2025 AIA Firm Award Winner, Quinn Evans

A Welcome to Practice Disrupted, a podcast where we find ways to create new solutions to current challenges while elevating the value of architects. I'm your host, Evelyn Lee, an architect who spans tech as an angel investor, start up advisor, and founder of Practice of Architecture. Whether you're a seasoned architect or just starting in the field, this podcast is your gateway to think differently about the role architects play within our global community. Hello, disruptors. Welcome to this week's episode of Practice Disrupted. I'm thrilled to continue our tradition of interviewing AIA's firm of the year award winners by introducing the next generation of leaders from Quinn Evans, this year's honored firm. First up, we have Julia Stipel, our principal and director of sustainability at Quinn Evans. Julia passionately advocates for design that positively impacts people, ecosystems, and the climate.

A She leads Quinn Evans' sustainability efforts, empowering teams to achieve high performing outcomes. Julia's career has been marked by her dedication to sustainable and low carbon design, strongly emphasizing existing buildings and play stewardship. Next, we have a fellow podcaster, Nikita Reid, a senior associate whose career focuses on the intersection of historic preservation, sustainable design, and equity. Nikita is an expert in the restoration and adaptive use of historic buildings and is deeply knowledgeable about sustainable strategies for existing structures. She actively contributes to multiple boards, including the Zero Net Carbon Collaboration for Existing and Historic Buildings, and is a recipient of the 2022 AIA Young Architects Award. Last but certainly not least, we welcome Charles Sparkman, a senior associate known for his integrated design approach that blends art, building science and research. Charles excels in complex historic preservation projects and new construction, creating timeless performance based designs that enrich campuses and communities. His analytical and data driven methodology ensures that every project is not only beautiful, but also highly functional.

A In this episode, we'll hear from these future leaders of Quinn Evans about what the AIA Firm of the Year Award means to them and how it shapes the firm's future. Let's get started. Julia, Charles, Nikita, it's so great to have you on the show today. Thank you for taking time out of your day to join us on Practice Disrupted.

B Thanks for

C having us. Thanks so much.

A So there's 3 of you, which might be a lot for our listeners to take in. So I'm gonna start off maybe Nikita with you. What inspired each of you to, 1, pursue a career in architecture, and then how did you end up at Quinones?

D Sure. So I may be one of those weird ones where I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be an architect, particularly growing up in Northern Virginia and spending a lot of time in DC in the early nineties. I didn't understand why I was seeing homeless people sleeping outside of vacant buildings. And so in my mind, I was like, well, why don't we just fix the buildings and then people can sleep inside? And so I knew from a really young age I wanted to work with buildings, but particularly existing buildings. So went to school, got all the degrees in, in architecture school. I remember thinking, well, when do we talk about existing buildings? And that's when I was like, oh, that's historic preservation. So you need to go study that. So learning more about that and then also doing ecological architecture and realizing that preservation and sustainability are really two sides of the same coin is really what kept me in the profession.

D And so after working at a really big architecture firm, and then working at a smaller firm, I then also co ran a practice for about 7 years before joining Quinn Evans. And a big reason I joined Quinn Evans was because at the time they or I guess they'd been in existence for actually since the year I was born. But then they acquired the Baltimore office of Choban Holback in about 2017 or so. And all that while I was running my small practice, Choben Holback had been kind of what I was trying to grow my practice into because it was a small woman minority owned firm that had a focus on historic preservation and sustainability, adaptive reuse. And so when I saw that Quinn Evans bought Chobenholbac, I was like, oh, that's interesting. I could potentially join Quinn Evans and keep doing more of the work that I'm interested in doing. And so that was a big reason that got me to Quinn Evans. And then one of the exciting things for me since joining Quinn Evans, particularly coming from being a small business owner.

D It's I still have the space to explore the things that I wanna do at Conevans. So that's been exciting and I'm a shareholder as well, but we will get into that in a little bit. So how about we kick it over to Charles Sure. Your story.

B I I think I I've come to the realization that I'm at my core a very restless person. And more than any other profession, I see an architect as a facilitator and orchestrator of very diverse voices and perspectives, design considerations, deep technical consideration, and all towards the common goal of the built environment. So I really know no other profession where one has the privilege of working across such a breadth of considerations and all with very tangible results of the built environment. Early in my career, I evacuated New Orleans during hurricane Katrina and returned very soon thereafter and was just struck by the vulnerability and the devastation of the built environment and of those communities. And so for me, that was a charge towards resilience and working on projects that provide resilience to individuals and communities and to the built environment. For many of us, Katrina was speaking as a millennial. It was this really important moment and a demonstration and a charge for architects that climate action is social is social equity. So in Quinn Evans, I found a firm that is really uniquely trusted to steward the nation's most treasured cultural artifacts, and ensure that they're resilient for future generations.

B It's been a privilege to contribute to projects like the Lincoln Memorial, like the National Air and Space Museum, like Michigan Central Station, and to collaborate with colleagues that have a profound drive to steward those places into the future. Julia?

C Thanks. Yeah. What drew me to architecture is really, I think, that complicated, but really interesting mix of problem solving, art, creativity, and frankly, in architecture school, but just, like, the layering of all the different topics that you get to study at the same time as well as have that space to create and make things with your hands and and see that as part of the the process in school. I'm thinking about how much the realm of architecture really is present in our world and our space around us every day. So I I was drawn to it for that reason. I have to say, like, I think I had no idea really where it would lead and it leads in so many different directions. It's a really interesting profession in that way. So I went to Rice University and graduated in 2009 and as many of you realize, if you are working in architecture in 2009, it's not a great time in in that industry.

C So it was a Any industry. Really. Yeah. True. So it was a tough time to graduate and figure out, like, what it meant to launch a a career and where those opportunities lay. And and it really for me, I first landed at Zillman, which is a structural engineering firm here in DC. And it was I was also doing some work for a contractor, for a lead. So it was this kind of scrappy early mix of how do I get started and do some work here in the industry, learn along the way, make good connections.

C Kirk Meda Metzohlman made some really fabulous introductions for me at different firms and which is how I first met Allison Steele here at Quinn Evans who has since been a great mentor to me. So I joined Quinn Evans way back in 2010, and I have been at the firm now almost 13 years. And you'll notice there's a bit of a gap in there. I left and was working for the American Institute of Architects for a couple years in their sustainable knowledge and practice group and really focusing on energy and materials and the 2030 commitment and then came back to Quinn Evans really focusing then on sustainability. So I'm a Quinn Evans boomerang. There's other Quinn Evans boomerangs because it really is a great place to work and has been a firm that's really given me a lot of growth and professional development opportunities.

A It's so wonderful to hear each of your stories and kind of the various different ways where you've found yourself at Quinn Evans, be it historical preservation. I was gonna say, Charles, you know, you came at it kind of from this resiliency standpoint, and then you and Julia share this idea of kind of the multifaceted approach to architecture and your love there. And, of course, Julia, you know, the sustainable aspects that Quinn Evans tends to lean into. What I love about this episode is, you know, when a firm wins a firm of the year award, we tend to hear so much from the leadership in the firm, which is why I love talking to the next generation of leaders. What does it mean for you and your position as you grow into leadership at Quinn Evans for the firm to have received this award?

B What's so special about the FIRM award for Quinn Evans is that we're a firm that's profoundly and deeply invested in existing places and communities and stewarding those assets into the future, but in a way that's sustainable, equitable, and responsible. And that's a kind of work that's been somewhat quiet in the industry to date. So the award not only acknowledges Quinn Evans, but all firms that are pursuing this type of work. The award demonstrates that existing spaces and engaging them is really important work, and it's critical work for the future and for future generations. It's also a charge for everybody working in the built environment to see the profound value in existing things, that the greenest building is the one that's already been built. Despite millennia of progress and technological development, the labor, the resources, the embodied energy to construct the built environment remains mind boggling. And so it's a call to action, I think, for our generation, for all firms, for everybody working in this industry to steward existing things, existing buildings and landscape into the future rather than demolish and building anew. One of

D the things that I love about all the things that Charles just said was that this really is elevating the impact of working with existing buildings. Because for so long, there's so many architects and designers that think of historic preservation as something other, but it's very integral to what we do. And so I did a dual degree for my master's, so in architecture and historic preservation. And I always had architecture colleagues thinking that preservation has just got in the way or preservation is thinking that architects couldn't design because Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings leaked or something like that. But it's kind of like being able to see two sides of it where it's the needing to understand that as architects, we should be doing and designing things that we would want a preservationist to wanna preserve in 50 years. In preservationist, I'm making sure that we are really stewarding for what we find important because as preservationists, we're really not just trying to preserve things at Amber. It's really about how do we sensitively manage change and understanding how to see things from multiple viewpoints. So from the sustainability impacts, the cultural impacts, the neighborhood impacts of all of the ways that existing places really matter is one of the things that we strive at and we thrive at at Konevans.

D And so winning the firm of the year, it kind of definitely puts more attention on the firm, and we're no longer the best kept secret. But it is one of those things where it's great to be able to finally have preservation and adaptive reuse, sustainability, stewardship, get some get some shine.

C Yeah. I couldn't agree more with both of you. I think you said it very well, and I just wanna say it's a tremendous honor, and I think it's real validation of the importance of those issues, you know, existing places, stewardship, really thinking about the long term. And I think a lot of these issues are really core to our practice. And thinking about that in a way that it's not a singular author and the way that we are structured and the way that we approach listening and collaborating and working with our clients and our stakeholders. It's really a diversity of voices, a diversity of authorship that's coming from all levels and really valuing what is already in place and thinking really creatively about how to be good steward for the future. So I think this is winning the award is really a great signal of what I think the profession hopes to see more of and that's wonderful to see and frankly a great challenge to figure out how we continue to espouse that, in our own practice for the next generation.

A Thank you for your insights. They took it for granted, the breadth of work that you guys do with these historical buildings, you know, and in the back of my head, you know, Carl's all everyone though was saying, right, the most sustainable building is the one that you don't have to build. But I'm seeing it now, but, yes, it does kind of raise the work that you're doing to another level that doesn't necessarily celebrate everything that's shiny and new, and I really appreciate that.

D Right. And, Evelyn, it's also not even just historic buildings. It's also just existing buildings. Because when we think about it, every new building is an existing building on day 2. So it's like, how are we being mindful of how we're using and stewarding those ones? Because even if it's not, you know, certified historic because, you know, it meets all the criteria. From a sustainability standpoint, we should still be reusing as much as can even if they're just assisting and not historic.

A Yes. Thank you for that on on Nikkita. Julia, did you wanna say something?

C Yeah. And just the context of where we work is so much of, fabric of what is past and what are those buildings or places or landscape that have led to what is here now and what is the opportunity to think of what will be there in the future. So I think it's trying to think about the continuity and the continuum of these something really in the long view and not just as singular objects and interventions and thinking about the environmental impact of the greenest building is is really important and we we talk about climate action and and carbon. But also one of the things I think our firm really focuses on is not just the importance of the environmental significance of existing and and historic places is the kind of cultural aspect of that too. And so that being a a cultural and equity issue of really thinking about the the opportunity to to value what's already here.

A That is such a great segue to my next question. And I think what a lot of people don't actually realize about the firm of the year award is that we actually it's not only about your portfolio or the firm's portfolio of work, but it's also about the type of work environment that you create with your employees. Because we we want the firm to be a place where everyone actually enjoys showing up to work every day and enjoys the company of their colleagues. We've talked a lot about the body and the history of Quinn Evans projects. But why don't you tell us a little bit more about Quinn Evans as of a firm in your own words?

B Sure. I can lead in with the structure of the firm and the the sort of the foundations and underpinnings of the firm. It was started in 1984. And very soon thereafter, the firm's leadership transition plan was put in place. It's been in place for about 30 years. Today, Quinn Evans is a firm of over 200 individuals, and we're structured as a shareholdership. We happen to be one of the largest women owned and women led firms in the industry. So with over 60 individuals who are shareholders, of course, over half of those are women.

B And additionally, our proportion of BIPOC shareholders significantly exceeds the industry. The structure of shareholdership, again, it goes back to the firm's founding. And since then, there have been 7 generations of leadership succession. So there's an established culture and a commitment to growing, to developing the next generation of leaders to bring the firm forward and bring those lessons learned of generations ago. A firm leadership forward towards ever more challenging, complex considerations and projects. We are committed to growing diverse leaders and perspectives within the firm to do the best work possible and to resonate with the constituencies, the communities, and the stakeholders that we serve. And so it's really important to us that not only are the the demographics of the firm, as well as our shareholders, reflect and exceed those of the industry and begin to reflect our constituencies, so that we do the best work. And of course, there's still work to do in that effort.

B We're making conservative efforts again to make sure that we make progress on growing ever more diverse leadership within the firm and more voices within the firm to do the best work possible.

D Yeah. One of the things that I thought was really interesting about the way the shareholder invitation is set up. So typically once you become an associate, you're invited to purchase to kind of buy into the shares if you want to. But there is once you reach a certain age, you also have to start selling your shares. And so it's not a, the older you are, the more shares you own. It's pretty much once you hit a certain age, you need to start selling so that there's a good turnover for the next generation as well, and it becomes a great investment strategy. And so it's also very kind of antithetical to some other firms where it's like, you know, architects don't retire, they just die at their desk kind of thing. It's very much a how do we make sure that the leadership of the firm is really reflective of the people who are working there.

D And so that's been exciting. So, I mean, we even have a shareholder who was born in the nineties, which kinda blows our mind. I was like, wait, what? So, like, the span of shareholders is super interesting. And as Charles mentioned, we are women owned, but not all women, obviously, as Charles is joining us. But it's interesting that when I say that we're women owned to certain people, sometimes, like, wow, you only work with women? It's like, no. No. It's it's still a very diverse group. Gender gender diversity is a thing.

D It's just women owned. So it's been really exciting to work there. And then we also have a very hybrid work schedule. So, we have multiple offices and we are working in the office some days, but everyone has the capability to work from home multiple days a week. So it's been flexible in that way. So really trying to find the best of both worlds even post pandemic.

C My tenure and breadth of roles I've played at Quinn Events going from, you know, straight out of school basically to now a principal and director of sustainability, I think really speaks to opportunities for kind of growth and advancement and mentorship. And I think our structure is one that is really intended to set up as we call it the team team of teams approach. So really thinking about how we best empower our other people that we work with. Those are the people that we try to recruit and retain and advance as the people that really set others up to be successful. So I think that's something that, you know, we have a lot of people who have been with the firm for quite a while because it is a pretty nice place and group of people to work with. And so that's really important in an industry that is tough and demanding. It's to find a group of people that you really enjoy learning from and being inspired by every day.

B That's a really that's a nice rejoinder back to both of Nikita and my comments is that the the expectation for development, supporting people, finding and growing that next set of leaders is just fundamental to the DNA of the firm. It's built all the way through the firm's business model, management model. And so when we think about our staff, project teams across the firm, groups across the firm, it's always discussions on how to elevate the elevate others, which, of course, is also core to our work. So there's a consistency there that I think is really special in this place. We're also we're a firm that's composed of 5 offices in DC, Baltimore, Richmond, Detroit, Ann Arbor. And then we have several individuals who work remotely. We have practice areas of living, learning, heritage, and culture. And they span across our locations, but are generally they they outline different building type ologies and different types of clients that we engage.

B We have a vast constellation of internal engagement groups that span across the firm. And many of them facilitate project teams and groups of people at the firm finding the right expertise at the right time. Whether that's about technical considerations on their project, design considerations on their project, or or otherwise. So Julia mentioned the team of teams. And while we are a larger firm of around 200, there's a fluidity. And there is, sort of dynamics of the firm at play where it can feel like a small firm. Where everybody is has a has a feeling that they are mutually responsible for the betterment of the work and the betterment of others.

D Nikita, it looks like you

A had something additional you got excited about or wanted to add in there.

D Yeah. The the engagement groups that Charles was talking about, we have a Constellation is such a great way to explain that because there are so many different engagement groups and ways to really allow people to grow in ways they wanna grow. So it's we're not the firm where it's like, okay, you just came out of school, so you're gonna be focused on doing bathroom details for the next 3 years. It's very much a, oh, are you interested in energy modeling or daylight analysis or sustainability specifically? Do you want to get more into living practice area details? Like, so many options. So one of the things that I also love about it is that there's a number of ways that employees can also kind of create their own path within the firm to learn and explore more of what they wanna do.

C I think part of setting that up that way is really to help encourage a sense of agility and opportunity and being able to listen to great ideas and have an opportunity to contribute at all levels. So I think it's a place where at our size, some firms could get a little bit more focused on efficiency or splitting up work by certain expertise or tasks. And I think we lean hard into giving people a chance to explore and a chance to really think creatively about ways to embrace new technology or new things that they're learning are overlaps of ideas into the the work and the practice that we have. And it could be interesting even to talk a little bit more about, like, the impacts of COVID and what that experience meant for us in terms of how it changed some of our practice. Because I think what Charles talked about a little bit earlier was how much that we work cross firm even though we have these 5 offices. And I would say to the benefit the COVID was something with a a time where that helped us navigate working remotely and working outside of the office to embrace where we could tap expertise that was beyond our individual firm. So there's some opportunities, I think, that COVID was at least some benefit to the way that we're able to work with each other.

D Absolutely. And even the way that our technology was set up because we went from being a company that where most people had desktops to now everyone in the company has a laptop. And regardless of which office you walk into, it's kind of the same setup with the docking station and monitor. So I can leave our office in Baltimore, go to our Richmond office, plug in, and I'm good to go. It's even some of those kind of firm wide infrastructure changes really have streamlined how we're able to work together even at the technological level.

A Yeah. I actually wanted to lean more into kind of implementation and, you know, more specifically, some of the programs or how you develop people? Because I think, you know, euphorically, it's like you're you're talking about all of these amazing things as a result, right, of the structures that Quinn Evans have in place. But I'm sure some of our listeners is like, but, actually, how do they develop people? Like, you know, how do you not put people on bathroom details? Because we inevitably need those people to do the bathroom details. So can you talk to me a little bit more even from, like, a structural level or and maybe even from personal experience, one of the areas that I see a lot of firms struggle with is leadership development. Right? And it sounds like Quinn Evans at least has, like, some really great leadership models to build off of. But how do you make sure that your leaders are learning new ways of leading, especially Julia for somebody like you that has been, even though you took a step out, still go work with the AIA has been embedded in the firm for so long.

C Yeah. It's a great question. And I think there's a variety of ways that we support leadership. So just to name a couple here, I wanna acknowledge Ryan McEnroe and his role in developing the Christopher Kelly Leadership Development Program, which is beyond our firm. Ryan is a a member of our firm, but he started this program that really is focused on emerging professionals and supporting leadership. Started in DC and now is a program that is hosted in many cities across the country. Quinones strongly has supported and encouraged people to participate in that program since it started in, I believe, 2016. Actually, no.

C That was the year I did it, I think. I take that back. I think I started in 2014. And so I think, it's just important to be supportive of things that we can do outside of the firm as well as things that we can do with our own staff. And so within our our own staff, I think mentorship is really important. And I think we have always encouraged different forms of mentorship and it and it looks a little different and depending on our office and has changed a little over time. But that has been something that is really important to especially my path to growing as seeking out and good mentors and listening to to people from the firm at all levels too. I think that feedback is really important along that way.

C And I know Charles is really involved with mentorship at the firm and so maybe you have more to add there.

B So we we certainly have a formalized, codified mentorship program where we pair more junior professionals or even trajectory, and to talk about general challenges and lessons learned in their careers. And so this is a this is a formalized mentorship program that we run across the entire firm, all offices. And it has a general yearly cadence where mentors and mentees are invited to have these discussions together outside of their project demands, outside of the the needs, the demands of their regular day to day work. That's a really important piece of our culture to make sure that those discussions are happening. And of course, they start to lead into discussions of other things that we've talked about. Leadership succession, and where one sees themself going in both the profession as well as the firm. There's also just a ethos as we construct project teams and think about project teams that we provide more agency to individuals on project teams than I have otherwise experienced in the industry. There is a there is a sensibility at Quinn Evans that we give people enough room and space to grow and become a leader within the scope that they're currently tackling, rather than every step of the way reporting to or being micromanaged by a leader.

B So there's a there's a certain leadership management ethos that is fairly consistent across the firm that gives young people, junior people, the space they need to thrive. And that's something that's constantly discussed, and making sure that they have that, and can become a leader in what they're doing.

A So the flip side of that, right, and then, like, the the alternate mindset of that is that means greater risk, right, or greater potentials for failure, again, being the devil's advocate here to somebody listening. So so what would your response be to somebody who's like, we can't do that?

B It's a very fine balance. It's a it's enough room to grow, but not enough room that somebody falters.

D We also have various quality control, quality assurance processes. So it's not like a we're throwing people out there and if they swim or if they sink, then there's no one coming to save them. Like, there is still kind of a support system in place to make sure that the training is happening. And so also at different cohort levels. So there's, you know, various retreats that happen with principals or with associates or shareholders or things like that so that we're still getting that training, both technical, but even soft skills. We have a team development director who's paying attention to kind of what's happening at the different levels. We're able to kind of elevate in daylight different issues that are kind of, other people in your cohort are experiencing. And then also making sure that we're giving space to the younger staff to feel supported to speak up.

D So we have annual roadshows. And so there's a number of different touch points in place from a training standpoint. But then also a lot of it is making sure that we're doing a knowledge transfer from some of the more seasoned professionals, particularly people who are gonna be retiring, you know, within the next decade to make sure that they're able to share their knowledge back to the incoming generation. Because we try to do what we can to break out of some of that informational silo, particularly as our work process has changed. So it's like, how do we make sure that we are QCing things and sharing information so that people are learning what to look for?

C And I think a little bit, it just comes back to values. And I think we said it at another point too about how important we see the seed empowering others and supporting our own our teams. And so that really goes towards looking for opportunities to give people chances to grow and to give yourself a chance to do something different from what you were doing before. So it really means we're constantly in a a state of kind of growth and change, but I think for a way that gives a lot more space for others to join and contribute.

A Julia, you mentioned a little bit ago all the lessons that you learned through the pandemic. And Nikkita, you talked about the technology stack. What else did Quinn Evans I don't know if you guys how honest he could be, but, you know, please be on as honest as he can about kind of minds that may have been changed because of this forced new way of working through the pandemic, and just kind of the need to change the way we work.

D Yeah. Well, one of the things I'll add into one of the other pandemic changes, we definitely leaned more heavily into creating space to have more conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion in the way that impacts the work that we do. And so we had been doing it, but we formalized it kind of during the pandemic to have more of those conversations. So be it through various book talks, very you know, one of the things that we did is kind of one of the first DEI events was everyone in the firm had to read the book White Fragility. And then we had Botox around that. And how does that impact the work that we do? And so it's, like, really giving space for people to understand how things connect. And so I think through creating space to have more of those uncomfortable conversations around DEI, that helped to also change some of the minds about how society impacts really influence how we work and the value that we're placing on the work that we're doing. And so I'll let Charles and Julia add on to that as well.

B I think for me, I, I think before the pandemic and before we were all in quarantine, the geographical boundaries between our offices felt more real. And one thing that we learned I was through the pandemic and through quarantine was working on one of the largest projects that we've ever had in the firm that was comprised of 60 up to 60 architects at Quinn Evans working on this effort. And my collaboration with them knew no geographic boundary. I felt closer with my colleagues in Michigan and Baltimore than I ever had otherwise. And there was an immediacy to that collaboration that was just amazing. And it continues to this day that we can be one firm that happens to have 5 locations, but our staff feels very, very immediate. And the way that we collaborate can feel really immediate. That was a wonderful challenge to overcome and to realize that we could work in a very different way going forward.

C Yeah. And I'll just I think you spoke really nicely about how it changed the way our teams really approached work together. I also wanna just just speak towards some of the new staff or frankly interns. I remember when this was happening, we were like, are we gonna have our intern program? What would that look like? That notion of the in person experience being so core to what an internship should look like and that opportunity to have those discussions. So it really made us think about how to embrace that as a a firm approach to our intern cohort and improve some of the things that we continue to do in terms of the kind of weekly themed topics and discussions that we have with our intern group as a cohort across the different offices. We do a sustainable diagram project where they diagram one of the projects that we have in the office so that we can kinda see some of those kinda key stories and great impacts of our work and also have them have the experience to to kind of pull back out of some of the detailed work and see the big ideas and and really what what's cool and special about some of these projects. And we also started a a few other initiatives. Nikki didn't mention DEI, but we started some other things around daylight modeling and some studies when when it comes to resilience and some mapping exercises.

C It was an opportunity for us realizing in the slowdown of project work, how to really keep busy in a very productive way that a lot of those initiatives are still really valuable and and continued while also that was our commitment to keeping our staff together, keeping our internship programs going and that really being a valuable thing that even when things are kind of tricky that we're really committed to our team and the ways that we can adapt and learn together.

A So one thing that I think a lot of firms are still struggling with is this idea of flexibility and being the in the office versus working remotely. Where has Quinn Evans kind of landed on within this landscape in terms of how many days you need to be in the office, and how do you provide extra flexibility? And what does that mean for I think the struggle is always especially, Julia, you mentioned the interns. What does that mean for the new grads and and not having necessarily showing up at the office and not having the physical older mentor there because, because they're working from home or, or on the project site. Can you all tell me a little bit about that dynamic?

D Sure. So at the baseline level, we're doing a hybrid schedule. So we're in the office typically Monday through Wednesday, and then Thursday is typically a work from home and then Friday is kind of work wherever your team wants to work. And most of the times it's so from home situation. We do have core hours now. So our core hours are 9:30 to 3:30. And so basically if you want to work a little bit later and could come in a little bit later or if you want to come in a little bit early, leave a little bit early, we have that flexibility. Because one of the engagement groups that we had was called the best of both worlds.

D And so they really dug into what would be helpful and what did the employees want. And we have a number of colleagues who are parents of young kids or even are caring for their parents. And so it's kind of how do we accommodate and help people come to release or ease some of that friction of how do we adjust to all of the care and responsibilities that everyone has. There's very much this respect and acknowledgment that we're all adults and we will get our project work done. And so there's not a culture of micromanaging and, it's 9:35 and you are not your desk at 9:30. Where were you? That's not the culture that we have.

C Yeah. I think, Nikita, you answered that brilliantly, and I just wanna add it's about good communication. We lean really on all of our staff to make sure that they're communicating well with each other and with the project teams to make sure that there's good coverage, but that also that we are trying to be flexible and and make it acknowledge that people have a life outside of the office too and so to to really make that work well and support all aspects of a person's needs for that flexibility.

B What's really nice about those 3 days a week within core hours there there is, of course, a commitment to 1 on 1 mentorship and being physically in person, an environment that I think all of us were probably trained at early in our careers. And so we know that well, and we can build off of that. But then the notion that Thursdays are a day where everyone across the firm really works from home, and that's a remote day. That also happens to be the day where we have, what we call all hands meetings, where, sometimes multiple times a month, the entire firm gathers virtually, and successes are shared, and news is shared. And, of course, there's always the business announcement or an HR announcement, but it's a wonderful time to gather everybody in one virtual room and get them together. And what that means is everyone's on the same playing field. We're all working remotely for that. So there's a common ground there that's nice.

B It's also a great time to do what I do a lot of, which is collaborate with consultants and teams across various locations. And that everyone is doing that on the same day is quite nice. So it really is a best of both worlds where there's a commitment to the in person, 1 on 1 mentorship that we all know. But also this emerging new thing that can also be wonderful. That's that that can be virtual and remote.

A Are there any qualities about working at Quinn Evans that we haven't touched on during this conversation that you would like to share? Yeah. Let's talk about ego a little.

D So because we are such a team of teams approach, we are not the there's 1 or 2 lead designers and everyone has to respond to and make their vision come to life. We very much allow the teams to come up with the best solutions. We're not as, typically hierarchical as other firms are. So there have, you know, sometimes people will join who their ego is a little bit stronger than will fit. But I will say in general, Quinev and staff, I don't find them or I don't find us to be, as egotistical as other architects. Might be biased though.

C But I think just back to, like, that being really something special about being honored with this recognition of firm award winners, but that being no single hand of what that design looks like or is authored by. And so I think that's pretty significant and especially the history of of of maybe what once was recognized as the best of design or the best of firms with much more oriented around a certain style. And I think, like, this really sort of acknowledges that it's it's coming in different ways and different forms and from different teams.

B There's a commitment here that's really special, but the best work comes from all the voices. And those may not even be Quinevant's voices. Those may be voices of our stakeholders and our clients, and sometimes they are. But a commitment that the architect is an orchestrator, a facilitator, a listener, a learner, more so than the envisioner of physical form. The premeating architect as orchestrator, I think, is really what what we stand for in our design culture.

A As the next generation of leadership within Quinnevent, how do you plan to build upon this wonderful legacy that the firm has left, and what is your hope for the future of the firm? Oh, I love that question.

D So I one of the engagement groups that I am really involved in right now is our software training or software technology and resources. There are a number of softwares that we're using and exploring and really helping to make sure that all staff understand what the resources are from a software standpoint and how are we capturing lessons learned and knowledge transfer and kind of just really making sure that we're being mindful that we're not making the same mistake twice. And so really, I'm excited about the way that technology is interfacing. We are exploring AI, and I know sometimes people think that, oh, well, historic buildings are existing. What technology can you can you use with existing buildings? But, you know, we're doing drones, laser scanning, AI. We're staying updated on the various trends of technology and really understanding how they're gonna impact our workflow. And so that's one of the things that excites me for the future in terms of being able to really pay attention to and keep learning from ways that we can interface with technology, particularly on existing and historic buildings. And then my hope for the firm is that we continue being the beacon of explaining why and how these different intersections happen.

D So between architecture, sustainability, historic preservation, race, culture, and how really all of this is connected. And we can't just keep thinking of things in silos. And so I really hope that our firm continues to be able to do work and be out in front of the industry kind of showing how all of these things have come together.

C I would say I think it's really important that we think about the spirit of where we are today and how we got here and that that means that we will change. That is the kind of value and the culture that we have is that things will continue to move and change. And I think that's really supported by curiosity, learning, listening, mentoring. And I think it is important to think about how to seek those opportunities with new partners and new stakeholders and seeing where that goes. It's not always obvious or predictable. I will say, we're actually just working now on an Upjohn grant that we were awarded about 6 months ago, and that what came out of a conversation last summer with Siobhan Rockcastle at the University of Oregon. She was talking about circadian lighting and daylight. And just out of the q and a of that conversation, which was just a internal presentation we had with staff, just there were some great discussion about how it would be really nice to get some rules of thumb for existing buildings around improvements to circadian lighting.

C So with that, we kind of were like, oh, that would make a great Upjohn grant proposal. And so that's how our Upjohn grant work that we're doing right now came to be is just through that kind of conversation and curiosity. And I think there's a lot more that could come from that, but so we need just need to continue to to kind of stick our heads up and look outside of ourselves and outside of the people we work with day to day and think about what will be really interesting collaborations and partnerships and how we can layer these things together to make really interesting impactful work.

B Building on that, Julia, there's over the over the trajectory of the firm. There like many firms, there's been this trajectory of starting with smaller projects. And all of a sudden, the projects grow in scale and complexity, and they continue to grow. And they grow more complex until which time we're working on the National Air and Space Museum or Michigan Central Station. And the notion, echoing what Julia just described, that we continue to build on lessons learned. We continue to build on expertise and capability, in house capability. That's something that's really encouraging, really inspiring that to me, the the next generation of leaders at Quinn Evans will have the privilege of tackling problems that are ever more challenging, projects that are ever more complex, and that will have the lessons learned of the in house capability to do that. That's where I hope that we have it.

A Great. And then kinda the final question to wrap everything up for this episode. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in their career in architecture that you wish you had when you graduated?

D Oh, my advice is be kind. It is a very small world and that you will, will be surprised at how often you will run into someone in the future within this line of work. And so that, and then also I'd recommend networking laterally. I know a lot of times people wanna only talk to the CEO or, you know, the leadership of the firm. And while it's definitely important to talk to people who are, you know, a couple years ahead of you or rather decades ahead of you, it's equally important to talk to people at your level in a couple years out, because as they're growing in their career and you're learning from them, like, you're gonna kind of grow up together in your career. So I would say, those are probably the 2 pieces that behind a network ladderly.

C I feel like it connects to what I was actually just talking about as well. It's that curiosity and frankly, maybe some patience too because you don't really know where things will lead immediately and the opportunity that things come around. The number of times I've I've been involved with something, like, say, even 5 years ago and then that person or that experience has come to be helpful on a on a future opportunity or or something that we're working on. It's amazing how it makes the world and and time feel small. So I think those are really great opportunities to to really leverage curiosity and learning, and you you can make a lot from just things that you are really excited about.

B Being kind and being curious are the most critical, but I'll add another one. So Nikita and Julia's responses, I think, are the critical lessons. But mine would be to anyone starting in this profession to pursue the most challenging topics that you can possibly find. It's a way of earning the trust of your colleagues, of your clients. And that challenge, it might be a design or a technical topic. It might also be project management. But don't be tempted by the easy work. Just dig in and teach yourself to gravitate towards the challenges.

A Hi, disruptors. Thank you for joining us today on an episode of Practice Disrupted. If you like the content for today's show, you can find all of our past episodes over on practice of architecture.com/podcast. Be a part of the conversation social media handle is practice of arch. That's practice of architecture.com/community. Our social media handle is practice of arch. That's practice of a r c h. We'd love to hear from you, so feel free to drop us a DM and say hello.

A Tune in next week for a new conversation on change in the profession.