FFKR’s Latest Generation Charges On INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL LEISHMAN, AIA, AND EXCERPTED FROM FRANK FERGUSON, FAIA LEGEND, INTERVIEWED BY FRAN PRUYN Fowler Ferguson Kingston Ruben (FFKR) was founded in 1976. This is how Frank Ferguson remembers it: “I was friends with Bob Fowler. We were both competing for Symphony Hall and Bob got it. We were friends, so I wrote a letter to Bob and said, ‘I really feel crummy. I really wanted to have that job, but, if I can’t have it, I want you to have it.’ A couple weeks later, Bob asked me to come over and said, ‘I want you to be my design consultant,’ … because it had to be done in a short period of time. Bob believed in me like I believed in him. We worked side by side. He was the architect; I was his design consultant.” “There was enormous pressure, but sometimes pressure helps you with the decision-making process and your brain works better because you can’t sit around and dream about things. You have got to get things done. Without Bob, it would never have happened. It wouldn’t have been the same without me, but I had no political weight. Bob had plenty of political weight (to sell the design). All this time we were just having a great time, it was wonderful.” So, Enteleki (Ferguson’s firm that also included Ray Kingston) and Robert Fowler Architects merged; FFKR’s first project was Abravanel Hall, for Salt Lake County. In those days, FFKR was a studio — built on the talents and charisma of the principals. Ferguson: “When a new project would come in the office, we would assign it to one of us, and we just worked together and had very good people. We were careful that we worked hard every day, and efficiently, and we were able to make our payroll. You couldn’t draw a corporate structure of either Enteleki or FFKR. It was a very artistic environment.” FFKR is now edging up on 50 years old. It is still known as a capital “D” Design firm. It is also very successful, and with 158 employees and offices in Utah and Arizona, it is decidedly more of a design business than a studio. I spoke with Mike Leishman, the firm’s president, about FFKR’s evolution, growth and the keys to its current success. Leishman: “We have been very fortunate and blessed. We started out well, with Symphony Hall. Then, through the tenacity of the founders, and their carefully chosen successors, we have had a lot of great projects: the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, Salt Lake Tabernacle, Hillcrest High School, Talking Stick Resort, Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital, Delta Center. 85% of our work is for return clients. But ultimately, our 17
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