We ended the last blog recapping our favorite projects over the last thirty years. If you missed that BLOG, go back and read it first to understand why we chose our favorite projects and see if you were involved with any of them. If you’re just starting here…I would encourage you to go read the others, but this will be the discussion of our gratitude as we look back and our optimism as we look to the future.
In our first BLOG in this series, I mentioned two of Charles’ first clients were Jerry J. Moore and Kroger Grocery Stores. Jerry J. Moore’s legacy has continued as we still work for his son Jeff Moore at Realm Realty and Kroger is still to this day one of our strongest clients as we typically have more than a dozen stores in some state of remodel planning and design or in permitting and construction, at any given time. Clients we have served for five decades and the relationships that are built on a tenure like that are the reason we find ourselves here.
While we certainly look back on these two clients, I started this series saying this was about the last three decades of CDA Architects. We’ve had many staff join our team and depart for one reason or another. Their contributions to our success are immeasurable and there is a reason why we still work with them and maintain professional and personal relationships with many of them. While they gave much to us, we think they learned something from the mentors that we like to have at CDA. We have had some of the best in the industry and we certainly feel like we still do. From our longest tenured Project Manager to the interns that just joined us this summer, we have tried to create a team that becomes better than just the sum of their parts.
We are one team. We come from different backgrounds, but we recognize that we are all potential leaders, mentors, and confidants to the rest of the team. Someone here ten years can still learn something from someone who just got here five months ago. It is the mindset that we are all open to learning, and open to who we learn from, that keeps us growing and fosters a collaborative relationship throughout the office. In March 2020, when COVID affected the workplaces around the world, we had everyone back in the office by mid-May and we have been back since, if not for a couple of weeks when someone was confirmed with COVID and we sent everyone home to make sure we did not spread it. We have always felt that Architecture is a Collaborative work, and we can’t all work remote and get the job done right.
We’ve concentrated on Clients in these Blogs, but we cannot fail to recognize the importance of our Consulting Engineers and other professional colleagues that make our projects what they are. Like our client associations, we have long-standing relationships with consultants that are equally valuable. Our building system consultants today include Dally + Associates and Salas O’Brien for an overwhelming majority of our work. Specifically with Salas O’Brien, we have worked with some of the same people all of our thirty years…though the company names have changed and their ownership has evolved multiple times over that span of years. With Dally + Associates, the span of time is nearly as long, and our relationships are strong. While these are our mainstays, we also have valuable relationships with other building system engineers that certainly have value to us, even if they have not been around with us for as long.
The other Engineers and Professionals we work with for Civil designs, Surveying, Landscape, Soils Studies, and much more are varied and not as consistent mainly because we are not given the agreements with our Clients to always select these consultants. There are too many to list here, but you know who you are. We have very valuable and trusted relationships with many of these professionals in Houston, Dallas, and across Texas. Very few of our consultants office outside of Texas, though some of them have offices around the U.S., and that speaks to the Collaborative efforts I noted above. It’s easier to work with someone when you see them often and can solve design problems together.
We also can’t forget the General Contractors, Sub-Contractors, City Officials, Tenant Representatives, Permit Expeditors, Printing Companies, Signage Vendors, Registered Accessibility Specialists, and everyone else that goes into a successful Architectural Project. It should come as no surprise that we have many long-term relationships with these people also. They are part of the team. We talk about that often, but the “Team” is not just those we hire. We consider everyone I noted above, and more, as part of the “Team” and when our clients see this in the same light…we are an unstoppable force for Successful Projects.
We have so much more to do. Every new road means new intersections. New intersections become new potential projects. Population growth and even trends in the current population mean new projects. New materials and processes are being created frequently. We must stay dynamically ready for the future, but we will not forget the past. Thirty years is the cause for celebration, but we are steadily looking forward to make sure the coming years are equally successful. At this point, we have staff members that have enjoyed the entire thirty-year ride on the CDA Architects roller coaster.
We hope you stay on the ride for more twists and turns alongside CDA Architects, and we look forward to creating new favorite projects with you. Thanks for reading this BLOG and celebrating our Thirty Years with us. Thank you, from the bottom of our collective hearts, Thank you.
