since there are no longer sites like insidearch.com and cadmonkey.com i am attempting to find out about the true culture of HKS Architects based in Dallas.
-how heavily are the satellite offices staffed? is all the heavy lifting done from Dallas? remote offices only for local projects?
-are the design teams clearly divided by market group...i.e. healthcare stays in healthcare, sport in sport group etc? can you work on a project in one group until complete and go onto another
without making waves?
-appears as though they are internally progressive about
keeping staff trained and keyed into advancing in architecture.
is this truly the case?
-due to large staff #'s and # of office locations, it must be a bear to keep the company going amid this economy. have they been tactful about any downsizing?
-i see some postings available on the company website. do they still hire qualified candidates when they find them? even if they don't have a project for them right away?
-advancing in a company like this...is it slow? political? good 'old boy system?
A former co-worker of mine from an internship I did came from there. She never talked about it much besides the fact that it is split into the different market groups, but I am guess that since she was willing to move and go to a smaller firm that she wasn't happy there, but for what reasons I'm not sure.
Personally though, I'm not a fan of their work. They really bombed on Lucas Oil Stadium but the Shrine to Jerry Jones is ok.
med -- I'm sure what you really meant to convey was that any firm with a significant presence in the private sector laid off a shitload of people in the past few years -- not just HKS.
HKS is a firm that has gone from 400 in 2000 employees to 1200 in 2007. By 2008, the firm was less than 600 employees. In 2010, the number of employees is around 800.
Between 2000 and 2007, profits increased nearly 100% despite tripling in size.
I don't know what or how they were spending their money. However, I sympathize that using the theory of diminishing returns... there's only so much profit to be made by expanding your workforce.
The firm executives tend to run in more conservative circles it seems and their business tends to attract a very "upper middle" class clientele. Their projects are essentially the worst kind of Robert Stern knock-off post-modern shit that's littered the sunbelt.
fellas - the OP inquired about the "true culture of HKS Architects based in Dallas" - why don't we try to keep our eyes on that ball, instead of simply engaging in our traditional, but extraneous, 'piling on' behavior.
quiz, i do agree with you to a point, but does the type of work they do reflect a firm's culture? i would imagine that certain firms do certain type of work and have a culture - and a cadre of people - that are, if not an immediate reflection of their work, at least say a lot about the people willing to work on that project type, no?
i'm not arguing the point, just wondering. could you imagine a really talented designer, but introverted, working for Rockwell?
i have something positive to say in a way, looking at the work that big corporations do, it encourages me to want to be my own boss, because I know i can do better.
I actually don't mind their work. Some of it is quite nice and some of the bad stuff is what you would expect from a large firm like HKS. Quiz, fine. They laid a bunch of people off in Dallas meaning there are a lot of empty desks which means there is a pretty crappy morale there.
Their pay is pretty lousy too - in 2006 I interviewed with them and was in utter disbelief at the compensation they were talking about as compared with other firms even in that area.
Dec 21, 10 10:30 am ·
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HKS Architects
since there are no longer sites like insidearch.com and cadmonkey.com i am attempting to find out about the true culture of HKS Architects based in Dallas.
-how heavily are the satellite offices staffed? is all the heavy lifting done from Dallas? remote offices only for local projects?
-are the design teams clearly divided by market group...i.e. healthcare stays in healthcare, sport in sport group etc? can you work on a project in one group until complete and go onto another
without making waves?
-appears as though they are internally progressive about
keeping staff trained and keyed into advancing in architecture.
is this truly the case?
-due to large staff #'s and # of office locations, it must be a bear to keep the company going amid this economy. have they been tactful about any downsizing?
-i see some postings available on the company website. do they still hire qualified candidates when they find them? even if they don't have a project for them right away?
-advancing in a company like this...is it slow? political? good 'old boy system?
A former co-worker of mine from an internship I did came from there. She never talked about it much besides the fact that it is split into the different market groups, but I am guess that since she was willing to move and go to a smaller firm that she wasn't happy there, but for what reasons I'm not sure.
Personally though, I'm not a fan of their work. They really bombed on Lucas Oil Stadium but the Shrine to Jerry Jones is ok.
HKS laid of a shitload of people duirng the entire downturn.
med -- I'm sure what you really meant to convey was that any firm with a significant presence in the private sector laid off a shitload of people in the past few years -- not just HKS.
@ File.
I get what med was saying.
HKS is a firm that has gone from 400 in 2000 employees to 1200 in 2007. By 2008, the firm was less than 600 employees. In 2010, the number of employees is around 800.
Between 2000 and 2007, profits increased nearly 100% despite tripling in size.
I don't know what or how they were spending their money. However, I sympathize that using the theory of diminishing returns... there's only so much profit to be made by expanding your workforce.
The firm executives tend to run in more conservative circles it seems and their business tends to attract a very "upper middle" class clientele. Their projects are essentially the worst kind of Robert Stern knock-off post-modern shit that's littered the sunbelt.
Don't forget the fucking shitty design HKS did for the LA NHL stadium. yuck!
and the billion dollar mess for the Dallas Cowgirls.
fellas - the OP inquired about the "true culture of HKS Architects based in Dallas" - why don't we try to keep our eyes on that ball, instead of simply engaging in our traditional, but extraneous, 'piling on' behavior.
quiz, i do agree with you to a point, but does the type of work they do reflect a firm's culture? i would imagine that certain firms do certain type of work and have a culture - and a cadre of people - that are, if not an immediate reflection of their work, at least say a lot about the people willing to work on that project type, no?
i'm not arguing the point, just wondering. could you imagine a really talented designer, but introverted, working for Rockwell?
i have something positive to say in a way, looking at the work that big corporations do, it encourages me to want to be my own boss, because I know i can do better.
I actually don't mind their work. Some of it is quite nice and some of the bad stuff is what you would expect from a large firm like HKS. Quiz, fine. They laid a bunch of people off in Dallas meaning there are a lot of empty desks which means there is a pretty crappy morale there.
Their pay is pretty lousy too - in 2006 I interviewed with them and was in utter disbelief at the compensation they were talking about as compared with other firms even in that area.
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