Richard Avery Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Il, Us

Greater Chicago Area

I was recruited to build and lead the Chicago A&ID studio from scratch. My role is an entrepreneurial one encompassing:▪ Design leadership▪ Client relationship management▪ Business development▪ Recruiting and hiring▪ P&L responsibilityA few of the things I and the team have managed to accomplish so far include:▪ Landing national and regional clients including Starbucks, Panda Express, Blue Nile Diamonds, Oil Changers, and Mancini’s Sleepworld. Several of these over the first year of the pandemic.▪ Expanding project types beyond programmatic retail to include retail concept prototype design, hospitality, financial, and ground up retail core and shell.▪ Growing the studio to twenty people in three years (after starting it with two other people I persuaded to join me from ZWA).▪ Growing revenues by 341% and gross profit by 485% YOY. Studio revenues now account for 25% of company design revenue.▪ Having active or completed projects in 32 states.

Greater Chicago Area

I was lead design architect for custom projects and lead technical architect for retail clients such as Starbucks, Equinox Fitness Clubs, and Dior. Was part of senior leadership and involved in establishing firm strategic and creative direction, business development, client relationship management, team leadership and mentoring, and employee recruitment.

Chicago, Il

I’ll be dead honest here. I started teaching for the same reason a lot of folks do when they open their own shop, I wanted to ensure some cash flow. I figured I knew some things that I could trade for a paycheck and that would provide some stability as I built my practice. What I did not realize was that teaching was my other calling, and that I would learn and grow as much from it as my practice. Teaching has made me a better designer, communicator, thinker, and human being.I share my knowledge and experience liberally as an instructor, but the most important thing I do is help my students figure out who they are as designers, how they think, and how they work. Designers who know who they are make better work and are better to work with.I have taught in both the Undergraduate and Graduate programs. Duties have ranged from teaching first year undergraduates how to draft (and by extension how to see), to chairing Master's Thesis committees. I have revamped existing design studio courses and designed an entirely new class that focused on design process.

Chicago, Il

Sole practitioner with a concentration on multi-family, restaurant, and custom residential projects.In my capacity as principal I had the good fortune to be able to use my skills to help clients not only with traditional architecture and interior design services, but also with such things as developing business concepts and project delivery strategies that typically fall outside of the traditional designer’s bailiwick. One repeat client in particular introduces me as his architect/interior designer/counselor.The projects I work on tended to be complex with multiple issues related to site, budget, program, construction, approvals, schedule, etc. This has provided me with deep exposure to a range of design and construction challenges. As a result, I typically maintained a high level of involvement through all phases of a project.

Chicago, Il

In an effort to serve the buyers of its properties better, the company established an in house architecture and construction team. While there, I worked on the design and construction of 15+/- high end custom apartments in the Park Tower (800 N. Michigan Ave.) and 840 N. Lakeshore Drive.I was closely involved in all aspects of the projects from schematic design to construction administration. This included quite a bit of client contact, and since we were a design build company, during construction I spent a lot of time on site working with the construction project manager and the various subcontractors. As a young architect this was invaluable experience. I could do a drawing, walk it over to the site and within minutes understand exactly how and why it sucked and how to make it better. I was also closely involved in bidding and pricing the work, as well as living the dream of mechanical and electrical coordination.The experience and knowledge I gained here made it possible to strike out on my own when the time came.

Chicago, Il

During my time in the office I put the Associates in Ranieri and Associates as we were a two person firm. I learned a lot about business, running projects, and design here. We worked primarily on custom residential projects. Despite the short tenure (I figured out I needed to be around more people) what I learned here is still influencing how I work.

Chicago, Il

This was the best place to start my career as an architect. The people were great and patient and even though I was but a lowly intern, they made sure I learned a ton. During my time there I worked on the gamut of projects from a convent to a high-rise. All these years later, I still feel guilty about leaving.

Bachelor Of Environmental Design, Architecture

Master Of Architecture, Architecture