge we may encounter. Furthermore, given our approach to staffing and project-based teams, each project trusted to RGM atelier is looked after thoroughly and responsibly by extremely qualified staff with complementary expertise. Our collective has skills ranging from large scale urban planning to small scale high end curtain wall detailing. We are proficient at creating intricate and professional construction drawings and specifications as well as composing sophisticated and palatable graphic material. We are producing absolutely everything in house. Therefore, our expenses on material usually out-sourced by many other firms are minimal and allow us to focus on our projects better, as well as retain all the core values and fundamental characteristics of each project through both drawings and visual communication materials, details usually lost in the outsourcing process. We are relentlessly investigating and pushing both the ideological and the formal aspect of our projects. Because of our multifarious backgrounds and personal interests, and the directness of our dialogue, RGM atelier guarantees that no opportunity shall escape un-noticed or unexplored in the best interest of the project and of our clients. Consequently, our strength does not solely reside in our raw skills and experience, but also in the approach to team-work and motivations standing behind our active excitement of being part of the design and building processes.
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WHERE
does RGM atelier fit
Business Market Landscape We are very much aware of where we stand; both geographically and intellectually. While our office is physically situated in one of the densest urban areas in terms of architectural talent per square mile, and perhaps sparsest in terms of new projects, we advocate that through our unique mission and completely realistic goals and strategic adjustment of our niche and modus operandi, RGM atelier is not competing with its surrounding market, but complementing and enhancing it. Currently the business of architecture is starting to pick up after many years of stagnation, doubt and investing scarcity. Nevertheless, infrastructural projects are symptomatic of recession periods, as a counterbalance to the privately funded investments in buildings. RGM atelier can survive in both markets. Our holistic interest in the city as both an infrastructural organism and an entity whose identity is manifested through buildings and public spaces, coupled with our comprehensive skills, makes our firm a unique partner for both private owners and design firms, as well as public and governmental agencies.
Our colleagues, partners and relationships within the field. All the staff in our firm comes from incredibly varied and multivalent backgrounds, as both heritage and education. Throughout our careers we have engaged cultures, people and professional environments representing a large portion of the demographic market and related businesses. We are not only well connected at a personal level, but also well integrated into the large picture of global architecture and construction industry. 33
Our former employers and academic advisers are currently among the most representative and revered professionals in our field. Our past peers and work colleagues are either actively engaged in working for the aforementioned firms, or starting their own independent practices. Through our mission and vision, we are not entering direct competition with any of our contacts. Our firm is neither the size, nor the profile required to undertake highly specialized and over encompassing design projects. We are the go-to firm for specific design consultancy, collaborations and joint ventures. RGM atelier is constantly in touch with its friends and supporters, regarded as a strong and dependable ally for undertaking large and complex projects and not as direct competition.
Expected professional growth and long term goals As previously mentioned, we do not seek to increase at any point beyond 50 employees, under the current ownership and office structure statuses. As a studio-based practice, RGM atelier could not under its current format and mission simply inflate and become a normative practice. All our commitments to clients, collaborators and financial institutions have been made by RGM atelier under the very lucid and strict limit to our staffing and scope of work. Nevertheless, the number we are proposing to maintain gives us a perfect balance between the rich synergies of a larger group and the open communication intimacy of a project team. We are hoping to not only collaborate on large projects with our allies in the profession, but to also undertake small to medium scale design on our own. As a current example, RGM atelier is independently hired by the JUDD foundation for the development of a small office building in Marfa, TX, and also collaboratively working with the Adjaye Associates on a masterplan for Merida, (MEX) Parque Principal, and with the Michael Malztan Architects and Guy Nordenson Associates for masterplanning and researching design feasibility cases for a large development on a former military airbase outside of Marfa, TX, under the patronage of the JUDD foundation, the Chinati Foundation and the Museum of Modern Art. For a very young firm, this initial portfolio of work in progress is a good indicator of where we would like to take things, and also a proof of our faithful commitment to maintaining the career course we have declared. 34
HOW
can RGM atelier enrich the professional milieu
Reaching out and establishing work relationships At RGM atelier we are not simply waiting in our office for our phones to ring. As previously mentioned, we maintain close ties to all our contacts within the profession, as well as related entities that we might have collaborated with in the past, either as a collective, or individually. The types of audiences and collaborators we are currently engaging as well as pursuing are: Clients: - Private Foundations and For Profit Entities: a. The JUDD foundation. We are currently in the Schematic Design phase of the new Headquarters for the JUDD foundation in Marfa Texas, as the sole designer and architect of record. b. Consortiums: The JUDD foundation, Chinati foundation and the Museum of Modern Art. Collaboratively with Michael Maltzan Architecture and the Guy Nordeson and Associates Structural Engineers we are in the Pre-Design phase of a large masterplan and development on a former military airfield on Route 90, outside of Marfa, TX.
- City Public Officials: a. Merida, Mexico. Together with the Adjaye Associates we are currently developing a proposal for the main public square for the city of Merida, in the Yucatan peninsula. 35
- Political Entities: a. European Commission. Together with AZPA we have been working on a project part of the Roadmap 2050 funded by the European Union looking at ways of improving the standards of the architecture and construction industries in the attempt of establishing a practical guide to a prosperous, low-carbon Europe. Associates: As illustrated by the projects mentioned above, our work connections to other firms are essential for securing large scale, complex projects, with secure funding. Most of our professional connections come from our academic and working backgrounds, and excellent relationship with former mentors, employers and diverse entities we have engaged.
What is it that we’re after We believe there is a lot to be explored in the way architects, engineers, city planners and developers should engage present opportunities as well as current problems. Our cities have ran out of space for traditional signature architecture icons. Intense urbanization is an issue in the current scarcity of affordable housing, and the inability of the existing infrastructure to successfully support such intensification in urban life. Furthermore, our suburbs can no longer sprawl without causing grievous repercussions on the land available for the sustenance of our cities. This is the perfect time for re-thinking ways of opportunistically exploring our dilemmas and turning them into sustainable conceptual approaches as well as viable investments for the future. The scale and ambition of the undertaking can only be managed with diverse, complex and agile entities cross-pollinating skills and ideas. We are lucidly situating ourselves at the level of a piece of this puzzle, not the sole key to any particular dilemma. As proven by our already diverse portfolio, the particularities of the project we are engaging can only be addressed through 36
a design and intellectual entity exhibiting the same particularities and non-standard skills. We are after that precise slice of the business market: the firm capable to fit many roles and work collaboratively, to add value in key points and never grow to the point of needing to cannibalize a large project in order to sustain its own weighty inertia.
Who else if after it At present there aren’t many firms fully overlapping our territory. There are, nevertheless many firms that have particular interests or logistics in common with us. From an objective point of view, the profiles of firms comparable with aspects of our work are: 1. The Small Expert Consultancy Firm: Globally, most of these firms are concerned primarily with bridging the world of architectural design and technical expertise. While comprised mainly of architects, such firms typically hire engineers for the heavy computation and programming part of their work. A few examples could be Front inc, based in NYC specialized in building envelopes, DesignToProduction, based in Zurich and Stuttgart, Specialized in construction optimization, as well as Evolute, based in Vienna, offering services similar to the aforementioned German firm. The advantage of such firms is that all their resources are focused on one particular task, hence their role in the market is to produce immediately useful and applicable technical knowledge. The disadvantage is that in any project they might be hired as a consultant, the impact on the overall design and project direction is minimal. Their expertise is still at the command of a large design firm, hence not impacting significantly on the many other aspects of the project. 37
2. The Small Visionary Design Firm: Most of our peers and critical thinkers of our generation seem to be focused on shotgun-type practices. As outlined in our previous statements, the relatively fragile and perhaps unsure direction of the profession and development has also triggered a wave or reactionary-visionary types of practices. Most of such firms are focused primarily on design, like RGM atelier, but the premise of their mindset is an architecture of resistance, experiment and nonstandard approaches. While we respectfully appreciate the intellectual agenda of such practices, we have found throughout our past experiences that it is hard to engage the multiple other collaborators involved in a complex project, arduous and quite counterproductive to try contesting and uprooting most of the practices in place today, for a task that could as well result in failure. While our approach is nothing close to normative, we understand that one has to work within the established system in order to change progressively the way things work, gradually understanding the implications of decision making, and avoiding potential failures. We are choosing a path of complicity with the problems we are facing, and not one of resistance.
3. The Big-Shop Design Practices. RGM atelier is a small firm, but as portrayed earlier, an internally diverse entity. Most of the large-scale enterprises on the market, such as SOM, KPF or Gensler, have in-house entire teams devoted to each aspect of our individual experiences and skills. We acknowledge that the built-in research capability of such firms might be at a first glance an incentive for awarding projects to them, however such scenario would lead to two possible outcomes: - Large firms need either large projects, or complete control over one project in order to generate the revenue needed to support the staffing capabilities they can dedicate to one project.
38
- Furthermore, the number of projects large firms are involved in at one time is large, therefore the attention and care devoted to any of the projects cannot be as personalized and intimate as the relationship a small design firm could have with any of their few but seminal projects. Regardless of the types of firm portrayed above, our belief is that we can still establish collaborations with any of the three types and pursue unique projects together. Increasingly because of all the sensitivities and awareness built into the projects out on the market nowadays, clients want to deal with a democratic and diverse entity, optimally assembled for the particular need they may have. The signature designer is becoming a myth. Such firms that rely heavily on the image of one person, as well as unfortunately a signature style, are not only competing and wasting a large amount of capital by doing so among themselves, and usually for a scarcity of opportunities to design yet another icon. While their talent resourcefulness is uncontested, the danger of style going out of fashion, as well as the proven inability of formalism to solve the realistic and pragmatic problems our cities are facing could in the future bring such firms to partner with firms like RGM atelier and other consultants for adding to the range of their skills. In this case, we would be more than happy to use our expertise and passion for problem solving while working in conjunction with visionary and talented colleagues.
What is out there to pursue A lot. New cities around the world, CANNOT and should not replicate our old cities from Europe or North America. We want to both challenge the current types, and learn from their predicaments, as well as work with our findings to intervene at the root of designing typologies and infrastructures ready to support a sustainable expansion or conversion in the future. Old cities around the world are faced with waves of population shifts, migrations. The modern infrastructures in most of these cities are over a hundred years old. They were built to sustain a certain amount of usage, and a correct appraisal of their hypothetic limits of failures are well out of reach. 39
As an anecdote, one of our friends at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation is conducting a study along with a team of urban planners and structural engineers to assess and model the health status of the Brooklyn Bridge. This old piece of infrastructure linking two very large halves of one of the most important cities on the planet is daily active around the clock at both pedestrian and vehicular levels. The city is only becoming more populated, leading to an increase in its utilization, while the structure is only becoming older and more inept at dealing with the loads and wear its age and usage are subjecting it to. We have absolutely NO backup plan, NO intuition, NO awareness of what would happen should the Brooklyn Bridge become suddenly unusable. Furthermore, the team of planners is puzzled by the intricacy of the urban connections as well as the physical architectural integration of the bridge as a built piece into the fabric of the city. Should we expand the bridge sideways with new structures that would ultimately over time replace the old Bridge? There is yet no conclusion as to the impact such a project would have financially on the city of New York, physically on the built fabric on both shores, logistically on the traffic routes on both sides, and socially on the communities from far or near using the bridge either as a daily commute or inhabiting the neighborhoods in close vicinity. This is only one of the many issues we are going to confront shortly if we are not investing the time, energy and intelligence into preventing in a timely manner unfortunate events and actively improving our cities. It is hopefully obvious that faced with such issues to be dealt with, suddenly the production of icon buildings is of lesser - if ethically comparable at all - value. Also obvious is that fact that no sole entity can deal with such scenarios. In the Columbia GSAPP case we have mentioned, besides the team of architects, urban planners and engineers actively researching the project, many other consultants such as geologists, archeologists, traffic consultants, hydrologists have been an ongoing part of the panel discussing the progress of the study. This is what we envision for the future of our collaborations. These are the tasks whose price tag as a research and design study by a complex and proficient team would be infinitely smaller than the outcome of a calamitous event happening. 40
Simultaneously, new endeavors will need the same amount of care and complex planning, so that future potentials are fully explored and catered to. Given all the considerations listed above, we maintain a high optimism that RGM atelier will have a lot of work to pursue in addition to the projects we are already involved with.
How can we seize the opportunities Mr Giamatti is one of the most agile and socially present PR people in the industry. He does not only know personally a lot of the main characters with leverage in projects such as the ones we are going to pursue, but also is actively involved as part of awareness panels and juries on issues related to our ďŹ elds of research. We, as professionals are also in a constant dialogue with each of the Schools we have graduated from, through holding guest studios or being part of juries, as well as contribute to research initiatives such educational institutions are fostering. RGM atelier as a collective can in many ways bridge these two worlds by connecting the knowledge to the issues in need of such knowledge. We are not pursuing traditional job chasing, or competitions, efforts that most times end up consuming a lot of ďŹ nancial resources and disproportionate indirect time, but use such time to trigger and join projects in our ďŹ eld of interests.
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HOW
does RGM atelier reach out
Marketing Strategies Under the close and ambitious guidance of Mr. Giamatti, RGM atelier is planning to lead an intelligent yet unrelenting campaign of constructive self-promotion.
1. Globally
GLOBAL Far and Near
a. We believe in open source, and the Web 2.0. We are going to push our material not only through our website, but on all design blogs, websites and social networks available to the large public. In an age in which most education and information happens on the web, we are seeking to capitalize on the main issues at hand, the ones getting the most press, coverage and exposure, and relate our work to such contemporary concerns. b. Lectures. We will be physically present for discussions, lectures, forums and symposia around the world, both through our associations with the academic world, as well as declared interest and full integration in the mind-set of the industry. c. Exhibitions. We will propose designs and volunteer material for exhibitions, annuals, and biennales. 43
2. Regionally We are currently well connected both on the East Coast, as well as in North America. We are hoping to maintain our connections through: a. Teaching. Retaining our teaching and advisory positions in graduate design schools, therefore being part of interesting research and cutting edge discoveries, as well as potentially being introduced to talented younger designers who can become our next employees. b. Network-building and events. Mr Giamatti, a member of many clubs and committees in the tri-state area has access to large and varied audiences. We are planning to seize such an opportunity and make ourselves known to the public.
3. Locally a. Community meetings. There is no better opportunity for testing our ideas and civic involvement than to reach out to the ones closest to us: our neighbors. We know that given the small scale of our firm and large scale of our ambitions, there can never be a sudden jump to the scale of the city in terms of new work we are going to undertake. At the same time, by fulfilling our mission and beliefs at the level of our nearest community, not only we benefit from the immediate input, but also see the results of our work more rapidly. b. Awareness. Our newsletters, mailers and brochures will be distributed to all the firms in both construction and contracting as well as architecture and engineering throughout the city. Same with us, these firms are not focused on building in NYC, but have offices and sites around the world. We are using our strategic position in order to get in touch with eventual collaborators or clients that otherwise we would not have access to.
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REGIONAL North America
LOCAL _ NYC
WHAT
makes financial partnership RGM atelier profitable
RGM atelier hourly rate is billed at 3.37 times payroll Principal Architect Interns
$ 80,000/year for 2,080 hours/year = $ 38.5/hr x 3.37 = $ 130/hr $ 50,000/year for 2,080 hours/year = $ 24/hr x 3.37 = $ 81/hr $ 35,000/year for 2,080 hours/year = $ 17/hr x 3.37 = $ 57/h
Items subject to reimbursement shall be billed with a multiplier of 1.25 RGM atelier will bill bi-weekly for the first 90 days of operation. Subsequent to the aforementioned window, the bill submission timeline shall be reviewed. We will bill our projects at hourly rate plus expenses , fixed percentage of construction total cost and in advantageous situations for a fixed fee plus percentage of the final construction budget savings. Payments to RGM atelier are due 15 days upon receiving the invoice, confirmed by e-mail. For every additional 15 days up to 75 days, an interest of 2% shall be accrued to the sum. At the 75 days benchmark, RGM atelier is free to solicit breach of contract and exit any contractual obligations, entitled to receiving full compensation for services rendered and loss of profit. All our contracts have stipulated mandatory arbitration as the method of eliminating the strenuous and costly process of litigating.
Our target fees per project shall be applied as follows: Pre-Design Schematic Design Design Development Construction Documents Bid Preparation Construction Administration Close Out
5% 15% 15% 35% 5% 20% 5%
47
Payroll
Principal Architect 3 Interns Secretary / Accountant
$ 80,000 / year $ 50,000 / year 3 x $ 35,000 / year = $ 105,000 / year $ 35,000 / year
Yearly Total Payroll Direct Payroll (65%) Indirect Payroll(35%)
$ 270,000 / year $ 175,500 / year $ 94,500 / year
Yearly Net Fee
= Starting Annual Payroll x .65 (utilization) x 5 = $ 877,500
120 Days Net Fee
= Yearly Net Fee / 3 = $ 292,500 (the nest egg)
Breakdown of Costs for 120 days
Actual Total Payroll = Yearly Payroll/3
= $ 90,000 Actual Direct Payroll @65% Annual = $ 58,500 Actual Indirect Payroll @35% = $ 31,500
ProďŹ t @ 20% Net Fee Consultants @30% Net Fee Marketing and Promotion @5%NF
$ 58,500 $ 87,750 $ 14,625
TOTAL Remainder towards operation cost
$ 250,875 $ 41,625
48
Operational Costs
Percentage
120 Days
Full Year
Employee Cast Benefits
13%
$ 5,411
$ 16,233
Occupancy
25%
$ 10,406
$ 31,218
Depreciation and Amortization
13%
$ 5,411
$ 16,233
Travel and Entertainment
8%
$ 3,330
$ 9,990
Telecommunications
10%
$ 4,162
$ 12,486
Interest Expense
5%
$ 2,081
$ 6,243
Professional and Legal Fees
4%
$ 1,665
$ 4,995
Office and Computer Supplies
5%
$ 2,081
$ 6,243
Professional Accounting Fees
3%
$ 1,249
$ 3,747
Bad Debt Losses
2%
$ 833
$ 2,500
Recruiting Costs
2%
$ 833
$ 2,500
Consulting Fees
2%
$ 833
$ 2,500
Professional Liability Insurance
3%
$ 1,249
$ 3,747
Other Insurance
5%
$ 2,081
$ 6,243
TOTALS
100%
$ 41,625
$ 124,875
In the first Trimester, RGM atelier is going to make a profit of $ 58,500. To ensure out proper functioning before we stabilize a cash flow, we will need a start-up sum of $ 234,000. Should RGM atelier manage to negotiate an initial 120 day payment freeze with our consultants, the start-up operating capital we would need would decrease to $ 146,250.
49
RGM atelier Revenue:
Yearly Technical Payroll
= $ 235,000
Yearly Direct Payroll
= 80% of Yearly Technical Payroll = $ 188,000
Yearly Net Revenue
= 3.5 x Yearly Direct Payroll = $ 658,000
Yearly Consultants Fee
= $ 263,250
Yearly Gross Fee
= $ 921,250
Trimester Revenue
= $ 307,084
Monthly Capacity
= $76,771
50
Marketing and Promotion Expenses
Reaching out with $ 14,625
Trimester
Monthly
Web Page
20%
$ 2,925
$ 731
Travel
20%
$ 2,925
$ 731
Media Adverts
10%
$ 1,462
$ 366
Planning Boards
10%
$ 1,462
$ 366
Marketing Consultants
10%
$ 1,462
$ 366
Events
5%
$ 731
$ 183
Training
5%
$ 731
$ 183
Lectures
5%
$ 731
$ 183
Memberships
5%
$ 731
$ 183
E-mail Splashes
5%
$ 731
$ 183
Printed Brochures
5%
$ 731
$ 183
$ 14,625
$ 3,656
TOTALS
51
Fees Generated per Day
= Annual Gross Fees / 365 = $ 921,250 / 365 = $ 2,524 per day
Balance Sheet for the ďŹ rst Quarter of 2012
Cash, Bonds, and Equivalents
= $ 10,000
Accounts Receivable
= $ 164,060
Work in Progress
= $ 82,030
Prepaid Insurance
=$ 25,000
Refundable Tax
=$ 10,000
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS
= $ 291,090
Equipment and misc. property
=$ 65,000
Real Estate in Toronto
= $ 100,000
Assets Investment in Joint Ventures
= $ 25,000
Security Deposits
= $ 15,000
Cash Value of Life Insurance
= $ 40,000
Notes Receivable
= $ 15,000
TOTAL OTHER ASSETS
= $ 260,000
TOTAL ASSETS
= $ 551,090 52
LIABILITIES Accounts Payable Consultants Due
= $ 65,812
Regular
= $ 25,000
Accrued Payroll Taxes and Employee Witholdings
= $ 5,400
Accrued Vacation Pay
= $ 15,000
Accrued Expenses
= $ 20,000
Billings in Excess of Earnings
= $ 5,000
Taxes Payable
= $ 10,000
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES
= $ 146,212
Yearly Debt Line of Credit
=$ 260,000
Other Leases
= $ 40,000
Security Deposits
= $ 15,000
TOTAL LIABILITIES
= $ 461,212
OWNER EQUITY
= $ 89,880
53
ANALYSIS OF OVERHEADS Gross Revenue
= $ 921,250
Consultant Cost
= $ 263,250
Other Direct Expenses
= $ 62,437
NET REVENUE
= $ 595,563
100%
Direct Payroll
= $ 188,000
31.6%
Indirect Payroll - Technical Staff
= $ 47,000
7.8%
Indirect Payroll - Support Staff
= $ 35,000
5.8%
Employee BeneďŹ ts
= $ 20,844
3.5%
Payroll Taxes
= $ 26,800
4.5%
Rent, Utilities, Storage
= $ 34,542
5.8%
Professional Insurance
= $ 10,720
1.8%
Interest
= $ 17,866
3.0%
Telephone
= $ 7,742
1.3%
IT Systems
= $ 18,000
3.0%
Depreciation and Amortization
= $ 18,220
3.1%
Architectural Supplies
= $ 11,911
2.0%
Bad Debts
= $13,102
2.2%
OVERHEAD
= $ 319,600
53.7%
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KEY STATISTICS
Overhead Rate
=$ 595,563 / $ 319,600 = 186 %
Net Labor Multiplier
= $ 595,563 / $ 188,000 = 316%
Overall Utilization Rate
= $ 188,000 / $ 270,000 = 66%
Support Salary Ratio
= $ 35,000 / $ 270,000 = 12.9%
Gross Multiplier
= $ 921,250 / $ 188,000 = 4.9
Revenue Factor
= $ 595,563 / $ 270,000 = 2.2
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$ 188,000 - Current Yearly Direct Payroll 188k 170k 160k 150k 140k 130k 120k 110k 100k 90k 10k 80k 70k 60k 50k 40k NLM=3.375
30k
NLM=3.169
20k Break Even NLM = 2.70
10k
100k
200k
300k
400k
$ 507,600 - Break-Even $ 595,563 - Current $ 634,500 - Optimal Desired Strategy for Improving our Net Labor Multiplier
56
500k
Increase Business by $39,000
0
Reduce Payroll by $11,500
Scenario 01: Same Income, adjust the Payroll to increase ProďŹ t
Reduce Payroll by $37,600 Lay-off one staff member.
Scenario 02: Barely Breaking even, lay off people to bring up the NLM 57
Capacity Target: $ 76,800
Projected Discounted Fees
Break Even: $ 65,600
MAAF Fees
Total Labor: $ 22,500
Parque Central Fees JUDD Gallery Fees
$ 80 K
$ 60 K
$ 40 K
$ 20 K
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
58
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
59
NOV
DEC
SWOT Strengths - Diversity in our design backgrounds - Excellence both academic and professional proven by all our staff - Experience with real built projects - Freshness and open mindedness - Great connections within the profession - Openness to collaborations
Weaknesses - Dependence on collaborations for large projects - Small size limits the number of projects to be undertaken - Unable to cover all the areas of a large project - Still relatively unknown to the larger public
Opportunities - Good connections with many disciplines could bring new exciting staff - Building strong relationships within the field - Developing a few specializations without endangering the design mindset - Growing strategically with each series of projects - Learning from our consultants and overseas research
Threats - Lack of motivation for undertaking complex projects - Large firms with all encompassing in-house knowledge - Balancing a steady workflow for the size of the firm - Being forced to undertake insignificant project and getting stuck at that level 61
WORK
in progress..
Selected work: Merida Parque Central L: C: +:
Merida, Mexico Merida City Hall Adjaye Associates
TRONto Tower L: C:
Toronto, ON Tridel Inc Independent Project
MAAF L: C:
Marfa Military Airbase, Marfa, TX JUDD Foundation Chinati Foundation MoMA Guy Nordeson and Associates Michael Maltzan Architecture
+:
JUDD Gallery L: C:
Marfa, TX JUDD Foundation Independent Project 63
Merida Parque Central | Client: Merida City Hall
Merida, Mexico Collaborator: Adjaye Associates
TRONto Tower | Client: Tridel Inc
Toronto, Ontario
MAAF | Marfa, TX Client: JUDD, CHINATI, MoMA Collaborator: Nordenson Associates, Maltzan Architects
JUDD Gallery | Marfa, TX Client: JUDD Foundation
RGM atelier is thanking you for your time and consideration. Sincere regards.
Razvan Ghilic-Micu RGM atelier principal
extended portfolio
c
RGM atelier 2012