Flad reaches its goals

By Paul Snyder

One year ago, Flad & Associates drew up a list of specific goals to achieve in the coming year.

One was to broaden its base of scientific clients to include the pharmaceutical industry and pursue the government initiatives that come with the expanding base. Another was to expand its health-care practice, while another was to establish its offices throughout the country as primary service points for particular divisions of work.

And right in the mix, said William Bula, Flad’s president and CEO, was for the company to fortify its Wisconsin presence. While Flad maintains offices in Connecticut, Florida, California and North Carolina, the homegrown firm — founded in Madison in 1927 — needed to reconnect with its roots.

“We had to take the opportunity to reaffirm our presence here,” Bula said. “We have a tremendous amount of connection in this state, and we reinvested in the working relationships we have here.

“Some of the best work in the country is right here in Wisconsin, and we have to remind others — as well as ourselves — that we’re still interested in it.”

Not that Flad missed out. In recent years, the firm was a part of a number of notable University of Wisconsin-Madison projects, including the chemistry and engineering buildings and the biochemistry building’s master plan. Flad also was involved in the design of Madison’s Overture Center for the Performing Arts.

But some of the firm’s major projects of 2005 were found in North Carolina, Florida and Alberta, Canada. And while maintaining a national — even worldwide — profile is important, Bula said, so too is staying close to home.

“It’s not just true of our own profession,” he said. “In any profession, you sometimes need that reinforcement of why you’re doing what you do.”

And that’s the message he said he wants to convey to the new architects entering the fray.

“It’s important that the younger generations feel that deep sense of connection to the work they do,” he said. “The ebb and flow throughout the company is extremely helpful, and we give and receive a number of ideas from each other. We learn to apply what we’ve learned elsewhere to work here at home.”

But that sense of connectivity, he added, is not restricted to Flad.

“The opportunities for architects today are as good as I’ve seen in 20 years,” Bula said. “The skills and talents of new architects coming forward is something to be excited about, and there seems to be a renewed sense of pride in the industry.”

Architects