Nagasawa says, “It is our job to make the design profession appealing to a generation of people who have other opportunities. This means making sure people feel appreciated when they are here. It means continually looking at compensation and benefits in a profession notoriously known for low pay and long hours. We have forced ourselves to look at things differently: putting a lot of effort into building the different disciplines, having a pipeline, building design talent and helping the design professionals be more helpful to clients. Even though we know that not every employee will stick around, we want to make sure that they know they won’t be plugging away at restroom details forever.” “We acknowledge there has been a disparity in our profession — whole groups of people who are not represented. There are people who have always been marginalized that haven’t had the connections, and there haven’t been enough role models. We have to take an active role in correcting that in every hiring decision by considering all qualified applicants and making more representative professions.” What Does the Future Hold for GSBS? As they look to continued success in the future, GSBS is keeping an eye on key factors, including: • How they are going to harness AI so that they can spend less time on the things that are rote, which will give them more time to do the strategic work. • A lot of national firms are opening offices in Utah, often to complete a large project. The market is very competitive. Will these firms stay and make the market even more competitive? • Firms appear to be specializing more than they used to. It is not enough to be a good architecture firm; you have to have done a lot of the same sort of projects. Many clients are selecting off the portfolio. How do you formulate a message that will resonate? • The industry must develop systems that address the monumental environmental challenges we face. The damage being done is outpacing our ability to respond — we have to shift toward anticipating disasters before they occur. • Clients come expecting truly sustainable design. Part of the team’s role is to educate those clients on why each design decision matters — and to empower them to make choices that lead to better outcomes. • Continuing to be the right firm for talented people. Evolving how the team practices and runs the business — so it can stay nimble enough to change as the world changes. Figuring out the right move to preserve the culture, even as change becomes necessary. And aspirations? In addition to meeting the ongoing challenges of a thriving company in a changing world, GSBS is working to grow their Fort Worth practice and become known as a national-caliber design team, which means winning projects that show off the firm’s capabilities on a national stage. They have lofty goals, and clearly, this is a team with everyone pulling in the same direction to achieve them. 1. Projects that GSBS is known for include the Olympic Speed Skating Oval, Salt Lake Public Safety Building, Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah College Nursing, Utah Valley University New Science Center, Cottonwood Corporate Center, and many industrial buildings, correctional facilities, and religious facilities. Salt Lake City Fleet Maintenance Building University of Utah Price Computing and Engineering Building Natural History Museum of Utah 21
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