Carole C. Wedge: 'Be sure you're adding value'

BD+C: What's it like to be president of what is arguably the nation's oldest continuously operated architecture firm?

Carole Wedge: It's wonderful. The firm has seen so many historic chapters. It makes the enduring nature of the practice something to be proud of.

Our goal today is to engage our clients in their mission and goals, to be a collaborative partner with a much bigger enterprise than just a building, and to challenge institutions to know who they are.

Early in my career, institutions were more internally focused, but now boards of trustees, consumers, and users are much more engaged. That has energized us to be as close to their thought processes as possible.

BD+C: You recently completed a study that compared several buildings the firm did at Harvard a century ago to a recent project at Georgetown. What did you learn?

CW: One lesson is that you can be informed by looking back as well as looking forward. In the past, architects and contractors really became familiar working together. H. H. Richardson worked for years with Norcross Brothers. Today, we bring the entire team to the table as valid players from the beginning.

The second thing is that we haven't harnessed technology to be the ultimate tool that it can be. Just because you can create more information doesn't mean you should. This is true with CAD and BIM; just because you can replicate information doesn't mean the information is better. So how can we be more integrated with our consultants, to create efficiency and clarity of information with the people who are all part of creating the building?

BD+C: Is your firm using BIM?

CW: We have a handful of projects where we're using a combination of MicroStation and Revit. We've learned we have to be more aligned with our clients from the beginning. We have to explain what BIM will require of them in terms of work flow. We're collaborating with engineers, especially structural engineers, but not with fabricators. There are still a lot of challenges for collaboration and learning for us to do in guiding the process.

BD+C: What markets are strong out there?

CW: Healthcare continues to be busy. Higher ed is busy. North Carolina and Virginia have been phenomenal in funding for public education, especially for higher ed. North Carolina wants to lead in technology and education. They're making a real push to educate a larger percentage of their population.

We're also seeing more mixed-use projects, where there's a blend of town and gown. You see institutions appreciating how dependent they are on their communities.

Research and science continue to be a focus for our clients. The economy has been on a surprisingly even keel, given the amount of money being spent on Iraq. Our institutional clients are being cautious, but they see they have to invest.

BD+C: You're one of the few female top executives at a major AEC firm. What does that say about the profession?

CW: The profession of architecture is pretty gender balanced writ large, but the leadership component hasn't achieved that. It takes longer to achieve gender balance in leadership. Some women went off and started their own firms. I was lucky. Shepley was willing to work with me to create my path.

Our clients became diverse even before we did. Higher ed embraced diversity and internationalism ahead of the curve. The architecture schools weren't even tracking diversity. There will be women leaders, but firms have to make it a priority. Ethnic and national diversity is also critically important.

BD+C: Are you having trouble with staffing?

CW: You're always worried if you're building for the future. Every firm that wants to be a leader wants to bring in new brain power, new talent, and we work hard to do that. We're lucky to be in Boston because of the variety of schools in our region, but it's a challenge to create a balanced lifestyle in the Northeast, especially due to housing costs. We do have an issue recruiting people with 7-15 years' experience. We've had to look longer for those people.

BD+C: Any closing words of wisdom?

CW: Be sure you're adding value—architecture that's of the level of inspiration and passion that your client might not even be aware of. Be ambitious. Help your clients see more than what they're asking for.