Architecture & Engineering Business Strategies

Why don't Architects sketch with clients anymore? And why don't Engineers invest in teaching their Architect collaborators? These two Austin firms have revolutionized collaboration by front-loading coordination, using paper to build trust, and aligning billing phases perfectly.In this episode, you will learn:→ Why front-loading structural knowledge eliminates late-stage coordination disasters→ How paper sketching prevents "too precious" client paralysis in early phases→ The transparent billing model that forces perfect architect-engineer phase alignment→ Why trust reduces process steps and speeds project delivery→ How to break the linear design-coordinate-redline cycle that burns monthsMeet our guests:Maggie Wylie, AIA, is founder of Point B Design Group in Austin, Texas, specializing in residential and commercial projects with a focus on collaborative efficiency. Moises Cruz is principal structural engineer at A-1 Engineering, bringing military training and forensic expertise to prevent construction failures. Together, they've completed 6 projects with 4 more in progress.Ready to monitor your business health and make smarter decisions about when to hire, find work, or pull back? Join over 12,000+ Architects and Engineers on Monograph! Get started at https://monograph.com

Creating the perfect restaurant vibe requires controlling air temperature, velocity, day lighting, and acoustic quality all at once, but most architect-engineer teams can't coordinate at this level.In this conversation, you'll hear how these Austin-based firms have sustained their decade-plus partnership working on everything from P. Terry's locations to the iconic Headliners Club renovation. They share their approach to early MEP integration, project selection criteria that protect both profitability and design ambition, and the trust investment required to learn each other's design language.What you'll learn:→ Framework for selecting projects that balance financial viability with design ambition→ Why bringing MEP engineers into conceptualization prevents expensive redesigns→ How to achieve precise technical coordination for hospitality experiences→ Trust investment strategies for building decade-plus consultant partnerships→ Real-time collaboration challenges and timing protocols that actually workAbout the guests:Michael Hsu, FAIA leads Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, a nationally award-winning practice in Austin focused on hospitality-driven projects. His design philosophy roots in empathy, storytelling, and aesthetic connection to culture and nature. Eric Zissman and Sujay Regmi co-founded APTUS Engineering, a performance-driven MEP firm known for service-oriented culture and collaborative approach across commercial, healthcare, and educational sectors.Ready to improve your project coordination? Monograph helps architecture and engineering firms track projects, manage resources, and collaborate more effectively. Learn more at https://monograph.com/

Most architects treat engineers like a service you hand work to, but what if your breakthrough moments happen when you start conceptual conversations before making any structural decisions?What you'll learn:→ Why bringing consultants to the table "as quickly and early as possible" unlocks structural innovation most firms never discover→ How to reject the three-legged stool myth and achieve budget, schedule, AND quality through honest upfront planning→ The resource coordination system that prevents "everyone else's fires from becoming your fire" across multiple firms→ Why picking up the phone beats endless teams chats for solving complex design problems fast→ How fifteen-year professional partnerships enable vulnerability and breakthrough collaborationIn this episode: Ken and Jeff reveal how their fifteen-year partnership transforms projects through early integration, transparent resource planning, and maintaining human connection in an increasingly digital world. From conceptual conversations about "what the building wants to do" to weekly coordination meetings that prevent project chaos, this episode challenges every assumption about how architects and engineers should work together.Guest Bios:Ken Andrews is a principal and partner at Arch11 in Boulder and Denver, delivering artful and resilient design across residential, commercial, and institutional scales for over 20 years.Jeff Myers is an executive principal at KL&A Engineers and Builders, a 30-year-old firm generating $40-50 million annually across five Rocky Mountain offices. With 25 years of structural engineering experience and an architecture degree, he brings unique dual-discipline perspective to collaborative practice.Ready to transform your consultant relationships? Visit https://monograph.com to see how over 12,000 architects and engineers coordinate resources and manage projects.

A&E project collaboration sounds great–until projects go over budget, scope gets muddy, and no one's sure who's doing what.In this episode, two award-winning design firms share how they actually make collaboration work: → How to staff and structure projects across two firms → How to run weekly planning and manage deadlines → How to divide scope, run client meetings, and stay on track → What tools to rely on: Slack, trace paper, Monograph, and more → How should Architects + Landscape Architects work together?Make sure to listen until the end to hear what they'd never do again!In this conversation, you'll hear about:How Shape and Super Bloom started working togetherWhat kind of projects each firm focuses onHow many projects they're working on at onceHow they structure projects across teamsHow they structure their time week to weekHow they handle client interactions and site meetingsWhat tools they use for team collaboration and designHow architects and landscape architects should work togetherWhat project really tested their collaboration—and how they handled itThe most unexpected thing that helped them collaborate betterWhat architects misunderstand about landscape architects—and vice versaWhat ways of working they'd never go back toQ&A: Is collaboration worth the budget risk for better outcomes?Q&A: When did they adopt Monograph, and why?🟡 Shape Architecture is a Colorado-based firm recently recognized as the 2024 AIA Colorado Young Firm of the Year. Led by Principals Steve Scribner and Morgan Law, they focus on creating high-performance, site-connected buildings across the Mountain West.🟢 Superbloom is a landscape architecture studio recently awarded a 2024 ASLA Colorado Merit Award for their innovative, climate-adaptive designs. Led by Principals Stacy Passmore and Diane Lipovsky, the team focuses on connecting people to landscapes in ways that are meaningful and resilient.💜 HOSTED BY MONOGRAPH The easiest project management software for Architects & Engineers. Get started now: https://monograph.com/book-a-demo

Many architects and engineers struggle to manage their business, from staying on top of budgets to streamlining invoicing and forecasting. In this episode, we explore how Workbench, a California architect-developer + design-build firm, transformed their operations. By switching to Monograph from BQE Core + Smartsheets, they reduced unbilled fees by 75%, cut their billing time from 20 hours a month to just 4 hours, and sped up staffing and scheduling for their team by 8x.In this episode, you'll learn:How to give your team real-time clarity on project budgets and schedules.How Monograph simplifies invoicing, forecasting, and staffing adjustments.How better tools can help reduce inefficiencies and improve team productivity.Workbench used Monograph to save time, improve transparency, and focus on growing their business. If you’re ready to spend less time managing spreadsheets and more time doing the work you love, this episode is for you.Want to learn more? Visit monograph.com to book a demo today!

Meet Garrison Architects — a Brooklyn-based architecture firm that specializes in sustainable, modular building design through highly refined modernist aesthetics across private residential and large scale public projects. In 2023, the firm left ArchiOffice for Monograph to streamline and improve project tracking, staffing, and billing, while reducing the cost associated with managing their systems by 50%.Here's what happened: Before Monograph- +$34k annual cost on project management and billing systems- 40-48 hours a month on monthly invoicing- 45-60 days time-to-paymentAfter Monograph- 50% reduced cost on project management and billing systems- 66% less time on monthly invoicing- 2.6x faster time-to-paymentRead the story here - https://bit.ly/49nlNJpNew to Monograph? Start here - https://bit.ly/4bI3S1N

What does organization have to do with landing new clients? Managing Director Inger Kammeraat and Strategy and Development partner Jan Knikker at MVRDV believe a well-structured workplace is the foundation you need to attract, win and retain your ideal clients. In this Best Practice interview, they explained how they structure their firm to facilitate a healthy pipeline of new projects. They talked about how they use PR to drive business development, how they balance profit with their mission, and how they close the cycle at the end of each project.

Architects can often feel pulled in two opposing directions. On one hand are the client's desires and needs, and on the other hand is the architect's personal creativity and aesthetic. However, it is possible to keep professionalism and creativity in balance. During Section Cut, Steve Perce of bldg.collective shared his tips for achieving the best of both worlds.

Happy clients are a key ingredient to running a successful architecture business. Positive client experiences are important: when you do it right, you'll secure referrals and repeat business for your firm. During Section Cut, Lucas Gray and Dena Alspach of Charrette Venture Group broke down how to kick off a great client experience before the project even begins—and keep it going past project close-out.

The dream training of an architect isn’t siloed, repetitive work. It’s experiencing a whole range of different scales, different typologies, and different locales in their projects. Ennead Architects doesn’t use a typical studio-based organization for the architects and instead embraces the cross-fertilization of ideas and skills transfer that comes from everyone having a variety of work. Even the partners. In this episode, Ennead partners Molly McGowan and Thomas Wong let us in on how they manage all of their diverse civic projects, build teams, and define success.

Many traditional architecture practices are no longer sustainable. Firms that want to lead the path into the future will need to adopt new ways of thinking. In this Best Practice interview, Christian Stayner, Principal of Stayner Architects, explains how expanding your services, collaborating with consultants, and systemizing client interactions can help you create new models for the future of the industry.

Not every architect should start their own practice. It comes down to how you want to spend your time. If you want to spend most of your time being an architect, don’t start a practice. Starting a practice requires you to spend time on business processes, marketing, sales, and most of all, thinking about money. From setting fees to planning for the future, there are many financial decisions you’ll have to make right from the start. In this Best Practice episode, Marilyn Moedinger, founder of Runcible Studios, shares her expertise on the money side of starting your own practice.