As a result of RMMB's approach to projects, most of its work comes from satisfied clients and references from those clients, according to Brygger. Occasionally, work is obtained through interviews with those seeking design work. The selection for the job is based on the firm's qualifications. When it comes to hiring a builder to construct the firm's designs, fewer projects are assigned these days on a bid basis because more clients see the time frame and quality control as being as important as the cost, according to Brygger. That's one of a number of trends in the architecture business.
Technological changes is another.
The buildings we design must also be flexible and adaptable to technology that hasn't been invented yet. Nor are architects strictly following the modernistic sculptural movement of the 1960s and '70s when historical components were not employed in building design, according to Moss, who says buildings now can be more eclectic, drawing on a number of different sources for their design. Another trend is adaptive reuse, such as Sioux City's City Hall, where RMMB redesigned the building using its original stone and other features including the clock tower. We're seeing more of that because far too many of our historical building have been torn down. Also coming into play is the concept of green architecture which is conserving natural resources and using building materials that take as little energy as possible to manufacture, according to Brygger.