michael g. imber, faia
michael g. imber architects, san antonio
age of firm: 18 years
firm specialty: High-end residential and traditional neighborhood design
staff: 13 (2005); 17 (2008); 13 (2009); 16 to 17 (2010, projected)
total revenue: Withheld
completed projects: 5 (2005); 4 (2008); 5 (2009); 4 (2010, projected)
With U.S. credit markets on the dole last year, Michael G. Imber, FAIA, fully expected his connections from previous international projects to carry the day. He was wrong. “We hoped our geographical diversity would help, but it didn’t whatsoever,” he says. “This was more of a global recession than anyone anticipated.” In 2009, the firm subsisted primarily on high-end custom homes for clients who didn’t need financing. And only one of two commercial projects on the docket—a value-engineered country-club building—went forward.
Remedial measures included four staff cuts, and Imber monitors cash flow relentlessly. “When you’re trimmed down to a streamlined staff, every hour a person is working has to go toward covering overhead,” he says. “In times like these it becomes a science, because if you miss a billable target, you miss paying your overhead.” Old assumptions are overturned as he seeks creative ways to make services more affordable. “We’re no longer in the mode of using the standard AIA percentage-of-construction-fee structure,” he says. “We’re constantly asking ourselves whether we should take on less risk for construction administration and focus on design. Because we’re offering clients different services than we typically do, we’re getting into a different spectrum of work, like master planning for private schools, which have a long-term vision.”
Imber is optimistic about 2010. The phone’s been ringing in Texas, he says, and there is pent-up energy among clients across the spectrum, from luxury homes to campus planning and institutional work. But there’s no telling when—or if—developers can get money to build their projects. For now, that means more waiting.