Project Profile

The Universe Study -- Interior Design, 3/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

Office remains the #1 project category

“There is more renovation­ work versus new construction.”

“There is greater emphasis on repurposing existing facilities.”

“We’re finding a demand for space elastic enough to allow businesses to expand and contract easily.”

“We did a lot more renovation projects on existing spaces for efficiency and long-term commitments and have also teamed up with property managers to offer assessment services for current clients to add value to longer leases.”


Residential remains the #2 project category

“We really enjoyed adapting a home for a client with Parkinson’s disease.”

“We partnered with a developer to design a riverside project in a midsize city, exposing us to retail, restaurant, and mixed-use projects.”

“Following a major hurricane, my business changed drastically to consultation as well as repair and building homes damaged by the storm, and that has opened doors in the remodeling category.”

“I’ve created a niche for remodeling kitchens. The economy has caused people to stay put and redo their homes.”





"We plan to Take what we do in the U.S. and offer it in Asia."

“With LEED certification, we were invited to join a hotel-design team as sustainability advisers.”

“We’re learning the significance of design and cultural issues for Middle Eastern countries.”






“We had always done a bit of health care and found those clients to be the most steady—now our practice is nearly 50% health care, allowing us to stay busy and profitable.”

“I retooled my skills to focus on aging-in-place design. I became certified through the National Association of Home Builders, redesigned my marketing materials, and was asked to be on the National Design for Aging Council through the ASID.”

“We designed a living facility for retired priests.”


“We acquired an education-design firm, which has helped us pull in more projects in that category.”

“We expanded into bid-writing on a very large educational project. We won the bid, which has opened doors to others in the category.”

“We were recently added as one of Vanderbilt University’s preferred vendors, which has opened the door to more educational projects.”





The most popular category is sustainability analysis with more than 1/3 of firms diversifying into this area


“Our firm added interior design to our services three years ago. This unit makes money in an economy during which other departments are struggling.”

“With almost no previous religious projects, we took on the challenge of desiging a cathedral. After becoming a landmark, it brought requests for so many similar projects that we had to hire an entire team devoted­ solely to church and synagogue work.”

“We increased our global presence by opening our 3rd office in Abu Dhabi.”

"We have diversified in ways we never thought possible.We created a nonprofit organization related to transportation and infrastructure, and we spun off an IT facilities management corporationwe hope will provide residual services to our existing clients."


Top 3 categories with the most growth potential

1. Sustainability analysis
2. Health care
3. Government-institutional


“We’re just getting more creative.”

“We always strive to rethink, redesign, and reinvent ourselves.”

“The plan is to remain innovative, creative, sustainable, and cost-conscious.”

“Our goal is to improve design quality and elevate the level of work.”