Well I am going to start working at Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, and Stewart this summer as an intern. If you are still looking for IDP hours they are very conducive to the program. They've got about 150 people in their atlanta office, mostly do large scale commerical and residential as well as some institutional stuff. Scogins, Elam, and Bray is a smaller firm, took a tour of their office, it seems set up very similar to the workflow in school. And of course there are the huge ones like Portman and assoc., or Heery International. Don't know a whole lot about them, except that I think Portman is big enough that they can afford to do a lot of competition entries. Hope that will help a bit. Also, if you are planning on moving to Atlanta factor in the traffic in your decision of where to live and work. You really, really don't want to be commuting to a firm inside the perimeter if you live out in the suburbs.
what are your interests? what kind of firm do you think would be the best fit? just scrolling the aia list or even getting our recommendations here isn't going to mean much until we have some info from you.
I'm from Virginia. I worked there for a year between school, and I did a couple of summer internships in DC during undergrad. Ideally, I would like to work for a small-medium sized firm thats doing interesting work. (by interesting I mean actually coming up with new designs every now and then instead of recycling the same old brick plans). I'm interested in residential design and community projects (centers, libraries, public/private housing)-not so much giant projects like huge office complexes and stadiums.
I seem to work best in smallish firms-places where I get to know the people around me (and they get to know me) and work on a few different things at once. Having bosses who are nice would be a plus.
Scogin and Elam do smaller projects like you are interested in, and they have a nice design sense too. Anthony Ames would be another small firm to consider. I was always intrigued by his work, but he wasn't hiring when I was looking.
Some people work better in the corporate environment, some better in a smaller place. Personally, I enjoy the smaller firm more. I worked at Rosser International straight out of school. Nice folks, but I got stuck doing stair details for months at a time. Next firm I went to had about 45 people, and was top heavy with project managers. They expected way too much from the interns, and crapped on you every chance they got. I won't mention their name here. I work for a sole architect now with a staff of 11. I get 99% control over each of my projects and am the first contact with the client. My boss is a nuturer, which is rare in the business world these days. He is somewhat interested in good design, but even moreso in good detailing. We do a lot of money-makers like Walgreens, but occasionally we have opportunities for creativity also. It's all a give and take. I prefer the control and hands-on experience to the corporate environment. We are looking to hire one or two new grads, too.
BTW, I have some friends who worked at Smallwood, and they don't have much good to say about their experiences there. I'm sure that environment would suit some people, but just not anyone I have talked to.
HOK is also in Atlanta. Good Interiors studio - currently hiring. Potentially good architeure. Large firm but more international in scope and attitude.
i'll second a few recommendations above - smith dalia architects and surber barber choate hertlein are two good, midsized firms.
lord aeck sargent is by far the best of the 'big' firms - it feels less like a corporate gig and more like a larger midsize firm. the project types are more of your interest.
scogin elam is good, but, as mentioned above, somewhat difficult to crack into. a direct connection to someone is your best bet.
stanley beaman sears does some good work, but i haven't heard much from them in the past few years.
Any cool firms in Atlanta?
I'm thinking about moving there after I graduate.
I have already looked at the site-I wanna here from archinectors. Has anyone worked in Atlanta recently?
Well I am going to start working at Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, and Stewart this summer as an intern. If you are still looking for IDP hours they are very conducive to the program. They've got about 150 people in their atlanta office, mostly do large scale commerical and residential as well as some institutional stuff. Scogins, Elam, and Bray is a smaller firm, took a tour of their office, it seems set up very similar to the workflow in school. And of course there are the huge ones like Portman and assoc., or Heery International. Don't know a whole lot about them, except that I think Portman is big enough that they can afford to do a lot of competition entries. Hope that will help a bit. Also, if you are planning on moving to Atlanta factor in the traffic in your decision of where to live and work. You really, really don't want to be commuting to a firm inside the perimeter if you live out in the suburbs.
Probably the most interesting firm there
kissy-face -
what are your interests? what kind of firm do you think would be the best fit? just scrolling the aia list or even getting our recommendations here isn't going to mean much until we have some info from you.
This thread cued forward the essay rem koolhaas wrote on Atlanta in SMLXL. Atlanta's John Portman and firms of his ilk get quite scrutinized/reamed.
where are you moving down here from?
yes mack scogin's firm should be definitely pursued. He and his wife are wonderful people and true designers.... look into them...
I'm from Virginia. I worked there for a year between school, and I did a couple of summer internships in DC during undergrad. Ideally, I would like to work for a small-medium sized firm thats doing interesting work. (by interesting I mean actually coming up with new designs every now and then instead of recycling the same old brick plans). I'm interested in residential design and community projects (centers, libraries, public/private housing)-not so much giant projects like huge office complexes and stadiums.
I seem to work best in smallish firms-places where I get to know the people around me (and they get to know me) and work on a few different things at once. Having bosses who are nice would be a plus.
Scogin and Elam do smaller projects like you are interested in, and they have a nice design sense too. Anthony Ames would be another small firm to consider. I was always intrigued by his work, but he wasn't hiring when I was looking.
Some people work better in the corporate environment, some better in a smaller place. Personally, I enjoy the smaller firm more. I worked at Rosser International straight out of school. Nice folks, but I got stuck doing stair details for months at a time. Next firm I went to had about 45 people, and was top heavy with project managers. They expected way too much from the interns, and crapped on you every chance they got. I won't mention their name here. I work for a sole architect now with a staff of 11. I get 99% control over each of my projects and am the first contact with the client. My boss is a nuturer, which is rare in the business world these days. He is somewhat interested in good design, but even moreso in good detailing. We do a lot of money-makers like Walgreens, but occasionally we have opportunities for creativity also. It's all a give and take. I prefer the control and hands-on experience to the corporate environment. We are looking to hire one or two new grads, too.
www.hiscuttassociates.com
BTW, I have some friends who worked at Smallwood, and they don't have much good to say about their experiences there. I'm sure that environment would suit some people, but just not anyone I have talked to.
plexus does have a bad rep....be forewarned. Scogin-Elam is a great place, if you can get in.
I would try LAS since they just acquired Brock-Green and created a new studio for them.
Other firms with decent reps: jones-pierce, smith-dalia (mixed reviews about this), and surber-barber...
I would also look into sole proprietors...but, searching for them is a little difficult in my opinion and working for one is always a risk.
also, look into: stanley, beaman, and sears (great environment/people and some great projects).
and Richard + Wittschiebe. (same as above).
HOK is also in Atlanta. Good Interiors studio - currently hiring. Potentially good architeure. Large firm but more international in scope and attitude.
kissy face -
i'll second a few recommendations above - smith dalia architects and surber barber choate hertlein are two good, midsized firms.
lord aeck sargent is by far the best of the 'big' firms - it feels less like a corporate gig and more like a larger midsize firm. the project types are more of your interest.
scogin elam is good, but, as mentioned above, somewhat difficult to crack into. a direct connection to someone is your best bet.
stanley beaman sears does some good work, but i haven't heard much from them in the past few years.
i worked at both stanley beaman sears and plexus
plexus is good...but at this time , they have no backlog
sbs- is very design intensive..the do the best healthcare you can find
pay is about the same in either place...go to a big firm if you want big pay.....TVS..LAS..
r + w is small but might be good
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