Eight keys to building long-term architect/client relationships By Dominick Roveto, AIA; Neil Cahalane, AIA; and Anthony Shaw How do you nurture a long-term relationship between an A/E firm and a client? You may think, “It’s obvious! Just do whatever the client asks, the best you can. What else is there to know?” We believe the answer is a little less obvious and more detailed, however. The authors represent the A/E side and client side as part of a 34-year relationship between the Ellenzweig architectural practice and the Harvard Univ. department of chemistry and chemical biology, both located in Cambridge, Mass. During these decades we’ve arrived at some shared ideas regarding practices that produce mutually rewarding results. We believe eight keys to building long-term relationships are: • Arriving at common ideals. • Fostering continual dialogue. • Building on mutual trust. • Demonstrating responsiveness. • Being willing to take non-traditional roles. • Maintaining a knowledge bank. • Providing fresh information. • Practicing constant innovation. Click to enlarge. Click to enlarge. Figs. 1 and 2. Harvard Univ. Cabot Science Center, 1970s (left) and today (right). Photos: Landslides. Arriving at common ideals The chemistry and chemical biology department is one of the largest science departments at Harvard, with 575 faculty, post-doctoral researchers, post-graduate students, undergrads, and staff. The department is located in five separate buildings that compose the Cabot Science Complex (Figs. 1 and 2, above). The earliest of these laboratory facilities dates back to 1927. No substantive changes to these facilities had been made before 1973, when Ellenzweig was first engaged to assist the university in updating the chemistry teaching labs and expanding the department’s research capabilities. Early on in the relationship, discussions revealed that Harvard and Ellenzweig shared many of the same ideals and goals, including: • High-quality design and construction. • Technical excellence. • Preservation of historic architecture. • Creation of spaces that are beautiful as well as functional. • Architecture that facilitates researcher interaction and collaboration. Fig. 3. Kahne Laboratory, completed in 2004, was a major improvement over previous cramped, dark chemistry labs in existing Cabot Center facilities. Photo: Anton Grassl. Click to enlarge. Being on the same “page” from the outset avoids problems of miscommunication and ensures that everyone’s priorities are consistent. A good example of the resulting product is the research laboratory completed in 2004 for Professor Dan Kahne (Fig. 3, left). Previous labs in the chemistry department were cramped and fairly dark; the new versions are more open, daylit, and feature modern mechanical and utility infrastructure. Fig. 4 (below) illustrates something of Harvard’s and the A/E’s shared commitment to creating functional new spaces without totally scrapping important older buildings. The new Bauer Laboratory and Center for Genomics Research, completed in 2003, not only provided much needed new lab space but created a new science courtyard in conjunction with several historic science buildings. The resulting interactive space is an important hub for science on the campus. Fig. 4. The Bauer Laboratory and Center for Genomics Research, completed in 2003, forms a new science courtyard with existing facilities that has become an important hub for departmental interaction. Photo: Edward Jacoby.Click to enlarge. Fostering continual dialogue One of the great advantages of a long-term relationship is the continual dialogue on how our previous projects are working out for the client and users. This interaction adds an extra dimension to our understanding of how the buildings are functioning; together, we have the opportunity to fine-tune particular elements of the building to suit how they are actually being used. An example is the Bauer Laboratory mentioned above. The mission for the building was to provide the ultimate flexible, transparent research environment; Fig. 5 (below) shows an interior view of the lab-to-office interaction. This transparency carried through to the administrative area on the ground floor. However, after some months of operation, it was apparent that the administrative staff was actually too exposed to public areas, resulting in distractions from the activity in the adjacent lobby and cyber café. Fig. 5. Transparency is the hallmark of the Bauer Lab, with glazed walls providing open views of the working labs. However, post-project communication made it clear that the administrative spaces on the main floor were too transparent and occupants were distracted by passersby, leading to a modification of the office arrangement and addition of a receptionist station. Photo: Anton Grassl.Click to enlarge. Ellenzweig proposed and implemented a modification of the original design, which relocated some administrative offices within the suite and added a formal receptionist station. This afforded privacy to key administrative personnel, yet signaled the location of staff assistance for visitors to the Genomics Center. Building on mutual trust Ellenzweig’s outlook toward every lab project for Harvard, regardless of scope or program, is to produce something special; balance good service with design excellence; and earn future work through successful past projects. Sometimes our mutual trust presents us with some daunting challenges, since the expectation is that a good solution will be found even if the parameters seem impossible. An example is the research annex designed and constructed for Professor Sunney Xie, completed in 2005. The challenge was to transform an existing bunker located beneath Mallinckrodt Hall into contemporary research support facilities. (An interesting footnote is that the bunker had been used by chemical physicist George Kistiakowsky to create and test triggers for depth charges; Kistiakowsky later worked on the Manhattan Project, developing the trigger for the atomic bomb.) Click to enlarge. Click to enlarge. Figs. 6 and 7. A long history of mutual trust can free clients to make extreme requests, such as the transformation of an unused underground “bunker” (above) into work space for graduate science students adjacent to a research suite (above). “Before” photo: Ellenzweig. “After” photo: Sam Gray. The existing space was literally a dark, dank cellar that had not been in regular use for many years (Fig. 6, above left). The program called for a work space and desks for graduate students. The solution was to raise the concrete roof, introduce a skylight, and create a light-filled, tranquil environment that truly exceeded Harvard’s expectations (Fig. 7, above right). Demonstrating responsiveness Every basketball team has a “go-to” guy who gets the ball during crunch time. We all know why, and the analogy is obvious, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded that responsiveness is a key driver in managing and maintaining a long-term relationship. Speed, style, effectiveness, and adaptability are all factors in determining who goes to the hoop down the stretch.   In the Harvard/Ellenzweig relationship, the approach on all projects is to: • Maintain dedicated staff ready to begin new work immediately. • Expedite design/construction documents by exploring design alternatives and building consensus quickly. • Anticipate and effectively manage inevitable program, personnel, and design changes. • Remain current with change in the industry. Click to enlarge Click to enlarge. Click to enlarge. Figs. 8, 9, and 10. Changing situations often demand responsiveness on the part of the A/E firm. Harvard first thought this research lab suite addition would be a two-story project (top left), then a three-story project (top middle), and finally a one-story lab with capability to expanded to three stories(top right). Renderings: Ellenzweig. A project example demonstrating the type of responsiveness required is the 20,000-ft2 research laboratory suite for Professor Hongkun Park, just going on line. Originally, the new construction was to be a two-story addition to Converse Hall. Following conceptual design for this approach, Harvard decided instead to build a three-story addition. Ellenzweig prepared design documentation—only to learn that there was a change of plan. The building would now be a one-story addition, designed to allow future expansion to three stories (Figs. 8, 9, and 10, above). This is not at all to imply that Harvard cannot make a decision. Rather, it demonstrates the need for responsiveness on the part of the client, as well as the architect or service provider. Recruitment issues, researcher preferences, and budget all play paramount roles in space allocation and subsequent design. Both the client and the architect must be nimble in their responses to these factors and the changes they generate. Being willing to take on non-traditional roles Obviously, the broader the services offered by a consultant, the greater the appeal and value to a client. An example: Harvard has included Ellenzweig in its recruitment efforts—and not just by having them draw pretty pictures. The architects have accompanied the university on several recent recruiting trips, bolstering the impression of Harvard’s commitment to candidates and providing specific expertise when needed. Maintaining a knowledge bank Having worked continuously at Harvard for more than three decades, Ellenzweig has become an important informational resource for the university. Maintaining a comprehensive, accessible database of project communication, facility drawings and specifications, cost information, and other records informs client and architectural staff and streamlines new-project start-up. This accrued expertise often improves speed of responsiveness. Providing fresh information Business development and public relations efforts should not be reserved for prospective clients—nor should they be activities conducted only by the consultant. All parties engaged in existing, long-term relationships benefit from the infusion of fresh information about one another. Some suggested practices include: • Keeping the client informed of new work, awards, and publications. • Making presentations to the client on such topics of interest as sustainability, new developments in laboratory equipment or furniture, and innovative storage concepts. • Conducting tours of completed laboratory facilities on other campuses. • Knowing what the competition is doing—the consultant’s and the client’s. Practicing constant innovation Research efforts can be so highly specialized that the equipment, furniture, or exact combination of technology required to support them have not yet been developed. In these instances, drawing on the expertise of the client and engaging in a collaborative process of trial and discovery is the best possible avenue for achieving innovative solutions. Keeping an open mind throughout the exchange of ideas is essential. Fig. 11. Ability to collaborate closely with scientists in the client organization is crucial to development of high-tech spaces, such as this 3-D visualization lab in Harvard’s department of earth and planetary sciences. Photo: Sam Gray. Click to enlarge. One of these opportunities arose recently during design of new facilities for Professor John Shaw in Harvard’s department of earth and planetary sciences. The project involved an intensively collaborative design and construction effort for a 3-D visualization classroom—essentially a mini “omni-theater” using immersion technology to provide computer-generated 3D-visualization images and animations using a multi-projector/front projection system (Fig. 11, left). The facility allows researchers to study active faults for earthquake hazards assessment; it is also used, in an industry-academic consortium, for the development of new technologies for petroleum exploration and production. The expertise of the client was critical to the successful completion of this project, as it is to many advanced science spaces. In these times of lower budgets, tighter schedules, higher expectations, and heightened competition, long-term collaborations are increasingly challenged. We believe the key to their preservation is the ability to maintain a balance of high-quality design and excellent service—a balance that satisfies the creative energies of the architect, the programmatic needs of the client, and the business requirements of both. Dominick Roveto, AIA, and Neil Cahalane, AIA, are principals at Ellenzweig, Cambridge, Mass. (www.ellenzweig.com). Ellenzweig is an architectural practice that provides full planning and design services to colleges and universities, research corporations, and health sciences research institutions. Anthony Shaw is director of laboratories, department of chemistry and chemical biology, Harvard Univ., Cambridge.