Architects and Engineers shape our world, and being able to contribute to the success of firms is one of the reasons the entire BQE team is customer obsessed. To this end, we are launching a new series where we highlight some of our customers and the inspiring work they create for their communities. 

To kick-off the Customer Spotlight series we'd like to introduce you to a long-time CORE customer, Jordan Parnass, and his firm, Circular. 

Circular is a creative architecture and design firm based in Brooklyn, NY, with projects completed throughout the city, and around the world. The firm was founded over 25 years ago, and is committed to delivering sustainable architecture, interiors, and experiential design solutions for their clients ranging from small companies, to international brands, and public institutions.

Circular is also a long-time customer of BQE CORE, and we are excited to share their story and highlight some of their inspiring projects through our Customer Spotlight series. We asked Jordan a series of questions about his firm and their work and share the conversation below.

Category 2: Practice   

What has been the biggest operational challenge you have overcome as your firm has grown?

Business development has been an ongoing challenge, especially as we have a broad and varied portfolio of work rather than a small niche. We have managed to develop good marketing practices and systems and engage the full team in business development activities which I think is a unique aspect of our firm. This has enabled us to expand our reach while also training younger professionals about the marketing and business development side of practice.

Like many firms, fluctuations in the economy, and especially the impact of the pandemic, has slowed down inquiries from some of our traditional project types. Over the past few years we have strategically expanded into new markets to diversify our portfolio and be more adaptable to market shifts.

What have you done to build a strong team culture at your firm?

Circular prioritizes education and training, and we pay for all of our full time staff to become Certified Passive House Designers. This helps to ensure all our staff understand the technical aspects of our designs and builds commitment towards successful execution. All of our team are now passive house certified and we integrate sustainable design best practices in all of our projects.

In addition to professional development support, we emphasize transparency in the administration of the firm. We openly share information about the firm's operations with the full team, and everyone is engaged in marketing, business development, proposal creation, and other aspects of managing the business. We also actively encourage research and all team members are able to pursue topics of interest and share knowledge with the team, and write about their areas of expertise on our website.

The goal is to be supportive of each person and encourage them to explore and share their interests. We believe this fosters a more interesting place to work and provides opportunities for self expression. 

How has CORE helped you improve your firm management?

We have used BQE CORE since 2018, and initially adopted it as a way to modernize our firm operations and finances. As a tech forward firm, we are always looking for software tools that can save us time and give us data driven insights to improve our operations.

CORE has allowed us to better understand how we are spending our time, and compare our efficiency from project to project. The entire team uses it to track project progress and deliverables, and log time against their projects. It also has streamlined our project scheduling, resource management, and especially our invoicing process. 

What advice would you give the next generation of firm leaders to build successful A&E firms?

Definitely pursue some kind of business training, since they don’t teach you any of that in architecture school. Talk with your peers to learn about systems and strategies for effective management. Read business books and search out opportunities to learn about various aspects of running a successful small business, not just learn more about architecture. 

When you become a firm owner you spend a lot less time on the design of projects and traditional tasks of being an architect. You are now responsible for a business and need to understand all of the administrative tasks to keep your firm healthy. Learn about marketing, business development, sales, leadership, and of course finances. 

And look for tools that can help you do these things more efficiently. Invest in software that can save time, or take administrative tasks off your plate. Look for tools that make your team more efficient and balance the seemingly high cost of software subscriptions against the even higher cost of your team's time. 

Being very tech-forward and an early adopter of new tools and software has really given us a competitive advantage over the years. 

Category 3: Future       

What's a new development or trend in your industry that gets you excited?

AI is obviously going to radically change our industry. Once it is capable of doing an error-free code and zoning analysis, it has the potential to dramatically speed up the permitting process. We are already using some basic AI tools and are constantly researching what is coming that may benefit our practice. Although many are concerned about AI replacing jobs, we look at it as an incredible opportunity to supplement our creativity. AI can make some of the menial, repetitive work much faster, allowing our team to think big picture, focus on our clients, and work on the higher value creative design work. 

What are you excited about in your business?

As big proponents of sustainable design, I am excited about how quickly the industry is embracing many of our core principles. Nevertheless, there is a huge opportunity to reshape the criteria we use to judge success in design and execution of buildings, based on circular principles. Sustainable design is only going to get more important over the coming years and we are excited to be part of the solution.

What's your vision for the firm over the next 5 years?

Our goal is to focus on fewer key sectors and try to expand our portfolio to become more recognized as leaders in those fields. We are a small team of passionate people who solve creative problems for our clients. The vision is to maintain this dedication to core principals, and grow our team with like-minded designers. If we could double the size of the firm while focusing more on sustainable design projects we would see that as success. 

Category 4: Fun    

When you're not working, how do you like to spend your time?

I enjoy cooking, traveling and snowboarding. My wife is an artist and I can often be found helping her with installations, or traveling the world to see her work. 

What building or place has inspired your work?

Living in New York City has been a huge influence on my work. The city provides an unlimited array of unique environments and creative inspirations. I live in an historic Brooklyn brownstone that we renovated into a contemporary interior. This juxtaposition of old and new is something that I love and has impacted the design work of many of our projects. And our office is in the DUMBO neighborhood which also has a historically industrial past but has been undergoing a transformation into trendy mixed-use neighborhood with some fantastic design rehabbing old historic buildings into new uses, introductions of contemporary architecture, and especially some fantastic design of public space from new plazas to a beautiful waterfront park with incredible views of Manhattan. 

Other than architecture what inspires you?

Film, graphics and visual art and music are all important inspirations for my practice. 

We will be posting more interviews for our BQE Customer Spotlight Series here:
https://blog.bqe.com/tag/customer-spotlight