flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Career development, workplace environment programs key to retention at HMC Architects

Career development, workplace environment programs key to retention at HMC Architects

Architecture firm take a multifaceted approach to professional development.


By By Robert Cassidy | October 4, 2012
Four HMC professionals who were recently promoted to Associate talk about their
Four HMC professionals who were recently promoted to Associate talk about their mentors. Left to right: Matt Endsley, 29, Busine
This article first appeared in the October 2012 issue of BD+C.

“We take a multifaceted approach to professional development,” says Pasqual V. Gutierrez, AIA, Director of Architecture. Among HMC’s career development programs:

• IDP Forum, held once a month for those employees who are fulfilling the Intern Development Program. “We use the AIA Emerging Professional Companion in combination with specs of real HMC projects, so that they learn about specifications but also our HMC protocols,” says Gutierrez.

• After-hours study programs for employees preparing for the Architectural Registration Exam are supported by senior architects. 

• Accessibility Workshop: a five-hour program held in odd-numbered years for employees—and clients—who need to meet state licensure renewal requirements for Mandatory Accessibility coursework.

• Access to 1,040 hours of the AIA Virtual Convention for 80 licensed architects at the firm to view and earn AIA/CES learning units.

The Emerging Leaders Forum is a two-year “corporate overlay experience” program for mid- and upper-level management-track staff to hone their corporate governance skills. Emerging leaders engage in reading assignments, community service, and professional practice mentoring sessions to help them refine their practical skills while providing insight into executive management.

At the top level, Principals, Associate Principals, and Senior Project Managers are provided a reimbursable allowance for conferences and books, plus each studio managing principal receives a discretionary fund to administer education and training for technical and administrative staff.

In what may be a unique offering, HMC recorded a thousand hours of its own lunch-and-learn “Back2Basics” learning workshops—covering such topics as BIM and cost controls—and contracted with the AIA to make them available online to HMC staff for continuing education credits.

Two employee-initiated forums meet after hours to explore issues in design, take field trips, make presentations, and enter competitions, all on their own time.

Every September, HMC’s ArchLab takes a group of 20 or so employees into the woods for a weekend retreat to dig into sustainability. “We don’t talk about LEED,” says Gutierrez. “We talk about high-performance architecture and the strategies you need to deliver it.”

More at: www.BDCnetwork.com/HMC/Careers. +

Related Stories

| Dec 18, 2014

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West to be recreated—with LEGO

Containing more than 180,000 LEGO bricks in 11 colors and 120 different shapes, the model measures eight by four feet and is made entirely of standard LEGO parts. 

| Dec 18, 2014

11 new highs for tall buildings: CTBUH recaps the year's top moments in skyscraper construction

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat cherrypicked the top moments from 2014, including a record concrete pour, a cautionary note about high-rise development, and two men's daring feat.

| Dec 18, 2014

International Parking Institute and Green Parking Council collaborate with GBCI

The new collaboration recognizes importance of sustainable parking facility design and management to the built environment.

| Dec 18, 2014

Top 10 sports facilities of 2014: Designboom ranks the year's best projects

The list includes some of the year's epic stadiums, such as World Cup Stadium Arena de Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil, and smaller projects, like the Spordtgebouw Sports Centerin the Netherlands. 

| Dec 18, 2014

In response to ultra-open and uber-collaborative office environments

Susan Cain’s bestselling 2012 book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking" has made an impact on how we understand our current workforce, recognizing that at least one-third of the people we work with are introverts, writes SRG Partnership's Susan Gust.

| Dec 17, 2014

USGBC announces 2014 Best of Green Schools honorees

Houston's Monarch School was named the K-12 school of the year, and Western Michigan University was honored as the top higher-ed institution, based on environmental programs and education efforts.

| Dec 17, 2014

ULI report looks at growing appeal of micro unit apartments

New research from the Urban Land Institute suggests that micro units have staying power as a housing type that appeals to urban dwellers in high-cost markets who are willing to trade space for improved affordability and proximity to downtown neighborhoods.

| Dec 17, 2014

11 predictions for high-rise construction in 2015

In its annual forecast, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat predicts that 2015 will be the "Year of the Woodscraper," and that New York’s troubled B2 modular high-rise project will get back on track.

| Dec 17, 2014

Demand softens, but outlook for Architecture Billings Index remains positive

The AIA's Architecture Billings Index for November was 50.9, down from a mark of 53.7 in October. Despite the drop, the ABI continued its seven-month run of positive scores (above 50).

Sponsored | | Dec 16, 2014

Quadcopters save project team $15K in warranty work

On a recent trip to see what technology Todd Wynne and the rest of the team at Rogers-O’Brien Construction have been tinkering with, I had a chance to experience firsthand which new hardware innovations will one day be applied in the AEC space. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021

Â