A Culture of Collaboration
Collaboration provides a collective intelligence that creates better solutions to the complex challenges of design. It is essential to the way we work. We collaborate daily as a team, with our consultants, with our clients, and with the contractors who build our work. We are always looking for new collaborative partners to enhance what we do. Our goal is to cultivate a culture that allows everyone to engaged in the practice of architecture without restriction. We want our employees to be motivated by the work, not by the paycheck. We care about the projects, the success of the firm, and how we treat each other.
Ideas Before Ego
In order for collaboration to take its full impact, egos will need to be checked at the door. The best ideas must be allowed to win out no matter their source. This can't happen when titles or egos get in the way.
Technology
Enhancing collaboration is where we believe technology has given us the most and we love it. The fact that we can operate as a firm while living literally from the west coast to the east is something we get jazzed about. This also means that we can connect with more people, in more locations to share ideas and work better together. Technology is stunning!
Communication
Whether it is between di’velept and our clients and consultants, or just amongst the staff, communication is paramount to us. With staff spread across different time zones and individual offices, we have had to learn to sometimes over-communicate to ensure no balls are dropped and every project team member is always on the same page. Productivity means a lot more to us than a specific work schedule. Good communication and collaboration with others in the office is key which means we generally work regular office hours but with a lot more flexibility.
Work-Life Balance
We see ourselves as a talented group of individuals working together to do incredible things. Our staff are talented, capable adults who manage their projects and their time. We expect to be fully engaged with and responsible for the work we do but we also believe in life outside of what we do in the office. Sure, there will be times when the demands of a project require a bit more of us, but there are also times that should allow us to get some of that back.
Full Transparency
If we are all truly a part of the practice, we believe everyone should have access to all the company data including financials and wages. That’s right, everyone knows exactly how much everyone else is being paid, even the owners.
We believe that we should be able to justify our actions, and if we can’t, we probably shouldn’t be doing it. This allows us to gain input from everyone about how things should be structured and what fair compensation should be. Some of the best communication we can have are some of the harder conversations.