When a small project grows, you may face compensatory and consequential damages.

Illustration: © Alex Williamson

Titans Maintain Lead While Industry Suffers.

Photo © Nanjing Chunshan

Now three decades old, has the IDP lived up to its lofty goals?

In tough economic times many architecture firms are being swallowed in a merger and acquisition frenzy, sometimes with unexpected results.

The biggest quandary facing some architects is the wording on the door.

We spotlight three American firms doing ambitious work abroad. Different design approaches were involved in each project, and the lessons learned about working overseas are well worth examining.

Lawyers say integrated-project-delivery documents have come a long way, but caution is still in order.

Two architects talk candidly about how they turned their business around even before the recession.

Top 250 Architecture Firms’ 2009 revenue fell dramatically, while foreign work was stable.

• 2008 Revenues of RECORD’s Top 250 Firms

We create ways of doing all kinds of things. Here’s how some firms save the knowledge for future use.

MBE and DBE firm owners debate whether the designation really helps their business.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet?
By Jessica Sheridan, Assoc. AIA
Increasingly, architects are tapping into social media to connect with peers and promote their work.

Illustration © Otto Steininger

Putting Yourself Out There
By William Bostwick
Three recent projects attract clients by offering design services in unconventional locations.

Photo © Michael Hanson

Managing Layoffs
By B.J. Novitski
Making the worst task slightly easier for all.

Illustration © Matthew Hollister

When the economy tanked, long-term planning paid off for one D.C. firm.

There are many ways to get a client to pay, starting with frank communication and looking out for red flags.

RECORD looks at the 2010 survey and asks people in academia and the profession what it all means.

Architecture firms are hiring engineers and A/E firms are revamping the way they work. Why? Because collaborating sooner and more often makes their architecture better.

As sustainable design and construction gain momentum, project teams are facing new risks and finding limited solutions. GreenSource magazine, RECORD’s sister publication, examines these emerging eco-design risks.

Illustration © Christoph Nieman

Which building types will be taking off in the coming years? What firm management challenges will confront nearly everyone? Studying demographic trends can help you see into the future.

Preparing for that make-or-break job interview
By C.J. Hughes
If you’re trying to get a job, and lucky enough to land an interview, these suggestions from recruiters and firm principals may help you make the most of the opportunity.

Read more about finding work in a bad economy in our Architects’ Survival Guide.

Illustration © A. Richard Allen

Sustainability assessments: an opportunity for new work
By B.J. Novitski
Some architecture firms are finding work performing assessments for owners who want to make their existing buildings more sustainable. This kind of work might be a lifesaver in this bear market for conventional design services.

Illustration © Scott Menchin

It’s a very good time to develop your firm’s collaboration skills
By Andrew Pressman, FAIA
During a challenging period in which a paucity of work may leave key employees with increased amounts of downtime, there is an opportunity to examine, hone, and reflect on the art of multidisciplinary collaboration and teamwork.

Illustration © Harry Campbell

Greening your design culture to gain a competitive edge
By B.J. Novitski
The troubled economy may allow your firm the time it needs to rethink the philosophies that underlie its design work. It’s an especially good time to think about your firm’s green design culture, and to gain a competitive edge in the process.

Illustration © Edel Rodriguez

Client care: how to keep them coming back for more
By B.J. Novitski
“Client care” is more than a general notion of how to interact with clients. It’s understanding what clients truly want and making sure that everyone in the firm keeps that in mind as they do their jobs.

Image © Robert Dale/Images.com/Corbis

Managing the ever-more-distributed workforce
By B.J. Novitski
Despite fast communication speeds, modern companies face challenges of trust and control with off-site workers. Each case is different, but the balance can be adjusted with the use of technology and an understanding of the cultural barriers created by geographic separation.

Photo © NASA TV/Epa/Corbis

Professionalizing pro bono practice
By Casius Pealer
The notion that architecture firms have an ethical obligation to provide services [pro bono] is gaining wide-spread acceptance. Here’s how some firms are making the most of the experience.

Photo courtesy McCall Design Group

Mediation for Architects 101
By B.J. Novitski
Resolving conflicts that arise in the construction process can be quite costly and time consuming. This month's Practice Matters column covers mediation, the first phase of dispute resolution that AIA contracts require before arbitration and litigation can commence.

Illustration: © Corbis

Making the Most of Your Firm’s Millennials
By B.J. Novitski
Working with ["Millennials"]— young people who were born after 1980— can be either frustrating or exhilarating. This month's Practice Matters discusses how Gensler and Perkins+Will are embracing the challenges and opportunities that come from developing the future leaders of our profession.

Photo © Getty Images

New AIA agreements support integrated project delivery
By B.J. Novitski
In May, the American Institute of Architects published a new set of legal documents that can restructure relationships among professionals and reformulate the processes of designing and building.

Photo © Mashe | Dreamstime.com

Could taking on owner’s rep work be a good move for you?
By Alec Applebaum
You trained as an architect, so you work as an architect, right? Maybe not all the time. Some architects are hiring themselves out as owner’s representatives or going to work for salaried jobs at owner’s rep firms.

Image © The Gallery Collection/Corbis

Opportunity is the key to hiring and retaining talented staff
By B.J. Novitski
Unless your firm offers opportunities for advancement, educational growth, and creative work, your employees may begin to feel like uninspired worker bees.

Photo © Geoff Brightling/Getty Images

Creating a firm culture that supports innovative design
By Andrew Pressman, FAIA
Within the workplace, the swift and easy exchange of ideas is vital to the design process. What may not be so obvious is that there are strategies for cultivating this type of creative environment.

Photo courtesy IDEO

Just-updated AIA contracts resolve many issues
By B.J. Novitski
This month, we walk you through some of the many changes the AIA recently made to its standard contracts, which are updated every 10 years. In the recent publication round, 40 of more than 100 legal documents were revised, some of them substantially.

Photo © SXC/Daniel Jaeger Vendruscolo

Professional liability insurance: When to get serious
By Casius Pealer
If your firm has never had professional liability insurance, this article will help you understand its hidden benefits and the unusual circumstances that might lead to a claim against you. You might decide it's time to take the plunge.

Insurance statistics: Courtesy Victor O. Schinnerer & Company

Firms embrace the emerging role of the sustainability guru
By Russell Fortmeyer
The emergence of directors of sustainability at firms of all sizes has occurred more rapidly as the green design market takes off. But who are these sustainability gurus and what kinds of roles are they playing?

Photo © Mark Mainz/Getty Images

What’s fueling the firm mergers and acquisitions trend? Growth.
By B.J. Novitski
In the summer of 2007, two large American architecture firms made news when they announced they were being sold to larger European firms. Why are these firms selling? Does this represent a trend, and if so, what is its significance for the rest of the profession?

llustration © Corbis

Good leadership helps practice, the profession, and society
By Andrew Pressman, AIA
With just two brief quotes from this 1957 film classic, Henry Fonda’s character—an architect—begins to emerge as the leader of a group of men who are deciding a capital murder case. He is the lone dissenter initially but eventually is able to persuade the other 11 jurors to reexamine the evidence and acquit on the basis of reasonable doubt.

Photo © Getty Images

Nonprofit work experience: beneficial for all, but far too rare
By Casius Pealer
Public and nonprofit practices are playing an increasing role in the professional development of young architects and yield great benefits for all concerned. The entrepreneurialism, close client contact, and quality design work achieved by those fortunate enough to obtain these positions make them desirable for traditional firms who want experienced interns.

Photo © Jamie Blosser

Top 150 Architecture Firms' 2006 revenues total $8 billion
By Charles Linn, FAIA
Each year RECORD publishes the Top 150 Architecture Firms list, based on information collected by its sister publication, Engineering News-Record, for its Top 500 Design Firms Sourcebook. According to the latest survey, 2006 was a good year for architects, who reported a combined $8 billion in revenues.

Putting yourself out there:
What to consider when designing your firm Web site
By Ingrid Spencer
Within the last 10 years Web sites have become a firm’s most important means of making an impression on clients, potential employees, and the public. This article examines the ways in which this potent form of communication can benefit those seeking information about your firm—or baffle them.

Forum: Does your firm Web site work well? Tell us why it does, and let others see for themselves. Show us here.

Pictured: John Friedman Alice Kimm’s website jfak.net