Strategic partnership launches Dimension IV Madison

Jim Gersich wanted to keep working with several HSR Associates employees after the Madison architecture firm closed about five years ago.

But to do that he needed to find some work for his new architecture firm … fast.

“We took on almost everyone that was employed at HSR,” he said, “and we had no work, no projects to work on.”

So Gersich went to colleague Dan Roarty of Green Bay-based Dimension IV and asked if the firm might be interested in a “strategic alliance.” Gersich said he wanted to name the new firm Dimension IV Madison to create instant recognition in the industry.

“When we got started, we borrowed their name, but we’re separately owned and managed,” said Gersich, a principal of Dimension IV Madison Design Group. “Since they had already been in operation, it gave us an immediate presence and wider geography.”

The name sharing helped the new firm feel like it was part of a larger organization, Gersich said, and helped build a client base early on.

“It was a huge risk and gamble,” he said. “It took a lot of luck and great clients. We demonstrated that with perseverance you can be successful. It was definitely not easy.”

The firm, which provides architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and structural engineering services, focuses on serving contractors and developers.

“The contractors [and developers] know us, they respect us,” he said. “They know they can count on us.”

With a recognizable name for the company and an experienced work force, Gersich said, the company attracted clients and landed jobs.

Gersich said the firm now has a steady stream of projects. About 50 percent of the work is residential, including condominiums, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes, he said.

The firm’s remaining half of business is a broad mix, Gersich said, though Dimension is also becoming known for public libraries and hotels.

“Some of us have been in the Madison market since 1974,” Gersich said. “Over the course of 30 years, you do a lot of projects and develop friendships that turn into clients. If you do a nice job, people will follow you wherever you go.”

Gersich said the firm rarely works with its Green Bay counterpart, but the two firms do hire one another as consultants on some projects “when it makes sense to both of us to have each other involved.”

— Janine Anderson