Firm Background: Lord, Aeck & Sargent is an award winning, full service architectural firm with offices in Atlanta, GA, Ann Arbor, MI, and Chapel Hill, NC. The firm consists of five distinct specialized design studios: Science, Historic Preservation, Arts & Culture, Housing & Mixed-Use and Education. The Science Studio focuses primarily on the higher education market designing life sciences, biotech and interdisciplinary science research laboratories as well as engineering labs, healthcare and teaching facilities. Areas of expertise include: bio-containment labs, imaging, nanotechnology, and animal research facilities. The Historic Preservation Studio provides a comprehensive range of restoration and rehabilitation services to government, non-profit, and institutional clients. The Arts & Culture Studio is dedicated to the planning and design of museums and performing arts centers. The Housing & Mixed-Use Studio focuses on urban infill projects mainly consisting of multi-family housing and mixed-use residential/commercial developments. These include new construction as well as adaptive re-use, historic rehabilitation and urban planning projects. The Education Studio plans and designs academic learning centers, campus centers/student life facilities, and interactive learning environments for colleges and universities nationwide.

Design Excellence: The firm has been recognized for excellence in innovative design with over sixty-five awards. More than thirty of these awards were bestowed by the AIA including: two National Honor Awards, numerous Regional Awards and State Awards, the AIA Atlanta Silver Medal Award, and the 2005 AIA Georgia Honor Award: Georgia Architecture Firm Award.

Support of the Institute: Lord, Aeck & Sargent is a long time supporter of the AIA. Registration is strongly encouraged within the firm at all levels. Our internal ethics code mirrors that of the AIA, which is used as a template for the content for our ethics courses. Of the fifteen Principals in the firm, thirteen are AIA registered and three are members of the AIA College of Fellows. Our involvement with the Institute includes staff members who serve as trustees for AIA affiliated architectural foundations, members of AIA committees, a current AIA Georgia Board Member, and frequent speakers at AIA conferences. This involvement permeates our curriculum, offering guidance and inspiration in providing quality continuing education to our staff.

Continuing Education: Since the establishment of Lord, Aeck & Sargent University (LASU) in 1993, the firm has continually expanded its professional development program - improving upon the offerings and opportunities for continuing education for the architects, designers, Principals, as well as the support staff. The goal of LASU is to offer a solid continuing education program that benefits all employees and strengthens profitability. LASU is managed and directed by a six member board of advisors that includes the Manager of Professional Development, the Human Resources Manager, and four Principals, two of whom have been adjunct faculty at the college and university level. A quarter of the firm’s Principals, all from different studios, are represented on the LASU Board.

Every year our internal LASU program and the voluntary participation in it has steadily grown, matching the growth of the firm. In 2000, 18 classes were offered with an average of just over 9 credit hours per employee for the year. Since then, the program has been incrementally and aggressively built upon to include over 110 classes and an average of 24.95 credit hours per employee in 2004, and over 150 classes and an average of 37.49 credit hours per employee in 2005. These numbers do not include hours in external classes, seminars or workshops. Year to date (as of 8/15/2006), over 100 LASU classes have been provided with an average of 22.94 credit hours attained per employee. Projections for the remainder of 2006 indicate that both the number of classes offered and the interest level are continuing to increase. The expected average LASU credit hours will be between 35 and 40 per employee in 2006.

The LASU curriculum consists of several topic categories: Core programs (mandatory for all employees), Design courses, Process oriented programs, Building Technology courses, Leadership classes, and Tools. The courses are presented in a wide variety of formats including lectures, interactive roundtable discussions, user groups, project/construction site tours, and online as well as instructor-led interactive computer-based courses. Classes are taught by firm Principals (required to provide instruction), and a wide variety of internal and external experts and consultants including: attorneys, specification experts, Professors and Deans from the Colleges of Architecture of major universities, fire marshals, structural and mechanical engineers, commissioning agents, building condition assessors, vibration and acoustic control technicians, code experts, directors from the Trust for Public Land, and sustainability (EPA/EnergyStar/LEED) consultants. The majority of our LASU courses are AIA accredited and the firm strives to ensure that at least two thirds of these classes meet HSW requirements.

The development of a sophisticated web-based system assists with managing the LASU program, allowing students to enroll in upcoming classes, review past classes and materials, and monitor transcripts. Data is tracked for a minimum of six years - allowing the LASU Board to evaluate trends and identify needs for improvement in the program. Detailed reports are easily generated for the firm, studio, office or individuals. A feedback survey module allows continuous evaluation of course quality, instructor skills and program effectiveness. This system also allows us to track incidental costs associated with the professional development program such as lunch costs, manuals, and transportation. Additionally, costs and hours are tracked for external continuing education, seminars and workshops, including our training subscription (ETS) with Bentley (MicroStation). These types of training opportunities are offered to complement our internal LASU continuing education program and ensure we are providing a well-rounded and effective training experience.

As a learning organization, the professional development and continuing education programs at Lord, Aeck & Sargent continue to position our firm as leaders in the field, enabling us to fulfill our mission of responsive design, technological expertise and exceptional service. To this end, we intend to submit an application for the 2007 AIA/CES Award for Excellence in the “100-250 employees” firm category.