giants Jain Malkin designed the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Heart Hospital in Dayton, Ohio.
Just as certain professions—doctors, nurses, medical technicians—have been deemed recession-proof, health-care projects, including assisted living, were the jobs-to-have for interior designers, according to our annual survey of the second 100 Interior Design Giants firms. Although down from prerecession days, health care clearly gave these Giants a shot in the arm. Interior design fees from this segment went up nearly 50 percent from just two years ago and are now more than $37 million. This represents an astonishing jump from 9 to 13 percent of total fees for the group. Industry watchers pay special attention to this segment. With fewer “star” projects, which throw off averages, health-care is possibly the best indicator of general trends, and that proved to be the case with this survey. Totaldesign fees were up 2 percent, to $278 million, compared to the 40 percent nosedive reported last time. In other words, fears of a double dip seem to have dissipated. Layoffs continue—the second 100 Giants let 4 percent of their design staff go— but the previous 35 percent pink-slip massacre seems to be in the past. For the designers who survived, salaries were flat, and reports of unpaid over-
back to health
lacasse photography
time and vacation days were common, but at least there was stability. This stability was bolstered partly by the aggressive pursuit of segments that received short shrift in the past: not only health care but also related, overlapping sectors such as government and educational. (A quarter of all “government” work dealt with medical facilities.) Over half these Giants worked for government agencies, bring ing in over $9 million, up $2 million from two years ago. Educational work, mostly colleges and universities, simultaneously rose by more than $5 million. At first glance, all that public-sector work seems logical in the era of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. But these Giants reported only a 15 percent boost from the stimulus package. One explanation is that some government and health-care activity is outside the U.S.—work abroad has been on a slow rise since 2006. Foreign projects generated more than 11 percent of the group’s revenues. Over half these Giants already report building in Asia, and 24 expect continued growth in China. One new Giant, the first to be based in Shanghai, worked exclusively outside the U.S. during the study period: EDG Corporation employs the group’s second-largest staff, including the highest number of designers.
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Trending away from expectations is the green sector. Fewer of these Giants offer sustainability analysis—even as eco-related fees rose, and the commitment to LEED guidelines strengthened. It’s a bit of a paradox that, while more green square footage was completed, the number of firms citing sustainability as an important factor in design decisions fell to 86 percent from 92 percent a year earlier. Of course, there are exceptions. One Giant collected 100 percent of fees from green design, with most of the products specified being sustainable as well. Retrofits also reached the highest levels ever reported, 100 percent at five firms. So, with cost cuts already in place, these Giants appear poised for a pos itive year, and they seem to agree that the most important thing is not to hide their light under a bushel. As one spokesperson put it, “We have begun a concerted effort to increase our reputation as experts in our field and to generate a sense of familiarity between our clients and the members of our team.” To help that happen, several Giants are making more appearances at industry events and forays into the realm of social media. “We’ve encouraged all staff to be creative marketers,” another respondent says. Welcome to the Twitter-verse. —Ron Marans
200giants Rank 2011 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
Firm (headquarters | web site) Rottet Studio (houston | rottetstudio.com) Tsoi/Kobus & Associates (cambridge, massachusetts | tka-architects.com) Tricarico Architecture and Design (wayne, new jersey | tricarico.com) Symmes Maini & McKee Associates (cambridge, massachusetts | smma.com) Forrest Perkins (washington | forrestperkins.com) DES Architects + Engineers (redwood city, california | des-ae.com) WATG (irvine, california | watg.com) Whitney (oak brook, illinois | whitneydesign.com) HFS Concepts 4 (long beach, california | hfsc4.com) TRO Jung/Brannen (boston | trojungbrannen.com) Hendrick (atlanta | hendrickinc.com) Sasaki Associates (watertown, massachusetts | sasaki.com) Margulies Perruzzi Architects (boston | mp-architects.com) Stonehill & Taylor Architects and Planners (new york | stonehilltaylor.com) Joi-Design (hamburg, germany | joi-design.com) Arcturis (saint louis | arcturis.com) LPA (irvine, california | lpainc.com) Array Healthcare Facilities Solutions (king of prussia, pennsylvania | arrayhfs.com) Cooper Carry (atlanta | coopercarry.com) Design Development Company (agoura hills, california | designdevelopment-group.com) STG Design (austin, texas | stgdesign.com) Carrier Johnson + Culture (san diego | carrierjohnson.com) Loebl Schlossman & Hackl (chicago | lshdesign.com) MSA Planning and Design Consultants (san francisco | msasf.com) Heitz Parsons Sadek (west palm beach, florida | heitz-parsons-sadek.com) Westar Architects (las vegas | wagnarchitects.com) Reel Grobman & Associates (san jose, california | reelgrobman.com) H. Hendy Associates (newport beach, california | hhendy.com) Looney & Associates (dallas | looney-associates.com) Dyer Brown & Associates (boston | dyerbrown.com) Rees Associates (oklahoma city | rees.com) Sargenti Architects (paramus, new jersey | sargarch.com) Slifer Design (edwards, colorado | sliferdesign.com) AAI (san jose, california | aaidesign.com) Meyer Design (ardmore, pennsylvania | meyerdesigninc.com) SFA Design (santa barbara, california | sfadesign.com) J. Banks Design Group (hilton head island, south carolina | jbanksdesign.com) Stephen B. Jacobs Group/Andi Pepper Interior Design (new york | sbjgroup.com) LB Architects (new york | lbarch.com) Ismael Leyva Architects (new york | ilarch.com) AvroKO (new york | avroko.com) Burkettdesign (denver | burkettdesign.com) Lauckgroup (dallas | lauckgroup.com) Kay Lang + Associates (los angeles | kaylangassocs.com) Mojo Stumer Associates Architects (greenvale, new york | mojostumer.com) Carson Design Associates (carmel, indiana | carsondesign.com) Hopping Kovach Grinnell (vancouver, british columbia | hkgdesign.com) EDG (san rafael, california | edgdesign.com) RLF (winter park, florida | rlfae.com) Brereton Architects (san francisco | brereton.com)
work Installed
design Fees
Value
Sq. Ft.
(millions)
(millions)
(millions)
$5.400 $5.309 $5.000 $5.000 $5.000 $4.900 $4.764 $4.713 $4.700 $4.650 $4.607 $4.500 $4.500 $4.435 $4.400 $4.304 $4.300 $4.120 $4.000 $4.000 $4.000 $3.825 $3.807 $3.765 $3.650 $3.600 $3.585 $3.509 $3.500 $3.500 $3.430 $3.400 $3.300 $3.200 $3.176 $3.072 $3.050 $3.000 $3.000 $3.000 $2.950 $2.946 $2.900 $2.800 $2.800 $2.751 $2.734 $2.695 $2.670 $2.666
$150.00 $340.37 $70.00 $62.00 NR NR NR $66.00 $60.00 $317.78 $115.18 $120.00 $20.00 $150.00 $44.00 NR $117.31 $200.00 $50.00 $40.00 $6.00 $133.86 $101.00 $31.88 $49.00 $32.00 $84.00 $47.50 $675.00 $37.00 $85.00 $98.20 $9.00 $200.00 NR $22.00 $5.74 $125.00 $120.00 NR $11.40 $105.01 $200.00 $99.75 $30.00 $5.00 $85.44 $49.00 $874.54 $50.00
NR 0.94 1.20 2.40 NR NR NR 3.00 NR 1.35 5.76 3.00 0.50 1.30 NR NR 2.21 1.62 0.83 0.50 10.00 1.91 0.66 1.00 1.30 0.50 1.40 1.90 3.50 1.40 1.14 2.68 NR 3.00 NR 0.70 0.67 0.55 1.00 3.00 NR 2.63 1.50 1.28 0.18 1.10 0.93 0.37 2.81 0.80
design Staff 23 7 58 26 39 10 35 28 28 22 23 18 24 26 29 25 25 10 15 10 26 11 5 16 29 12 26 21 30 18 24 23 15 18 22 20 22 15 17 44 21 21 27 17 15 27 47 22 13 26
Rank 2010 95 80 107 114 74 110 103 124 133 122 136 99 92 85 116 83 66 94 106 148 89 111 100 123 151 138 145 119 118 146 152 -120 132 175 121 139 150 171 109 -141 147 135 157 144 161 155 158 --
200 200giants Rank 2011 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 * 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
Firm (headquarters | web site) Montgomery Roth (houston | montgomeryroth.com) Goettsch Partners (chicago | gpchicago.com) Orsini Design Associates (new york | orsinidesignassociates.com) CMMI (atlanta | cmmi-redlines.com) Karlsberger (columbus, ohio | karlsberger.com) Jain Malkin (san diego | jainmalkin.com) Philpotts & Associates (honolulu | philpotts.net) GBD Architects (portland, oregon | gbdarchitects.com) J.T. Nakaoka Associates Architects (los angeles) Shea (minneapolis | shealink.com) Klawiter and Associates (los angeles | klawiter.com) Legat Architects (chicago | legat.com) RD Jones & Associates (baltimore | rdjones.com) Cheryl Rowley Design (los angeles | cherylrowleydesign.com) Puccini Group (san francisco | puccinigroup.com) Graham Downes Architecture (san diego | grahamdownes.com) Polytech Associates (san francisco | polytechae.com) McCarthy Nordburg (phoenix | mccarthynordburg.com) Core (washington | coredc.com) Partridge Architects (philadelphia | partridgearch.com) DAS Architects (philadelphia | dasarchitects.com) Inarch (new york | inarch.net) Indidesign (los angeles | indidesign.com) IEI Group (philadelphia | ieigroup.com) ADM Group (tempe, arizona | admgroupinc.com) OZ Architecture (denver | ozarch.com) Rowland Design (indianapolis | rowlanddesign.com) API(+) (tampa, florida | apiplus.com) EDG Corporation (shanghai | edg.com.cn) MHTN Architects (salt lake city | mhtn.com) Design Directions International (marietta, georgia | ddi.cc) Hatch Design Group (costa mesa, california | hatchdesign.com) FME Architecture + Design (san francisco | fme-arch.com) Hixson (cincinnati | hixson-inc.com) DMR Architects (hasbrouck heights, new jersey | dmrarchitects.com) Interform Commercial Interiors (san ramon, california | interform.com) Design Collective (columbus, ohio | dcollective.com) Simeone Deary Design Group (chicago | simeonedeary.com) Dawson Design Associates (seattle | dawsondesignassociates.com) Marvin Stein & Associates (seattle | marvinstein.com) Abel Design Group (houston | abeldesigngroup.com) Spacesmith (new york | spacesmith.net) Alan Gaynor + Company (new york | gaynordesign.com) Adache Group Architects (fort lauderdale, florida | adache.com) Cleo Design (las vegas | cleo-design.com) Floss Barber (philadelphia | flossbarber.com) Gray Design Group (saint louis | graydesigngroup.com) GH2 Architects (tulsa, oklahoma | gh2.com) RDH & Associates (addison, texas | rdhassociates.net) Faulkner Design Group (dallas | faulknerdesign.com)
work Installed
design Fees
Value
Sq. Ft.
(millions)
(millions)
(millions)
NR $50.00 $25.00 $35.00 $63.72 $24.10 $5.91 $23.21 NR $24.00 $37.50 $38.69 NR NR $28.00 NR NR $331.24 $20.00 $10.90 $37.00 $15.00 $300.00 $50.00 $50.00 NR NR NR NR $44.40 $38.00 $63.09 NR NR $33.14 $34.21 $14.06 $1.60 $38.00 $45.00 $29.05 $25.00 $36.54 $6.40 NR $35.00 $24.87 NR $4.00 $3.50
NR 0.80 NR 0.98 1.78 0.40 NR 0.54 NR 0.24 0.42 2.05 NR NR 0.11 0.50 0.17 NR 0.30 0.28 0.17 0.07 0.35 1.95 0.29 NR 1.15 1.93 3.95 1.20 1.09 0.24 NR NR 0.41 1.00 NR 0.05 NR 0.50 0.76 0.25 0.22 1.10 NR 0.48 4.05 NR 0.30 0.11
$2.500 $2.492 $2.486 $2.465 $2.431 $2.427 $2.393 $2.275 $2.248 $2.160 $2.103 $2.100 $2.100 $2.070 $2.040 $2.000 $1.980 $1.968 $1.958 $1.953 $1.910 $1.910 $1.900 $1.890 $1.875 $1.828 $1.822 $1.800 $1.779 $1.776 $1.755 $1.568 $1.540 $1.530 $1.504 $1.430 $1.404 $1.400 $1.320 $1.313 $1.289 $1.280 $1.269 $1.260 $1.243 $1.200 $1.123 $1.110 $1.100 $1.100
design Staff 12 10 7 15 27 13 22 16 13 17 10 4 13 13 19 10 10 13 20 18 14 13 12 12 15 12 16 15 48 2 6 11 9 15 16 9 11 7 13 12 12 14 12 17 10 7 16 17 8 13
Rank 2010 182 137 154 -108 --185 -181 174 126 156 165 179 168 --143 164 170 177 176 172 -166 153 ---167 173 186 178 112 195 -159 -192 -180 -196 -183 194 191 184 197
* We learned of Cheryl Rowley Design’s closing after the July issue went to press. Had the firm not been included in our Giants ranking, BG Studio International of New York would have been number 200.
139 Clockwise from left: This Paris art collector’s apartment is by Spacesmith. LB Architects designed New York’s Geneva Watch shop. Jenner & Block, Chicago, is by Goettsch Partners. Heitz Parsons Sadek designed the Shanghai restaurant Xiao Nan Guo.
192 % of fees by project type 2011 forecast fees
$81,847,690 (29%)
Hospitality
$101,606,628 (31%)
$80,714,923 (29%)
Office
$86,434,047 (27%)
$37,118,550 (13%)
Health Care/ Assisted Living
$40,789,336 (13%)
$23,491,197 (8%)
Educational
$27,600,964 (9%)
$18,914,767 (7%)
Retail
$21,246,310 (7%)
$16,543,954 (6%)
Residential
$19,419,818 (6%)
$9,331,698 (3%)
Government
$11,792,897 (4%)
$1,747,978 (1%)
Cultural
$2,187,124 (1%)
$626,526 (0.2%)
Transportation
$1,793,376 (1%)
$7,921,047 (3%)
Other
$10,845,782 (3%)
new to the second 100 giants Firm 2011 Rank Sargenti Architects 132 AvroKO 141 Brereton Architects 150 CMMI 154 Jain Malkin 156 Philpotts & Associates 157 J.T. Nakaoka Associates Architects 159 Polytech Associates 167 McCarthy Nordburg 168 ADM Group 175 API(+) 178 EDG Corporation 179 MHTN Architects 180 Design Collective 187 Dawson Design Associates 189 Abel Design Group 191 Alan Gaynor + Company 193 Cleo Design 195
giants 200
from left: vincent leroux; peter mauss/esto
2010 actual fees
200giants
152
Other Design Staff $90 Principal/Partner $145,000
Designer $110
Project Manager $150
Median hourly rate Project Manager $85,000
Median annual salary Principal/Partner $200 Other Design Staff $47,000
Designer $60,000
(1)
Gensler (2)
Perkins + Will (3)
Rockwell Group Yabu Pushelberg
Tonychi and Associates 125
from top: steve hall/hedrich blessing; sun xiangyu
The most admired firms (voted by the 2011 second 100 giants)
200giants issues most affecting design firms CLIENT ISSUES
BUSINESS ISSUES
PRACTICE ISSUES
68% 49% 33% 31% 27% 14% 12%
From top: Whitney designed Valspar Corporation in Chicago. Garden Villas of O’Fallon, a Missouri retirement community by the Gray Design Group, includes this salon.
Creating new business/diversifying into new services or segments Marketing the firm’s capabilities Training staff Offering staff an appropriate pay scale and benefits Recruiting qualified staff Keeping track of profits and expenses Retaining qualified staff
78% 72% 45% 18% 13% 9% 5%
Earning appropriate fees Downturn in economy Dealing with clients’ increasing demands Handling increased interfer- ence from clients’ consultants Creating cutting-edge design solutions Managing the growing needs for sustainable design Managing vendors
74% 61% 54% 28% 25% 20% 12%
Clients’ willingness to pay the project’s worth Finding new clients Getting clients to understand design value Clients’ willingness to take design risks Managing clients’ expectation Handling micromanaging clients Retaining clients
108
197 from top: craig dugan; jeff wellman
Circle 87
Methodology The second installment of the two-part annual business survey of Interior Design Giants comprises
the second 100 largest firms ranked by interior design fees for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2010. The first 100 Giants firm ranking was published in January. Interior design fees include those attributed to: 1. All types of interiors work, including commercial office, hospitality, retail, health care, and residential. 2. All aspects of a firm’s interior design practice, from strategic planning and programming to design and project management. 3. Fees paid to a firm for work performed by employees and independent contractors who are full-time staff equivalent. Interior design fees do not include revenues paid to a firm and remitted to subcontractors who are not considered full-time staff equivalent. For example, certain firms attract work that is subcontracted to a local firm. The originating firm may collect all the fees and retain a management or generation fee, paying the remainder to the performing firm. Amounts paid to the latter are not included in fees of the collecting firm when determining its ranking. Ties are broken by the dollar value of products installed. The data was compiled and analyzed by the Interior Design market research staff in New York, led by Wing Leung, research director.
july.11 interiordesign.net
137
Circle 75