Global Vision | Local Roots

Global Vision | Local Roots – Taking a Medium Sized Practice International and Competing Against Large Practices

This is a virtual event. Zoom log-in information will be emailed to registrants 24 hours in advance from events@aialosangeles.org. If you do not receive a confirmation 24 hours prior to the event, please email events@aialosangeles.org.

CES Learning Units: 1 LU (applying)

“It is not the size of one’s wand that puts a rabbit in the hat, but the magic in the magician.” Large firms boast that larger is better, but each project requires the same thinking, the same process, the same level of expertise. This seminar will be a case study of a seven year old, single office, medium sized firm of 32-people, with primarily expertise in a single building type, that simply wanted to experience global practice. A few short doing business abroad courses later, and one overseas initiative, in just two decades they were a U.S./European/Asian office, 82-person firm, with expertise in multiple building and project types, and projects in 46 countries with over 200-million square feet of highly complex mixed-use, transit-oriented development projects built. But, be careful what you wish for. It’s not always glamorous.

Series Summary:

How do you build a legacy architectural firm from the ground up? One practitioner who had worked for two AIA Gold Medalists and interned in both small and large firms, ultimately set out on his own with a personal vision for a global practice. Enlisting colleagues with collaborative competencies and creating a unique practice molecule, they entered the international arena in only seven years. Architect, author, educator, profession and industry leader, Ronald Altoon, FAIA, LEED AP will suggest paths that may guide you through the maze.

Having founded Altoon + Porter Architects in 1984, he divested after 30-years leaving the firm in solid leadership hands. Through Altoon Strategic he now consults at the C-Suite level to investment and development groups to optimize architects’ services through enhanced communication and understanding. In this four-part series, he will address structuring practice on a solid foundation based on the 1st century Vitruvian model, organizing a project delivery protocol employing a fundamental business school quality assurance model, identifying hidden client landmines to avoid, organizing to take your practice overseas, and understanding that the ethics of architecture are sometimes contextually challenging.

Through these four interactive sessions, punctuated by project examples, you will learn how to focus on the issues that better assure a successful practice outcome. And, in the process, you will learn the benefits of giving back to the profession, education, industry, community, and to civic and cultural organizations in need.

Part 1: Structuring Practice on a Foundation of Leadership
Date: January 11, 2022
Building a Balanced Foundation for Practice

Part 2: 50 Ways to Lose Your Project | 50 Ways to Build It
Date: February 8, 2022
Recognizing real life examples of projects lost may serve you well and enable you to collect well earned fees.

Part 3: Global Vision | Local Roots
Date: March 8, 2022
Small firms with big ideas and strategic thinking can compete globally.

Part 4: The Ethics of Architecture | The Architecture of Ethics
Date: April 12, 2022
What should inform the design process at the crossroads?

Presenter:

Ronald Altoon, FAIA, LEED AP – Altoon Strategic, LLC.
Ronald Altoon, FAIA consults thought-leader to thought-leader with owners of investment and development companies to define and optimize their vision. Through a QBS process and he helps select optimal design teams. And, with enhanced owner/architect communications, he helps eliminate misunderstandings of intent between the players. Altoon served as AIA National President in 1998, having led AIA’s pro bono Armenian Earthquake Urban Design intervention following the 6.8 Richter Spitak event which killed 50,000. He has served in leadership positions as President of AIA | LA, at ULI, in industry, education, not-for-profits, and community organizations, and has authored eight books to date. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Architecture from USC.

Learning Objectives:
+ Participants will learn to assess reasons for their firm to consider venturing overseas, how to evaluate the costs and benefits, and now to initiate the process to do so thoughtfully, effectively, and efficiently.
+ The stoic evaluation of entry costs, opportunities, and risks, the challenges posed by domestic and international competition, local business protocols, cultural nuances, as well as exit strategies will be discussed.
+ Participants will learn how to identify and leverage existing firm practice assets, and to determine what additional assets are needed to develop or acquire in order to penetrate targeted markets skillfully and efficiently and compete against much larger firms with far deeper pockets.
+ Participants will learn the value of identifying the right local partner, and how to develop an equitable practice framework which utilizes the best skills of each firm and respects the value each brings to the process.