As with any profession, there are several ways to run an architecture firm. You can be fully commissioned or contract-only architects that work for clients as needed, business owners who hire you to design buildings and systems for them, or part-time professionals that do it as their main source of income.

There are many different types of firms structured around what they specialize in, how much capital they have access to, and if they’re organized into separate departments or not.

Most large firms start out as solo practitioners before teaming up with other architects for collaboration and sharing of knowledge and resources. This is the most common type of practice we see today.

Smaller more agile firms may choose to go it alone at times but frequently need to collaborate with others to succeed. These types of practices are very common now due to the nature of modern life and technology.

Collaborative environments like working from home, using shared documents and software, and having regular meetings all contribute to this trend. Technology has made it easy to produce quality output quickly so being efficient with time is no longer a reason to exclude such teams from success.

This article will talk about some basics of architectural firm structure. We will discuss why these things matter, which ones are important depending on your situation, and what can be done to improve yours if necessary.

Limited partnership

An architecture firm is typically run as a limited liability company (LLC) or, less commonly, a professional service corporation (PSC). With an LLC, each owner of the business has their own personal credit card to fund projects. This way, if someone runs into debt, they do not hold other people liable!

An additional benefit of having an LLC rather than a PSC is that LLCs are able to have much lower entry fees than PSCs. The reason for this is that individuals who form an LLC don’t need to pay franchise tax when they register their business, which most PSOs must.

This article will talk about why it is important to know how your architecture firm is structured and what options are available to you. If you would like to start up an architecture firm, then read more about LLCs here or visit our website at www.thedesigngroupllc.

General partnership

A general partnership is typically made up of an attorney or group of attorneys that share in legal responsibility for clients, as well as profits and losses from those clients.

General partnerships are usually not limited to having just one other partner. It can be three lawyers who all work under one lawyer’s supervision, or it can be several people with separate specialties working together under one leader.

Because there is no limitation on number of partners, this type of firm has many variations. Some have only one senior partner, while others have very few.

There may also be more than one level of leadership within the practice. For example, some firms have only one lead attorney but he or she does not handle any cases without input and approval from another attorney or staff member.

Another variation is what is called a hybrid model. Here, one part of the practice is structured like a traditional partnership, with shared liability and income participation, and the other part is more of an employee-oriented office.

Many large architecture firms use a hybrid structure because they find it helpful to have both types of professionals at their company. Architects need to deal with contractors and builders, and employees need to manage internal relationships and communication processes, so a structure that encourages collaboration is important.

However, most small architectural practices are designed specifically to keep overhead low and limit professional liability, so they go with either a pure partnership or employee style.

Corporate structure

An architecture firm is typically made up of one or more partners, staff members (often called associates), and either an in-house or outside legal counsel. The lawyers are usually paid through hourly billing, but the partners and senior architects make much higher salaries due to their higher education levels and experience.

The professionals in an architectural firm work together to promote the success of the company they work for. Partners often take on project leadership roles which include overseeing the design process, management of the team, and communication with clients. Architects are also trained in designing buildings, so they oversee the space planning and style choice for projects.

Staff members such as administrative assistants, marketing managers, accountants, and other departments contribute to the success of the business by keeping things running smoothly.

Joint venture

An architecture firm that is not in-house operated by an individual or a small group of people but instead has collaborations with other firms that work under them is called a joint venture firm.

A joint venture (JV) firm is usually two or more architectural companies who come together to produce designs for projects. These design companies are typically paid per project as part of a larger team, and their bills are also included in the fees of the main company.

Some examples of how this works include one architect working at a large firm and another smaller firm being hired as a collaborator. Or there can be three architects all working for the same firm, each taking on different roles dependent on their specializations.

The collaboration can occur through direct employment, via shared freelancing sites, or both.

Structured investment vehicle

An architecture firm is typically made up of an executive director, associate architects, and project managers or staff members that handle different aspects of projects. The term “architect” is used very loosely to describe these professionals because they don’t necessarily have a degree in architectural design.

Typically, the senior management team selects an idea for a new building or remodel plan and then looks for people with experience in designing buildings like them to develop the concept into a full-fledged proposal.

The proposing professional will likely do some research and gathering of information about the proposed construction as well as speak with other people who work at the company to determine if the concepts are practical and possible. This process can take months before a job position is found and accepted!

But once it does, their pay rises sharply and most get additional benefits such as health insurance and retirement accounts. These employees are also referred to as ‘design consultants’ since they actively contribute ideas to the firm.

Architects make anywhere from $60-$150 per hour depending on what kind of projects they are working on and how experienced they are. A rising junior architect makes around $40 -$80k per year while those with more than 10 years experience earn over $100k per year.

These salaries are heavily dependent on both the individual employer and the size of the organization so never feel too comfortable walking away due to compensation.

Real estate investment trust

An architecture firm that has its own real estate is an out-lobbyist organization. They handle creating buildings or renovations for clients, as well as owning the property on which their office sits.

These firms are typically run by a principal architect who supervises a staff of professionals (including engineers, interior designers, and others) to create building designs.

They’re not necessarily interested in taking on large projects themselves, but in offering their services to larger companies that need architectural help running facilities or developing new brands.

That way they can focus on other parts of designing buildings, like picking colors or materials that match a company’s brand, and helping them convey their message to employees and customers.

Publicly traded company

An architect is not necessarily an owner of his or her own firm, which means he or she does not have control over how many projects they take on and what types of services they offer. This can be limiting in terms of career growth as well as income, since most public practice firms have set salaries that do not vary much depending on the project.

In order to progress up the ladder at your architecture firm, you will need to find another way to make money. Some ways include offering other professional services such as interior design, business consulting, or marketing strategies for your architectural firm.

Alternatively, you could start your own private practice! While it takes years to build up a client base, being able to call yourself your own source of revenue is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Starting your own firm is definitely a worthy goal if you are determined to grow within the field.

Successful startup

A successful architecture firm is one that has consistent, effective leaders who know their field and are able to relate to other professionals in theirs. They set clear priorities and hold each other accountable for completing tasks on time.

An architect’s responsibilities can sometimes get spread out among different teams or individual architects, which can be difficult to track all of them.

A leader at an architecture firm should be able to recognize when someone isn’t performing their job properly and take appropriate action.

As project manager, you will need to make sure everyone else knows what they are supposed to be doing and keep yourself organized so you don’t end up being too busy to do your own work.