May 2026 - Insights from the AVEC community and ASLA’s SKILL | ED Pulse Check: Building Resilience to Market Volatility

Across the architecture and landscape architecture industries, uncertainty has become less of a temporary condition and more of a persistent operating environment.

Becoming a WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise is an exciting milestone for AVEC, but for us, it represents much more than a badge.

It comes at a meaningful moment in our company’s story as AVEC transitions into fully women-led ownership and leadership. Over the last several years, we’ve worked intentionally to build a company that reflects not only how we want to grow, but how we want to lead, partner, and show up for our clients.

Being busy isn’t the same as moving forward. Firms that navigate growth well don’t necessarily spend more time planning. What they do differently is make clearer decisions—and use those decisions to guide what they take on, and what they don’t.

Managing a growing design firm offers a variety of unique challenges and opportunities. An unpredictable business environment and a quickening pace of change require firm leadership to adapt, but how can we proactively prepare for growth in uncertain times? 

AVEC’s Emily Hall joined BQE to address an issue that many architecture and engineering firms struggle with: strategy. This isn’t because they lack ideas, but because they lack focus.

If your firm feels pulled in different directions—or you’re taking on work without being intentional—it may be time to step back and develop a strategic plan. But many strategic plans take time and money, only to gather dust on a shelf.

At BB Architects, the principal usually works sixty to seventy hours a week. Often he is in his office until eight or nine o’clock at night, regularly works on weekends and takes work with him when he does go home. He would like to spend more time doing other things, but the demands of his six-person practice seem to make that nearly impossible.

Ownership transition is not an event; it’s a system. Firms that plan early (5–10 years out) can reinvent themselves, grow value beyond the founders, and give next-gen leaders a real stake. Firms that wait? They often shrink, sell under pressure, or quietly disappear when the principal retires. 

This webinar breaks down how small and mid-sized firms can plan ownership transition early, grow firm value, and develop the next generation of leaders without blowing up culture or cash flow.

Let’s be honest, most leaders of architecture and landscape architecture firms have a love–hate relationship with strategic planning. You know you need one. You might even want one. But the minute someone suggests, “Let’s do a strategic plan,” your eyes glaze over. And often for good reason.

The argument to use video in social media for architects is strong. Video can showcase the office culture, design iterations, construction process, and the completed projects in a more engaging way than static photography. There are several good reasons to consider incorporating video on Instagram.

You didn’t start your firm just to see it disappear when you hang up your drafting pens (or your Revit license). But here’s the truth: many architecture and design firms close their doors when the founding owner retires; not because the business failed, but because there wasn’t a plan.

Originally hosted by our friends at BIM6x, this casual conversation between AVEC's CEO, Todd Reding, and V.P. of Marketing, Emily Hall, addresses a few simple things small firm architects can do to change unproductive business behaviors. We'll reference lessons learned from our direct experience.

Ten years ago, we launched Charrette Venture Group (CVG) with a clear purpose—to help architecture firms become stronger businesses.

AVEC is delighted to announce that Valerie Puchades, FSMPS, CPSM, has been promoted to partner in the company.

Running a small architecture firm requires juggling dozens of responsibilities. But even the most passionate and talented firm leaders can fall into bad business habits that drain time, reduce profitability, and hold teams back from their full potential.

The AVEC Marketing Team has completed another successful rebrand!

Meet Emily Hall, the President of AVEC, whose leadership bridges the dynamic energy of Detroit, MI, and the charm of Tiverton, RI.

This article explores how the practice of business development for architects is like driving a car, where a well-defined path, strategic maneuvers, and constant effort to move forward are essential.

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and update your brand…where to start? If you’re working with a creative team, you can expect them to lead you through a discovery process that results in a creative brief. Ultimately, the brief outlines your project’s goals—an important foundation for several reasons.