Alternate Business Development Tactics
Business development in architecture has traditionally centered on referrals, networking, competitions, and responses to RFPs. But increasingly, firms are proactively building their brand, visibility, and client base through alternate business development and marketing tactics – ones that can attract like-minded collaborators and clients interested in their distinct perspective.
Here, we break down six such tactics employed by firms:
Object Design
Firms are expanding beyond buildings into furniture, lighting, and objects – either partnering with brands or galleries to launch their exclusive collections or maintaining it as a separate vertical under their practice.
Omar Gandhi Architect developed OG Brick, a light available in two sizes that was initially designed for Omar Gandhi’s family home. Through collaborations with mjölk and other partners, the firm is also pursuing furniture, lighting, and industrial design.
Charlap Hyman & Herrero has a product design vertical including furniture, lighting, rugs, etc. They have also built up a long-term creative partnership with Schumacher, a fabrics and wallpaper company, that features CHH’s collections.
Exhibitions
Firms are curating or participating in exhibitions that are based on, or align with, their positioning and themes. Typically done via academic or other institutional connections, these are opportunities to invite potential clients to attend the exhibition and lectures planned around it.
New York-based design practice Roman and Williams launched their gallery and shop where they showcase the work of emerging talent and foster connections among artists and designers.
Prototype Projects
Prototype projects – often via grants or private sponsorships – are a way to build on your own initiative and showcase expertise in specific areas.
Atelier L’Abri designed Saltbox Passive House in 2020, the third home in Quebec, Canada to achieve Phius Passive House standard. This breakout sustainable design project led to commissions like A-frame glamping cottages, which in turn expanded the firm’s experience in multi-unit residential projects. The learnings from this project also led to the creation of a spinoff construction company, Modulor.
BIG designed a digital catalog of ready-to-print homes with construction technology company ICON, unveiled at the South by Southwest Festival. Within this, the TexNext collection reinterprets the Texan housing typologies, of which a 3D printed home prototype has been constructed as part of a larger housing community masterplan. New collections will continue to be added to CODEX – a tactic likely to attract investment by other interested developers.
Self-Initiated Projects
Unlike typical design consultancies that emphasize the firm’s ability to cater to a client’s needs, some practices also pursue ventures that interest them personally, and help boost their own profiles.
Athena Calderone is an interior designer who demonstrates her perspective and personal style through EyeSwoon, the lifestyle brand she founded.
Public Installations
Highly-visible public installations build awareness far beyond the worlds of architecture and design. These are often done as partnerships with other artists and designers.
The architecture firm Family New York collaborated with creative studio Playlab on +POOL, a planned floating public swimming pool on New York’s East River. It has since launched a movement to restore the utility of New York’s waterways, and now operates as a nonprofit Friends of + POOL.
Events
Hosting dinners, salon-style gatherings, book readings, film screenings, and other events at the studio or project sites is another way to network in person, warm leads, and build visibility. This is also a way to strengthen local connections and meet potential clients in different industries.
Graphic, interior, and live events design firm Perron-Roettinger has collaborated with Paris-based food collective We Are Ona to stage culinary experiences in Paris and Los Angeles.
G’OC hosts studio events to showcase the work of local creatives and their own project partners. They collaborated with the artist group SuttonBeresCuller on a community-focused project to transform a former gas station into a pocket park and cultural center. At the studio event, they exhibited drawings, models, and videos of the project.
These strategies signal an emerging trend in which architects build their own brands and tell their own stories through objects, events, and experiences. The most forward-thinking architecture firms aren’t waiting for commissions – they’re crafting them.