Archinect - News

BNIM details the firm's transition to an employee-owned company model

2024-01-11T20:05:00-05:00

Kansas City-based architecture firm BNIM recently announced its decision to transition to an employee stock ownership plan (or ESOP) and trust.

The move was made in the fall and was brought about by an apparent desire to hand over control to younger employees, its senior leadership says. BNIM feels they are now better positioned for the future and sees the new ownership model as something that better relates to its core values and organizing mission to “design and deliver beautiful, integrated environments to inspire change and enhance the human condition.” They are now one of just a handful of known ESOP firms in the industry, following Zaha Hadid Architects, Gensler, Make Architects, SHoP, Design Workshop, HDR, and several others.

In a new sit-down interview with Bloomberg CityLab, BNIM principals Laura Lesniewski and James Pfeiffer described the effects the transition has had on the firm's work culture, client interface, and recruitment efforts. They say the lead-up to the decis...

Following the withdrawal of SHoP's unionization effort, the architecture community reacts

2022-02-04T17:25:00-05:00

A unionization effort at SHoP Architects that drew attention from across the industry has now been defeated after organizers officially withdrew their petition with the National Labor Review Board (NLRB) to form a labor union within the office.

After a push toward unionization was first made public by the New York Times in December, staffers at the 26-year-old firm are now abandoning the effort, citing a “powerful anti-union campaign” from within and decisions amongst the petitioners to pursue “alternatives” to address some of the abusive workplace conditions that the effort has brought to the fore.

Previously on Archinect: SHoP staffers announce unionization as the industry continues to shift away from traditional firm models

In a statement posted to an Instagram account associated with the group Architectural Workers United (AWU) on Thursday, organizers cited a dissolution of the unity which had carried the effort thus far, claiming that the newfound lack of a quorum was born out ...

Zaha Hadid Architects has paid almost $16million to keep founder’s name

2022-01-17T12:46:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has paid almost $16million over the past five years in order to retain the name of the late Zaha Hadid in the practice name. The deal, reported by UK outlet Building Online, included $4.6m (£3.4m) to use the founder’s name in 2021, $3.8m (£2.8m) in both 2020 and 2019, $1m (£780,000) in 2018, and $3.1m (£2.3m) in 2017.

The fees were paid to the Zaha Hadid Foundation, who control the trademark for the late architect. According to Building Online, the fluctuation in figures paid to the foundation are due to the fee’s link to the company’s annual turnover, which have increased gradually since 2018.

The company controlling the firm, officially named Zaha Hadid Limited (ZHL), was placed under the control of an employee-owned trust named Studio 9 in December of 2021, which saw the practice’s former parent company, Zaha Hadid Holdings, relinquish its control over ZHL. In the UK, Limited companies such as ZHL are required to publish annual accounts viewable to the ...

SHoP staffers announce unionization as the industry continues to shift away from traditional firm models

2021-12-21T20:24:00-05:00

On Tuesday, employees at the well-regarded firm SHoP Architects said that they were seeking to change the formula of long hours for middling pay by taking a step that is nearly unheard-of in their field. They are seeking to unionize.

The labor organizers at SHoP Architects, which recently became employee-owned, are proposing to join ranks with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Architecture, in general, is behind the rest of the economy in terms of similar efforts that could become more and more common now with the public backing of industry groups like The Architecture Lobby, which recently threw its support behind employees at the firm.

“The Architecture Lobby stands in solidarity with Architectural Workers United at SHoP Architects and unequivocally supports their efforts to form a union in their workplace,” the group's Statement of Support reads. “As an organization of architectural workers, we call on the firm’s principals to voluntarily recognize the union and engage in good faith negotiations with the collective bargaining unit.”

“We’re very innovative in a lot of our office work,” SHoP employee and unionization backer Danielle Tellez told the NY Times. “This feels like an...

Zaha Hadid Architects announces its transition to an employee-owned enterprise

2021-12-07T15:24:00-05:00

Five years after the tragic passing of its eponymous founder, Zaha Hadid Architects has announced its transition to an employee-owned firm in a surprising move that could have implications for large firms industry-wide.

The announcement was made Tuesday via a statement published on ZHA’s website and detailed the decision to reorganize into a new employee benefit trust in addition to the reasoning and business philosophies that lead to the move.

“As the Trust has no external shareholders, we can now reinvest all profits back into the business, into our people, equipment and facilities to the benefit all our employees; allowing us to prioritize our work with visionary clients, communities and industry experts around the world to advance the quality of the built environment,” the group statement read.

“Younger generations of architects are demanding our profession become more accessible and egalitarian,” the declaration continued. “Supported by independent and transparent organizationa...

Collective Architecture opening new Edinburgh office

2016-06-09T07:55:00-04:00

Collective Architecture is branching out east with the official opening of a new Edinburgh office, necessitated by a growing portfolio of work across the UK stretching from the east coast to the north of England and London. Director Jude Barber said ‘We are delighted that Collective Architecture continues to evolve and grow with our new studio in Edinburgh.”

Archinect's correspondent Robert Urquhart met with Collective Architecture earlier this year in Glasgow. Uniquly run as an employee-owned trust which so far no one has ever left; the firm already has an impressive body of work and has now been selected as one of three architects for the City of Edinburgh Council Framework. Read Robert's full interview here