Our young designers revisited

Three years ago, Building spent an idyllic afternoon with a group of young architects, some barbequed sausages and a Frisbee. The fivesome were able to take time out of their schedules for the summer rendezvous because they had all made the risky decision to build their practices up from scratch, and so were their own bosses.

Back then they told stories of stressful start-ups, first mistakes, and gorging a pay phone with 10p pieces to make the calls needed to win the first project.

Fast forward to June 2009 and things are very different. All the practices have operating phone systems for one thing, and the mood has dramatically shifted. Although the group (minus one half of Nick Cross Associates, who left to set up his own practice) is as upbeat as ever, summer games and the BBQ have been replaced with bleeping BlackBerries, diary co-ordination and scheduling meetings in the middle of the photoshoot.

And the hard work is clearly paying off as, despite some of the toughest market conditions the industry has ever seen, every one of these young firms is still up and running. In fact, all three are well positioned to grow through the recession and come out healthy on the other side – a welcome antidote to the gloom shrouding the architecture sector.

Each of the practices has a story to tell about how they have kept their heads above water, from becoming world-renowned experts in bridge design to working on celebrity homes. But they all have one thing in common – they are living, profit-making proof that with the right planning and some seriously long working days, you can make a success of setting up your own practice, no matter what the economic conditions. Here are those stories …

Pascale Scheurer and Holly Porter directors of Surface to Air

Having set up their practice in 2004 with no start-up cash, Scheurer and Porter were determined to keep their overheads low. Three years ago they were working closely with a business mentor to keep up to date on financial and marketing advice and were making good contacts with clients and within the RIBA.

What they did next

Scheurer and Porter have made a number of key decisions in the past three years, not least to focus on the education sector. “We slid in the door at the very last minute and became well established before every architect and his dog went for that work,” says Scheurer. Their other lucky break was joining forces with Pringle Brandon, the practice of Jack Pringle, the former RIBA president, who set up his own firm when he was 29. “We asked Jack to be our new business mentor two-and-a-half years ago. When he heard we wanted to focus on education, he said he wanted to get involved as he foresaw the rush for public work in the downturn,” says Scheurer. “So we set up a joint venture called Wired with his firm.” Surface to Air now operates out of a space in Pringle Brandon’s offices.

Winning work

“We’re definitely punching above our weight – advising on about £2bn worth of schools projects,” says Scheurer. Surface to Air properly cracked the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) market in 2008 and is now working in all four major roles in the BSF programme: client design adviser to Camden and Hammersmith & Fulham, technical architect for Hounslow, design champion for major contractors, and architect for individual school projects. In addition, it has completed at least one project a year and its Rotunda Pupil Referral Unit was shortlisted for the BCSE Awards 2009 in the Best Extension or Refurbishment Category.

Running the business

Despite now winning good work, Scheurer and Porter keep costs as low as possible. Working out of a larger firm’s office has been invaluable in keeping electricity, water and rent low. Scheurer says: “Later we’ll look to diversify, maybe into the commercial sector. But for at least the next two years it’s education all the way.”

Personal challenges

The main change has been the birth of Scheurer’s twin daughters. Both women admit that her being away from the office was tough, but Scheurer says it is doable with a good business partner, the right husband and an ability to multitask. “I learned how to bounce one baby, breastfeed the other and send an email all at the same time,” she says. Porter adds she was more than prepared to work the extra hours to keep the business ticking over in her partner’s absence. “It’s like a marriage,” she says. “You stick at things through thick and thin.”

Advice

You have to learn to say no, to be more selective and create your firm’s ethos and specialism

Nick cross

“You need to be prepared for a new business to be tough for the first seven years at least,” says Porter. “And always use advisers. We still sit down with ours once every month or so.” She adds that once you are established you should remember two things. The first is making sure you listen: “Young architects can be so desperate to be heard, but don’t let that be at the expense of what the client is telling you or asking for.” The second is to maintain good relationships: “You can lose a relationship with a client right up until the last day.”

The future

Thanks to meticulous budgeting for the past five years, Scheurer and Porter say they will be in a position to expand once the market has recovered. Both see the recession as an opportunity. “A lot of big practices today were grown through the last recession,” Porter says. “Good ideas can come out of being pushed right to the edge.”

Nick Cross director of Nick Cross Associates

He and business partner Max De Rosée set up the practice in 2004 with a £15,000 overdraft. The pair started with an invoice of £2,000 and a dog-sitting job on the side. They built up a turnover of £100,000 in two years.

What he did next 

De Rosée decided to leave the firm in January 2008 to set up his own firm, De Rosée Fa, with his wife. Cross says it was an amicable parting and that he gave De Rosée the clients and projects he was already working on to help him to get started. Since then, Cross has been picking up glamorous projects, mainly through personal recommendations.

Winning work and major projects 

Both of Cross’ key projects have been recent wins. The first is redesigning the house of Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow and her musician husband Chris Martin. “I went shopping for the day with Gwyneth for stuff for the house,” says Cross. “It was the most surreal experience.” In the past month Cross has also been in talks about designing allotments for the former Candy & Candy project at Noho Square in the West End: “We’re calling it Growho,” he says.

Running the business 

“I’m more regimented these days,” says Cross who admitted back in 2006 that he and De Rosée had not set up their practice with a solid plan in place. He adds that he has had to become more efficient, especially since the departure of his business partner. As part of this drive, Cross hired a project manager six months ago: “Now we’re getting bigger jobs, it’s great to have someone who can work out the cost implications of design options, which is what the client wants, and needs, to know.”

Personal challenges

Balancing his career and children has been hard for Cross: “There is a huge tear between not being able to spend as much time out networking and absolutely having to win work as you have hungry mouths to feed,” he says. “I used to go to lots of events. I can’t do that now with the kids”

Advice

For Cross, not taking on more than you can cope with has been a recipe for success: “I have learned to say no to some projects to avoid being overstretched,” he says. “In the old days I would gleefully agree to do any old loft conversion, but you have to be more selective and create your firm’s ethos and specialism. But for the best advice I would listen to Pascale! She and Holly seem to be permanently 10 steps ahead of the game.”

The future 

I learned how to bounce one baby, breastfeed the other and send an email all at the same time

Pascale Scheurer

“I’d like to diversify and am looking at some new-build projects.”

Julian Hakes director of Hakes Associates, the firm he runs with his wife Cari-Jane

Julian and his wife had set up their firm when they were both 24 in 1995 after Julian won a competition when he was 22 and used the money for start-up capital. The firm always had a clear plan and was focused on the public health sector and international bridge design. Three years ago the practice was turning over £600k a year.

What he did next

Three years ago the firm started to make inroads into the bridge market abroad and won a big scheme in Dubai. Hakes then went out to work on a project in Los Angeles, beating well-known firms such as Wilkinson Eyre, Make Architects, Adjaye Associates and Buro Happold. The firm is now involved in, or looking at schemes in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Moscow and London.

Winning work and major projects

Since 2007, Hakes Associates has designed bridges in Los Angeles, Moscow and the Middle East. Other wins include the Liverpool Media Wall for Land Securities, Flint Facade department store in Colchester, Paddington Bridge and the Harbour Masters building in Paddington, Ribbon Bridge in Colchester, Southall Eel Net Bridge and a £65m mixed retail scheme in central London.

Running the business

Hakes has resisted growing – not easy when everyone around him was doing just that. He says keeping things small means the group is in a good position to increase staff when the market recovers. His main investment has been in technology. “Some new firms would start with the cheapest computers and equipment,” he says. “We went for the best we could afford and I think they have all paid for themselves already.” He adds that any spare funds went back into the company and that neither he, nor his wife paid themselves for 18 months.

Personal challenges

Apart from the severe knock of losing a major client and 80% of his work at start of year two, Hakes says having children affected the way the pair coped with the business: “You have to survive on less sleep, and balance work and home. The dynamic changed. But we clearly forgot about all of that because then we went and made another one.”

Advice

“If you are working abroad, you have to be where the project is all the time or risk losing the work. When I was looking at projects in Los Angeles, I know that between the time I left and the time I touched back down in the UK a local firm had already tried to pick up some of our work.”

The future

Hakes says the firm have several major bridge schemes in the pipeline and that he and his wife have also started working on more unusual ventures including jewellery, shoe and surfboard design.

Original print headline - Young, gifted and back