Episode 069: A Case Study on Leadership: Expanding Established Design Practices to New Locations

What does it take to help an established firm set up a new office in a new location?

This week we host a panel interview featuring three architects representing three award-winning design firms to learn about their individual experiences of helping each of their practices expand into a new location. While each architect’s story is unique, these women will discuss and discover the common themes between their journeys. Learn more about each firm, the leadership teams who support them, how each leader pitched the idea to their team, and the level of support necessary to make this type of transition happen. Amanda Loper, AIA, LEED AP, Summer McEneny, and Abigail Hammett, AIA are three strong architect leaders with a vision of how to expand their practices, while also helping their hometowns.

Case study firms:

David Baker Architects, San Francisco, CA ➡️Birmingham, AL
Cone Architecture, Seattle, WA ➡️Charlotte, NC
brick., Oakland, CA ➡️Boston, MA

Our three practice leaders include:

Amanda Loper, AIA, LEED AP, is a Principal at David Baker Architects, a progressive, award-winning architecture and urban design firm known for combining social concern with a signature design character. Amanda leads the southeastern office in Birmingham, Alabama, which she established in 2016. Her work integrates architecture and urban design so that each project is a “small but mighty act of urbanism.”

Since the completion of her Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Interior Architecture at Auburn University, Amanda has contributed to solving the affordable housing crises in San Francisco and throughout the Southeast. She adapts these solutions to help other cities across the country address their own affordable housing crises and enhance livability. A strong “architecture communicator,” Amanda also shares her experiences, innovations, and philosophy widely with designers, students, developers, and the public through lectures and writing.

Amanda was awarded a 2021 AIA Young Architects Award, a national honor that recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the architecture profession early in their careers. Contact Amanda at amandaloper@dbarchitect.com.

Summer McEneny is a Principal at Cone Architecture based in Seattle, WA and Charlotte, NC. Cone was founded in Seattle in 2015 with the goal of making a collective impact on the future of housing. After graduating from the UNC-Charlotte School of Architecture, Summer spent ten years in Seattle, where she became a licensed architect and joined Cone in 2016. She managed residential projects of a wide variety of scales – from small residential remodels, to mid-size townhome communities, to large mixed-use apartment projects. Summer recently relocated back home to North Carolina to be closer to her family, and now leads the Cone Carolina office in Charlotte, NC, where she looks forward to bringing her expertise in community-oriented housing design to her home state.

Abigail Hammett, AIA is an Associate Principal at Brick leading East Coast operations as Managing Director of the firm’s new Boston office. She is a committed generalist – part design-obsessed creative thinker, part detail-oriented production enthusiast, and part business-minded long-term strategist. She has practiced on both the east and west coasts and has extensive experience in the design and execution of a broad range of project types including commercial, life science, higher education, affordable housing, hospitality, and adaptive-reuse. Abigail brings enthusiasm, dedication, rigor, and humor to all her professional pursuits, and is at her best when collaborating with a diverse and intelligent team.

Abigail holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in Architecture from the University of Michigan. She is a licensed architect in California and Massachusetts, a working mom of two exuberant daughters, and the newest member of the Planning Board in her hometown of Watertown, MA. Contact Abigail at ahammett@brick-inc.com.

📍 Show Links:

📚 Continue Learning:

2021 AIA Young Architects Award, Amanda Loper!
Mia Scharphie, Build Yourself, Amanda’s leadership coach
Apostrophe Consulting, brick.’s business consultant

💻 Learn about our podcast partners:

👉Monograph:

March 8th - 10th, Monograph is hosting Section Cut, a virtual conference and career fair dedicated to firm owners and operation leaders. Hear from leaders at Cottage, Krueck Sexton, Verdant Studio, and more! Register today to reserve a seat by visiting https://sectioncut.com/

👉 ArchIT:

Tired of dealing with generic IT providers? ArchIT offers Complete IT Solutions for Architecture, Design, and Engineering firms, including helping architects fight back against ransomware and cybersecurity attacks. Visit http://getarchit.com/pd to set up your free 15-min Cyber Security Assessment, or custom solutions for your design firm.

👉 NCARB:

Shape the Future of Architecture. You have the power to influence future updates to how architects are educated, trained, and licensed. Visit ncarb.org/AOP to take NCARB’s profession-wide Analysis of Practice survey and ensure your voice is heard.

📍 Follow Practice Disrupted on Social:

Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Twitter

2025 NFL Week 8 Early Games Preview

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

Patriots vs. Browns: Is Drake May Enough Against Cleveland?

The AI-powered Podcast Player