What's up with modern architecture?

The conventional wisdom is that the design and construction industry has moved forward as technology has improved and collaboration has increased. Not so, says Chicago Sun-Times columnist Roger Ebert, who says modern architecture "has grown tiresome." Gone are the beautiful buildings, giving way to corporate behemoth that tower over the landscape just to get into the record books. In other cases, firms are so worried about the bottom line that they set creativity to the side and take the safe route.
I think there's something to that, and it's not going to get better any time soon with continued worry about the state of the economy.

Celebrate the past, look ahead to the future

ZweigWhite founder Mark Zweig checks in today with a special announcement on a momentous occasion:

"It was 22 years ago that I started Mark Zweig & Associates--the firm that later became ZweigWhite. We built the firm to a twice-listed Inc. 500 Company with a mission of helping our A/E and environmental consulting firms be more successful. We did that based on practicing what we preach and by singing our own music vs. reading management books and regurgitating what the authors said. It was a successful marriage of industry focus, original research, training, and consulting, using a staff of full-time employees vs. a cadre of part-time consultants.

"I retired from the firm to pursue my interests in college-level teaching and design and development and have achieved some success with both of those endeavors. But recently, the new owners of ZweigWhite asked me to re-inject myself into the firm. While I was reluctant at first because I am already so busy, I quickly gained enthusiasm for the idea when I saw how entrepreneurial our new owners are. Last week, I just opened a new office for ZW here in Fayetteville. You are going to be hearing a lot more from us in the coming weeks and months about new people, new services, and more from ZweigWhite, and I am excited about our future!"

Mark

Lying your way to a project win?

The Boston Globe recently reported on a controversial decision by the state's highest court to allow a high school building project to remain under the auspices of a construction firm that misrepresented its credentials to get the job in the first place. Critics in the construction industry say the ruling undermines the spirit of the open, honest, public bidding process created by the Ward Commission after bid-rigging scandals in the 1970s, according to the article by John Ellement and Christine Legere.

What do you think of this ruling? How do you feel about lying to get work?

Etch A Sketch celebrates big 5-0

Today marks an historic occasion in many architects' lives: It's the day Etch A Sketch first went on sale 50 years ago. Are you or your firm doing anything to celebrate?

For me, having a typewriter as a kid launched my journalism career. Was the Etch A Sketch your gateway to the design industry? Does anyone out there still have one? If so, let's see what you can do with it. We'd love to display your best work -- and maybe you'll even win a prize for it!

The company name game

There's a lot of creativity going on in the design industry these days, and that ground-breaking thinking extends to firm names. The American Express Open Forum blog looks at how 16 world-renowned companies picked their names. How did you choose yours? What's been the reaction to the name over the years? Has the name issue been a contentious one when your firm was buying or selling?

Where does your state rank on stimulus spending?

The second-smallest state in the U.S. (Delaware) has also done the poorest job of spending the money it was allocated through the $787 billion economic stimulus package, according to a recent report from the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Maine, on the other hand, is the leader others should follow.

Those firms that have been aching to enter the federal market but still unable to do so, it looks like there's still some opportunity out there, if you know where to look.

What do you think of this report? What has your experience been with stimulus package-related work?

Best buildings in the past 30 years

Vanity Fair recently published a list of the best buildings of the past 30 years. As with most lists, it includes some classics and some interesting choices, as well as some you might suspect are there just to get people talking about the list. What do you think of their rankings? Is anything missing?

On a somewhat related note, The Zweig Letter is publishing its 2010 Hot Firm List in the July 12 issue. There are a lot of new faces among this year's winners, who are ranked alphabetically in the issue. The numerical rankings will be released in late August, with the conference in D.C. in late October.