AzF6 - Firm of the Year Award

Craig Randock:

Congratulations on your award.

Marlene Imirzian:

Thank you. This is an award for my outstanding team. Key leaders from our team are Jay Atherton, Mike Violette, Viet Dam, and Darlene Monaco.

Craig:

As the recipient of the AIA Arizona Firm of the Year Award 2015, what has this recognition meant to you personally and to your firm?

Marlene:

It's important to be recognized by your peers and it's wonderful in that manner for the firm to know that what we're doing has some resonance in our profession is really great for them.

Craig:

What values define the work of your firm?

Marlene:

We are focused on project excellence. For us, that means the search for the client vision and how it can be expressed in the built environment. We look for the potential of the place and how it can serve what the client is trying to do, connectivity to the community and to adjacent functions for any project. We develop projects for the highest practical level of sustainability as a basic practice as a fundamental of doing good building. We work for overall project excellence, so we're very, very engaged in an early basis with our consulting team, who we see as being very key to conceptual development in terms of a comprehensive scheme that is feasible and can be done within the client's parameters.

Craig:

Could you talk a little bit about your process. How do you approach your projects?

Marlene:

When we get a project, the first thing we do is investigate as much as we can about what the client and the users have said about what they do and what they'd like to do and what they hope for. A lot of times that piece of what they hope for and their aspirations are really not specific to place, are compelling and, in many cases, have been primary drivers to a solution. We develop concepts after knowing what the client needs, how they work and how they would like to work.

We work on a wide variety of projects. This includes master planning for college campuses, historic preservation, residential, higher education, commercial, public, and health care project types. Each project vision is developed from the unique client vision, needs, and place. Each project is a unique expression derived from our investigation of these factors, and comprehensive evaluation of all building and site systems.

We develop our designs working closely with our consulting team of engineers and system experts. We continue a high level of investigation and collaboration through the end of construction. We are very involved in construction, ensuring the quality and vision is maintained, with our senior staff continuously engaged to provide the expertise so that can happen.

Craig:

How did your passion for architecture begin?

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Marlene:

It was a complete accident. It happened through a teacher I had in high school. He asked me what interested me, suggested I might be interested in architecture, and offered to arrange for an internship at an architecture firm to see what architects do.

Craig:

What did you find intriguing about the profession?

Marlene:

Everything. I walked into that office and it was like the clouds parted and the sun came out. It was everything I'd been thinking about. It's hard to describe. I knew very quickly that this was what I wanted to do. I walked in, and from then on, my direction was very clear to me.

Craig:

What professional or life experience is most influential in your career as an architect?

Marlene:

That particular experience, by sheer luck, because I don't even know if I knew what the word "architect" meant. That experience was the most influential regarding establishing my career aspiration. My teacher, who was my government teacher, was through his care and interest very influential. He certainly didn't know firms. He found this firm by going through the yellow pages and starting under architect with the A’s. He got to the B’s and he got to Gunnar Birkerts, who is the one who hired me and has since that time been an enormous influence on my vision of architecture.

Craig:

That was the first experience?

Marlene:

I interned there as a senior in high school. The firm never had a high school intern before but lucky for me they decided to give me a try. They let me come to the firm in the afternoons a couple days a week. Gunnar and his staff took me under their wings.

His way of working and the tremendous staff, projects, and investigative process they used established what the practice of architecture should be.

Craig:

That's an amazing story. Who was your favorite or most valued mentor in your career?

Marlene:

I have three very important mentors. Gunnar was the first of course. After I was in architecture school he hired me in the summer. He and I are still in touch. He's a tremendous inspiration. Later I worked for William Kessler and Associates. Bill Kessler and Ed Francis were the principals there. They were highly influential, wonderful in terms of the opportunities they gave me on award winning projects throughout the US. Ed has been my mentor since that time. Even after leaving the firm he helped me and offered guidance and advice when I started my practice. He eventually sponsored my fellowship in the AIA.

Craig:

What advice would you give a graduate or recently licensed architect as they begin their career as a design professional?

Marlene:

There are so many different ways we can be serving the profession. It is a very, very wide-ranging profession. There's incredible amount of different types of roles that any licensed architect can play, from an owner to a representative, to an affiliated

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profession, to a designer running a firm. I think that the specifics really do depend on the focus, but probably one thing that I would say overall is that regardless of what you think you want to do, I think when you're starting, avoid limiting your aspirations. Push the aspirations. Don't stop yourself from going after things because you think it's unlikely. Allow yourself to pursue it before you limit what you think you can do.

Craig:

You've successfully built a thriving design practice, but also while balancing demands of family. What's your secret for that success? How do you do it all?

Marlene:

Here's the thing that I make really clear. You cannot have it all, number one. The most important thing is to make the choices that optimize what you can do. If you make decisions in such a way that everything in your life is difficult, then you will not be able to achieve what you want. This is really important for architecture because, especially starting out, we don't make much money; at least I didn't. I think one of the most important things is to simplify all that you can in your life. In the very, very pedestrian ways that are not very exciting to talk about, but things like where you live, what kind of difficulties you put on yourself in terms of daily living have to be minimized so that you can focus work time on your vision. Running a practice is extremely difficult and very challenging.

The day-to-day difficulties of driving 20 miles to work for instance, all those things add up and make it not workable. The other thing is being honest about what you can do. If the kind of commitment that it takes to do your own practice is not for you, that's really okay. Then, pick something that works for you in terms of what you can commit to. I think that's the most important thing is really think about how you're complicating your life before you start complicating it everywhere. Architecture is challenging enough.

Craig:

You've been an active member of AIA at all levels. Why do you feel that's important?

Marlene:

AIA National has been extremely helpful to me. As a sole owner of the firm, you can get isolated being so focused on getting the practice going. I attended a Committee on Design conference at Sea Ranch. That became my introduction to National Committee on Design. Being with peers to share experiences, look at the best work being done, and how it was done was extremely helpful.

I was then appointed a Trustee of the AIA Trust based at AIA headquarters. We collaborated with national staff, through which I experienced the really outstanding leadership and qualifications of those individuals that are leading the AIA at our headquarters in Washington. I learned about the great resources and benefits offered by the AIA and developed great respect for the staff and organization, through working with people that were at the top of their areas within our profession. That really enhanced how I understood certain challenges and it enhanced my ability to work better.

Craig:

What are your future goals?

Marlene:

We are very pleased with range of projects we undertake, and will continue to pursue

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project diversity and clients looking for the best in design. We are doing some research in terms of some things that we're experimenting with making within the office. We're looking for ways to integrate that into our practice in a way that is feasible. That's a next step for the future for us, in terms of how we investigate and create things that may not be particular to one project.

Craig:

How do you see the profession continuing to evolve and change?

Marlene:

The biggest challenge for architecture as a profession is to establish value. More and more there is a weakening of the architect’s leadership on the team. The profession is evolving to respond to multiple construction delivery processes. Those alternative construction delivery methods – Construction manager, design build, multiple prime, and others – require even more architectural leadership to achieve projects of high quality. Professionals need to establish a strong methodology to incorporate collaborative, sustainable, innovative and cost effective solutions. Architects are uniquely trained to lead this process, incorporating research and multi-disciplinary design ideas to develop the best sustainable built environment.

As a profession we have implemented comprehensive training in project delivery and sustainability expertise. Key elements include a strong intern training protocol and team performance measurements that can establish the value of the architect’s leadership during the design and construction process.

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