James G. Rogers Architects in Norwalk spent its first two years navigating a world where hammers and circular saws had largely fallen silent. But with a specialized focus and the use of technology, the firm has emerged stronger than ever with large projects on tap.
“The recession was very bad for firms and architects took a huge hit,” said James Rogers, founder and principal James G. Rogers Architects. “What put a stake in the sand was that our founding date, Jan 1, 2009, could have been one of the worst days in history to start an architectural firm. On that day we were looking over into a dark abyss, not knowing where the bottom was or when we could breathe.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 19 percent of architects were out of work in January 2010.
Rogers was previously one of the founding partners of Butler Rogers Baskett Architects in Manhattan, which established Rogers in his South Norwalk location to grow the radius of the business. The founding date was a mutually agreed-upon acquisition by Rogers to take over sole control of the South Norwalk office with his new firm.
Two years later, James G. Rogers is preparing plans for the biggest job the firm has taken on since it was established, the Chelsea Piers project in Stamford. While with Butler Rogers Baskett, Rogers was the lead architect on the original Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex on the West Side of Manhattan and is regarded as a city-wide (even international, given it”™s in New York City) athletic and cultural resource. James G. Rogers Architects were responsible for the design of SoNo Field House sports facility in Norwalk which opened last year. The firm has also recently taken on a fourth firm principal, Tony Panza, in addition to principals Christopher McCagg and Ellen Glenn Golden.
“We are incredibly fortunate and excited to be where we are today,” said Rogers.
Other new projects for the firm include a remake of the Darien YMCA, a project at the Ridgeway Country Club in White Plains, N.Y., which was recently bought by the French American School for a consolidation of its three campuses, and an expansion project at St. Luke”™s School in New Canaan.
“Now we have more people than when we started,” said Rogers. “Our practice is completely institution project based, and that was to our advantage. For architects, all residential work stopped; all developer work stopped. Our institutional client focus saved us.”
Rogers said dwindling memberships in country clubs during the recession inspired many boards of directors to reinvest into their properties, in attempts to draw and retain memberships.
“For many, the mentality was to maintain and attract,” said Rogers. “Others saw the cost of construction at such a low, if they managed their finances right, they were ready to invest and add to their offering. Because of the types of clients we had, we were able to navigate the economy well. I”™d like to say it was a grand scheme but it just happens that our kind of work survives recession conditions more sustainably than others.”
McCagg said advances and reduced costs of telecommunications and collaborative software has made the process and investment into a architectural projects much easier.
The firm often uses a webinar site ”“ GoToMeeting.com ”“ to meet with clients and institutional boards, regardelss of where they may be.
“Just being able to talk to that last board member achieves a lot in terms of confidence,” said McCagg.
McCagg said the free cloud software SketchUp a free 3-D modeling program from Google, allows for proportional working renderings to be worked up quickly.
“What we now present through SketchUp allows us to speed up the viewing and reviewing process,” said Rogers. “You can model the interior of a complete space in a few hours, that”™s a job that once took weeks. That can greatly affect the efficiencies of a good architect. It”™s not realistic but it”™s a great working balance for being able to show the client where and what you”™re working with.”
McCagg said simple and free user-friendly tools like SketchUp and GoToMeeting allow for better use of resources.
“It”™s a huge leap forward, in communicating with clients, understanding the space, developing the design and the time frame of a job,” said McCagg. “If we”™re doing a job, we no longer have to agonize over how we are going to present it, we know now. It hugely simplifies things.”
