Читать книгу Designing a World-Class Architecture Firm - Patrick MacLeamy - Страница 19

George Hellmuth—father of HOK's George Hellmuth—and his brother, Harry Hellmuth, were partners in the firm. Naturally, they called their company Hellmuth & Hellmuth, and it had its heyday in the early 1900s, when St. Louis was at its peak. The practice was typical of that time, with the two partners and some draftsmen. Hellmuth & Hellmuth specialized in designing commercial buildings, projects for the Catholic Church, and grand mansions for wealthy St. Louis business leaders.

Hellmuth & Hellmuth's best-known work was the International Fur Exchange Building, completed in 1919, with office spaces for buyers and a large room for fur auctions. At that time, trade in beaver hides and other pelts was still significant and would continue into the 1950s. However, by 1997 the building was vacant and set to be torn down. Hotel developer Charles Drury stepped in to halt demolition and save the building, which he renovated, along with two adjoining properties, to become a hotel and restaurants. The International Fur Exchange Building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

When Hellmuth & Hellmuth secured a commission for a project, George and Harry hired draftsmen to help with the work. During the course of the project, the partners trained them to do the work properly, and gradually a more effective operation would emerge. When the project ended, often there was no new work to take its place, so Hellmuth & Hellmuth would lay those people off, with the firm effectively losing the positive effects of the training.

The partners would begin again to find new work, then hire another fresh team, often bringing in brand new people who they once again needed to train. The end of every project meant the firm was starting over again, and it lost good, seasoned people when the work ran out. Without knowing where the next project was coming from or who might be needed for the work, the firm was never able to plan its own future. Hellmuth & Hellmuth lurched from crisis to crisis.

The second—and fatal—flaw in a traditional practice like Hellmuth & Hellmuth became apparent when the partners wished to retire, and no provision had been made to buy them out. The firm had to close its doors and the partners were left with little to show for their work. Succession planning was overlooked and underappreciated in the world of architecture.

FIGURE 1.1 International Fur Exchange Building, St. Louis, Missouri, designed by Hellmuth & Hellmuth.

Source: Photo courtesy of HOK.