In 2003, architects Paul Udris and Mark Burgess holed up in Udris’s basement and started work at their new firm, U+B Architecture & Design.
Both had held senior positions at Minneapolis architectural firms. Their leap into entrepreneurship was fueled by a desire to build a firm that avoids “unnecessarily confrontational relationships between the client, contractor, architect, and budget,” Udris says. The firm’s approach prescribes collaboration that allows for problem solving to occur at the beginning of a project—saving time and money for all involved.
“We can often provide our most effective advice in the nascent stages of a project, before the site is purchased or the lease is signed,” Burgess says. “We really enjoy being part of this brainstorming process, and these early decisions often have the greatest impact on the cost effectiveness and success of the project.”
Case in point: U+B recently worked with a client seeking to build out its office space. U+B noticed early on that the client’s desires exceeded its budget—and what the building’s management was willing to provide. By addressing this problem early, the firm was able to help the client negotiate its lease with more favorable terms for the project. U+B also worked with several contractors to provide competitive pricing estimates early in the design process, when it could still make adjustments to the project in order to stay on budget.
So far, the firm’s approach seems to be working: In 2007, 85 percent of the firm’s revenue came from repeat business. Shortly after founding U+B, the partners moved to an airy second-floor space on Minneapolis’s Eat Street, allowing them to grow to nine full-time architects and interns.
“We have grown organically, as needs dictate, and we have taken great pains to hire employees with a broad range of skills who contribute to the collaborative nature of the office and contribute to the wide range of project types,” Burgess says. All of U+B’s architects are able to take on residential and commercial projects, both interiors and exteriors.
In the past year, half of U+B Architecture & Design’s revenue has come from local projects. Outside of Minnesota, U+B has been working on a $100 million development in Morocco that includes expansive residences, a golf clubhouse and academy, and a hotel.
“Working with a variety of project sizes and types keeps our ideas fresh,” Udris says, “and allows us to discover design solutions that defy categorization.”
