Picture: dwg. founder Daniel Woodroffe, ASLA, (right) and Jacob Walker in dwg.’s Austin, Texas, studio.
From the April 2016 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine.
Design firms come in all sizes?though a large design firm of, say, 400 people is peanuts in many other businesses. At any rate, the size of a firm is not incidental. It tends to reflect the principal?s business philosophy. Many principals wish to stay tiny for a reason, to keep projects and relationships intimate and keep their own stamp on everything possible. Among those who grow to juggle multiple major projects at a time, a magic number often comes up?35 employees, or 40. It may be a matter of available space in the office. More often, a target number is seen as a threshold of quality, the point beyond which an office focused on design might shift focus to its management culture, which can take on a life of its own. We interviewed four principals at firms of various sizes to find out why they choose to be the size they are. dwg.
Austin, Texas

Established: 2010

Current Size: 18

Daniel Woodroffe, ASLA, president and founder

What?s the largest the firm has been"
Woodroffe: Eighteen. We?ve had about a 10 percent growth each year, year on year. It?s been very stable and controlled but in large part based on our careful methodology of hiring and being very selective on the individuals, and the individual skill set, that we?ve been looking for each time. We?re probably going to be hiring another co...