Architect's Essentials of Starting, Assessing and Transitioning a Design Firm

by Peter Piven, Bradford Perkins

Written by two leading experts in the field this essential volume offers a step-by-step guide to understanding and evaluating the goals, risks and the rewards of starting a firm.

Genres: Architecture, Business

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2002

About the author

Peter Piven is a principal consultant at Peter Piven Management Consultants, continuing a professional path that began at The Coxe Group. For more than three decades he has advised design professionals on organizational structure, strategic planning, leadership transition, financial management, mergers and acquisitions, and practice growth. Recognized as a leading authority on management issues in the design professions, he works with architects, engineers, planners, landscape architects, and related organizations. Piven holds advanced degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, with additional management training from Harvard University. He was elevated to Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects for his contributions to the field. A respected educator, writer, and editor, he has taught widely, served in numerous leadership roles within the AIA, and co authored influential books on starting, managing, and transitioning design firms.

Reviews

[Carol Sente · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is over 20 years old, it is written by an FAIA (Fellow in the American Institute of Architects) organization and the consulting firm Weld Coxe Group, with a long history of advising architects. Any seller or buyer of an architectural or engineering firm, especially a small one, should read this book to familiarize themself with the components of a sale. I remember purchasing this book when I was buying my firm and am re-reading it to assist my clients with their ownership transitions. You can easily skip around to the chapters that most interest you and probably read the entire book in a weekend. Chapters 4 & 5 on Valuing the Firm and Making the Purchase Affordable are invaluable! The entire book is excellent.

[Justus · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good intro to the subject....good to get info from several directions (ie compare to the other starting archi firm book). Its most interesting insight is the appendix where they have a six square matrix
strong idea
strong delivery
strong process
Practiced Centered Business centered

It was also nice to see sample (simple also) income statements for a hypothetical firm. Interesting read but nothing mind blowing