Architectural firms changing with times - Dayton Business Journal:

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But local architects are hopeful that by the end of this their drafting tables will be litteredwith projects. By increasinbg marketing efforts, reaching out to potentiao clients and staying on top of the latesydesign technology, officials want to be ready when businesse starts to come back. Alan Scherr, president of Dayton-baserd , noticed a down tick in business last He saidhis five-person firm has tightenede its belt, but still has a steadyh work load. In 2008, Scherr’s billings dropped 33 percent, from $1.2 million to He expects this year’s billings to decreasde 20 percent fromlast year.
The biggest problekm for his firm has been increased competition from outsidethe region. Peter managing principal of Englewood-based , said his firm is facing similar challenges. “We’re holding our own, it’ just a little Harsh said. App saw a slight increase in billings, $2.13 milliohn in 2007 to $2.23 millionj last year, but Harsh doesn’tf expect another hike this year. Risinv competition is one of themain challenges.
Architectes say the number of firms biddintg on projects has doubled in the past The increased submissions are from firms outside of Dayton lookinffor business, and larger firms submitting for smalletr projects as a way to keep their employees For example, nearly 30 firma submitted proposals for the secondc building in downtown Dayton’s TechTown, which Alan Scherdr was ultimately awarded. And firms from as far away as Chicagol were looking to landthe work. Scherr said this isn’tt a small project, but just a few yearx ago, about half as many firms would have submittedx forthis project. “Everybody’s chasing the same piecs of the pie,” Scherr said.
“Thse pie is the same, but the firmd that were working for larger clients no longe r havethose commissions.” John Poe, presidenrt of Dayton-based , said larger firma going after smaller projects are cutting their fees just to keep theit employees working. “That doesn’t help anyone,” Poe said. And with companieas pulling back on new buildingsdand remodels, there is less work in the pipeline. The designs architectur firms perform now are a good indicator of the work constructionb companies will be doingy six to nine monthsfrom now. Loca l construction companies arebusy now, but many are facin g backlogs that are looking increasingl y sparse.
On a national indicators show the potentiap foran upswing. The past two months have shown strong inquiries fornew projects, according to the , a leading economic indicator of construction In March and April, the index was above 40 for the first time sincwe August and September of last A score above 50 indicates an increasw in billings. Nevertheless, to combat the recenf slowdown, architectural firms are: keeping up-to-date with technology.