With thirteen new hires in calendar year 2017, including one appointment to a new director-level position, the nationally recognized architecture-and interiors firm Dyer Brown is nearing 50 years in business with 50-plus employees and a growing roster of projects across the United States. The firm recently opened its second office located in Atlanta and focusing on the Southeast region, and is poised to continue its national growth delivering integrated architecture, interior design and associated consulting services.

Founded in 1969, Dyer Brown has developed a multifaceted professional staff including architects, interior designers, and experts in 3D visualization, graphic design and facilities consulting, who consistently provide innovative and compelling design solutions. The firm’s clientele — predominantly in the workplace, hospitality, and higher education sectors — includes several global brands that have entered into ongoing working relationships with Dyer
Brown. The firm also delivers unique, on-call service arrangements for large client groups, under the banners of Building Services for real estate owners and management companies, and under Corporate Services for major companies with large facilities portfolios and long-term planning and architecture requirements.

The enduring success of these offerings, and the continued growth of the firm’s active portfolio of design work, has led Dyer Brown to begin hiring new designers and architects. The latest appointments have included one director-level hire: R. Gabriel Zavala, AIA, who brings 30-plus years of building and interior design experience to the table.

Leadership and growth
“Rapid growth like the recent advance we’ve experienced creates a need for additional leadership and mentoring,” says Rachel Woodhouse, NCIDQ, LEED AP, Dyer Brown’s Director of Operations. “As we expand and continue to increase the number of projects on the boards, Gabriel’s expertise and organizational skills will be vital. His efforts are already helping to streamline our process from visioning and planning through construction administration.”

As part of the firm’s growth strategy, Dyer Brown launched its new office in Atlanta, which is already building a significant roster of projects and clients. Led by project managers Maggie Mitchell, IIDA, LEED GA, and Molly California — one of the 13 design professionals to join the firm in 2017 — Dyer Brown’s Atlanta team has already completed its first major workplace, a 27,000-square-foot office and call-center space in Alpharetta, Georgia, for lender Renew Financial. Delivering a crisp professional look with pops of color in a highly collaborative setting that supports productivity and employee satisfaction, Dyer Brown’s design for the expansion office is already being used as a template for refreshing existing offices of Renew Financial, a provider of loans for homeowner energy-efficiency upgrades.

“New projects like Renew Financial in Alpharetta offer a window into our strengths as a company,” says Tara Martin, the firm’s Director of Client Services. “By developing close relationships with clients—collaborating with them on visioning and strategy to support their mission and goals—we deliver designs that make an immediate and lasting impact, while they also lead to valuable, ongoing working partnerships.”

Building on a legacy
Dyer Brown’s recent acceleration in growth and expansion reflects a number of factors, notably the 2015 appointment of three of the firm’s director-level leaders to serve as Principals. These include Brent D. Zeigler, AIA, IIDA, named President and Director of Design, and colleagues Woodhouse and Martin named Director of Operations and Director of Client Services, respectively. The restructured leadership has heralded a new era and new directions for the firm.

“We’re proud of our recent success and growth, which honors the legacy of the firm’s founders even as we explore new avenues to better serve our clients,” says Zeigler. “Our staff are always mindful of the experience of a built place, not just the bricks and mortar, and of how best to realize the client’s complete vision.”

Woodhouse adds, “With 50 professionals on staff working for our clients, nearly 50 years under the company’s belt, and a growing portfolio of work that reaches from coast to coast, we’re focused on the future. We would like to see our services reach into all 50 United States, and beyond.”