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 decision took place over a number of years and was finally pursued with some outside consultation and the nearly unanimous support in all four of its regional offices.

“We liked it because it aligned with our values. It was a gracious way to transition from a few owners to essentially the entire firm. Anybody that’s here for a year starts to accrue shares and value in the firm. It encourages people, maybe more than other architecture firms, to really understand the business side of the practice of architecture and be more informed in their decision-making. That’s our hope,” Lesniewski related to reporter Kriston Capps.

The benefits and challenges of ESOP models at architecture firms have previously been explored by Archinect in conversation with a number of firms that made the transition. 

Limitations and misconceptions, including especially the notion that ESOPs can lead to great autonomy, salary negotiations, and creative control of the direction of their firms for workers, still need to be discussed for those considering their own transitions. A multitude of alternatives, including worker cooperatives, exist after it on the chain leading up to unionization. BNIM designer Carleigh Pope says, to her mind, it is “only a further reason to see longevity and reward in the work we do each day.”

“I couldn’t be more excited about and committed to our new structure and the evolving leadership transition that is part of this important change. BNIM is driven by the adage that ‘no one knows as much as everyone.’ We believe this is integral to our practice as BNIM employees deliver on our core purpose and values every day. The impact of this work is now further represented through co-ownership, providing employees with immediate and long-term benefits as they guide our practice forward,” Principal Steve McDowell added in a statement announcing the transition in November.

Since it opened its doors in 1970, BNIM has won several top industry honors, including being named as the AIA Architecture Firm Award winners in 2011.