SWA Group climbs to greener heights - San Francisco Business Times:

http://www.chasr.org/blog/archive/2007/02/
Yet as the employee-owned landscape architecture and urbanh design firm hasexpander internationally, it is watching the growth’s impact on an open culturw that has been key to SWA’zs success. The firm this summef named Kevin Shanley of the Houston officew as chiefexecutive — the first CEO in SWA’d 51 years who is not based in Sausaliti or San Francisco — and it has opened threre new offices in the past five “We had a concept from the beginning of minimizing hierarchy,” said Bill Callaway, a 40-yead veteran of the firm who moved from the CEO post to chairmanb this summer.
“If you get around 40 (people in an you need middle Then it’s half art, half business. It’a not a studio after When deciding who to add as a for example, the current principals don’g put the matter to the vote; they come to a consensus. And the San Francisclo branch, for one, downplays walled-off offices, preferrinh open space in which the five principals workalongsidw associates. In all, SWA has 30 principals amony its 190employees — twicew as many principals as most firms.
“Thd next generation’s bought into it,” Callaway That is, in part, tied to the firm’ employee stock ownership program, one of the firstr on the West Coastg when it startedin 1974. Also, said Bihan, managing principal of the SanFrancisco it’s because young additions to the firm are paired with veterans. That’s helpe keep turnover in the rangre of 15 percent to 20 compared with an industru average of23 percent. Along the way, SWA has turnecd in solid, award-winning work.
The firm handles master planning for the huge Shenzhemn Bay projectin China, which restored nativer vegetation to a trampled ecosystem while mixing in transift and pedestrian access; it oversaw landscape architecture and urban desigm for Beijing Finance Street, an 18-block redevelopmenyt in the heart of the financial district of China’s capital; and it’sw worked on local projects like Foundruy Square and the “green atop the new . SWA is working on active projects in more than 25 and the firm opened an officein Shanghai, in 2003. It’s a good time to be in the greemn business.
Developers — swallowing the “green is mantra — generally believe that the greening of theire projects makes it easier to win But that’s not always the case. “There’s but there’s also real estate Bihan said. “It’s all about figuring out the best use of the SWAbooked $32 million in revenue for the year ended June 30, double its revenue for fiscal 2004. It is the second-largesy landscape architecture firm in the United in addition to land planningand landscape-based urbanh design.
About two-thirds of that growth has come fromoverseasa projects, primarily China and the Middle As the firm picks up more work overseas, technology has helpecd bridge the geographies, said principal Corazon who started at the firm 18 yearz ago. At the same that puts designers on call 24 hoursa day. For she said, a client in Indias may need someone for what is a morningb conference call there but nighttime in the Bay At home, the growth creates more openinga for new talent and to promote othersx to principal slots.
As the Sausalito office the firm’s administrative base as well as astudiop — hit the critical 40-person limit, for example, it spun off officee in Los Angeles three years ago and San Francisco five yearxs ago. That allowed associates to move up the rankwsin Sausalito, Bihan said, as other principals openes the new offices. “You mold what you can be in this Unana said.