Hi everyone. I'm trying to understand which corporate firm out of these three has the best design standing in the contemporary architecture scene? In between offers and trying to make up my mind.
SneakyPete
Jul 11, 21 5:24 pm
Take the best package. Don't worry about their "design standing," as nobody who is looking at resumes would really differentiate between them in any significant way.
ae_0
Jul 12, 21 3:03 pm
Agree with above post.
Congratulations for the offers, understand what your role will be within each and what kind of work you'll likely be doing + location, salary, and opportunity to get exposed to different phases etc. There isn't really a "design standing," it's a particular type of genre within the architectural industry anyway.
sameolddoctor
Jul 12, 21 3:24 pm
I respectfully disagree in some ways with the above responses. Even thought they are all "corporate", in terms of design rigor and standards, I would say SOM>NBBJ>Gensler. And in terms of lifestyle it may be the opposite.
You need to evaluate carefully with your career goals. Seeing the large amount of Urban design/strategy work in your portfolio, you should choose the firm and department accordingly.
Juice
Jul 12, 21 4:12 pm
I agree with SOM>NBBJ>Gensler but only at face value. Generally, you correlate SOM with famous high rises; NBBJ with Amazon sphere and stadium; Gensler with retail & workplace design.
But let's be honest, only a select few at select offices get to work on the front page projects.
Your design exposure highly depends on which branch you work at and with whom you will work with.
Jay1122
Jul 12, 21 5:32 pm
Get into the best design firm with the worst exploitative culture and work on the stair details 60 Hrs per week. Man, those KPF specialist positions scares me. Facade specialist, sustainability analyst, material specialist, computation specialist, XR specialist, etc. I wonder if there is bathroom specialist position in those large corporates. Only doing bathrooms in those big towers.
sameolddoctor
Jul 12, 21 7:40 pm
A lot of fresh grads specialize in being Bathroom Specialists lol.
gwharton
Jul 12, 21 3:30 pm
It really depends what your priorities are. I would rank those three differently depending on that. For instance, prestige of work vs. company work culture would have a very different ranking.
So the question back to you is: what do you want?
archanonymous
Jul 12, 21 4:45 pm
Different offices and regions of those three can have vastly different work types.
If you look at the "best" projects that get published it probably goes SOM > Gensler > NBBJ. If you look at the "worst" projects that no one talks about but bring in all the work, it probably goes Gensler > SOM > NBBJ. If you look at compensation and quality of life, Gensler > NBBJ > SOM by a wide margin.
gwharton
Jul 15, 21 1:46 pm
Gensler probably has the most healthy office/design culture of the three as well, followed by NBBJ then SOM.
SneakyPete
Jul 12, 21 4:53 pm
When I look at a resume, if I see any of those firms, I have a pretty good idea what to expect, and if I am looking for the sort of employee who comes through those three firms, I will dig deeper. A candidate from one of those three will not be differentiated by the specific firm they worked for but instead by the specific work they did there, so if I am not looking for a hire that did work like those three firms do, then no one specific firm from the list will cause me to stop and check.
That is not a value judgment of those firms. I am not making any statement about the pros or cons of those firms. I believe the benefits and pay is worth more to you than the differences the NEXT job's team MIGHT notice if you chose one over the others.
sameolddoctor
Jul 12, 21 7:41 pm
Yes indeed. My recommendation was after looking at the OPs portfolio which indicates a certain interest in Urban Design/Planning. In my opinion, SOM does a better job at that than the others, but "its just like my opinion, man..."
hiennguyen
Jul 13, 21 9:29 pm
I know SOM has structure engineers, NBBJ has all CSMEP and Gensler has none. You will have more supports and honest friends in working with more engineers.
Everyday Architect
Jul 14, 21 1:22 pm
does CSMEP = Civil, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing ???
don’t know if HR from any of these firms checks archinect, but which office does OP prefer until now or after interviews and why? And who made the best offer? Don’t be a “wham bam thank you archinect” kind of poster...
On a different note, I like your portfolio and don’t know why you would actually want to work for such corporate molochs when your work (and interests?) seem very different than any of these offices. Don’t blame you for selling your soul, just curious why...
sameolddoctor
Jul 14, 21 1:21 pm
I could try and answer that question for the OP - unfortunately, at least in the States, most of the Urban Design and Planning projects are worked on by the big firms. Smaller, design oriented firms usually work on urban design competitions and the like, but the larger ones actually take it forward. Sad state of affairs but that's the way it goes. The portfolio looks great though.
randomised
Jul 16, 21 3:32 am
I currently work in an office of 7/8 people in Rotterdam and we do urban design and planning projects for municipalities, provinces and even the national government. Sad that this kind of work in the States is only given to large corporate firms...
sameolddoctor
Jul 16, 21 4:25 pm
Not Urban Design, but this is a fine example of what I am talking about ... that too in ITALY. Souless garbage by SOM (and I think they are one of the better ones)
Hi everyone. I'm trying to understand which corporate firm out of these three has the best design standing in the contemporary architecture scene? In between offers and trying to make up my mind.
Take the best package. Don't worry about their "design standing," as nobody who is looking at resumes would really differentiate between them in any significant way.
Agree with above post.
Congratulations for the offers, understand what your role will be within each and what kind of work you'll likely be doing + location, salary, and opportunity to get exposed to different phases etc. There isn't really a "design standing," it's a particular type of genre within the architectural industry anyway.
I respectfully disagree in some ways with the above responses. Even thought they are all "corporate", in terms of design rigor and standards, I would say SOM>NBBJ>Gensler. And in terms of lifestyle it may be the opposite.
You need to evaluate carefully with your career goals. Seeing the large amount of Urban design/strategy work in your portfolio, you should choose the firm and department accordingly.
I agree with SOM>NBBJ>Gensler but only at face value. Generally, you correlate SOM with famous high rises; NBBJ with Amazon sphere and stadium; Gensler with retail & workplace design.
But let's be honest, only a select few at select offices get to work on the front page projects.
Your design exposure highly depends on which branch you work at and with whom you will work with.
Get into the best design firm with the worst exploitative culture and work on the stair details 60 Hrs per week. Man, those KPF specialist positions scares me. Facade specialist, sustainability analyst, material specialist, computation specialist, XR specialist, etc. I wonder if there is bathroom specialist position in those large corporates. Only doing bathrooms in those big towers.
A lot of fresh grads specialize in being Bathroom Specialists lol.
It really depends what your priorities are. I would rank those three differently depending on that. For instance, prestige of work vs. company work culture would have a very different ranking.
So the question back to you is: what do you want?
Different offices and regions of those three can have vastly different work types.
If you look at the "best" projects that get published it probably goes SOM > Gensler > NBBJ. If you look at the "worst" projects that no one talks about but bring in all the work, it probably goes Gensler > SOM > NBBJ. If you look at compensation and quality of life, Gensler > NBBJ > SOM by a wide margin.
Gensler probably has the most healthy office/design culture of the three as well, followed by NBBJ then SOM.
When I look at a resume, if I see any of those firms, I have a pretty good idea what to expect, and if I am looking for the sort of employee who comes through those three firms, I will dig deeper. A candidate from one of those three will not be differentiated by the specific firm they worked for but instead by the specific work they did there, so if I am not looking for a hire that did work like those three firms do, then no one specific firm from the list will cause me to stop and check.
That is not a value judgment of those firms. I am not making any statement about the pros or cons of those firms. I believe the benefits and pay is worth more to you than the differences the NEXT job's team MIGHT notice if you chose one over the others.
Yes indeed. My recommendation was after looking at the OPs portfolio which indicates a certain interest in Urban Design/Planning. In my opinion, SOM does a better job at that than the others, but "its just like my opinion, man..."
I know SOM has structure engineers, NBBJ has all CSMEP and Gensler has none. You will have more supports and honest friends in working with more engineers.
does CSMEP = Civil, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing ???
NBBJ does not have any engineers. In most rankings you can see this if they differentiate between A/E, A, and E/A for the type of firms. E.g.: https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14775-top-300-us-architecture-firms-of-2020
I should add, "in corporate environment..."
don’t know if HR from any of these firms checks archinect, but which office does OP prefer until now or after interviews and why? And who made the best offer? Don’t be a “wham bam thank you archinect” kind of poster...
On a different note, I like your portfolio and don’t know why you would actually want to work for such corporate molochs when your work (and interests?) seem very different than any of these offices. Don’t blame you for selling your soul, just curious why...
I could try and answer that question for the OP - unfortunately, at least in the States, most of the Urban Design and Planning projects are worked on by the big firms. Smaller, design oriented firms usually work on urban design competitions and the like, but the larger ones actually take it forward. Sad state of affairs but that's the way it goes. The portfolio looks great though.
I currently work in an office of 7/8 people in Rotterdam and we do urban design and planning projects for municipalities, provinces and even the national government. Sad that this kind of work in the States is only given to large corporate firms...
Not Urban Design, but this is a fine example of what I am talking about ... that too in ITALY. Souless garbage by SOM (and I think they are one of the better ones)
https://archinect.com/news/art...