91视频

Dietrich Wieland may have been drawn into architecture by the notion of crafting the perfect building. But along the way, he discovered there was a lot more to it.

In 23 years with Mackenzie, Wieland has served as a project architect, director of sustainability and principal. Now, as the firm celebrates its 60th year in business, he will become its next president.

Wieland will take over from Rich Mitchell, who plans to retire in 2021. The leadership transition was made public today. Mackenzie, according to its website, is a provider of professional design services including architecture and interior design; structural, civil and traffic engineering; land use and transportation planning; and landscape architecture.

The climb to president has been a natural progression for Wieland, who started with the firm as a summer intern.

鈥淚 don’t think it was ever a goal, per se,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e go into architecture to design buildings, and I discovered an aptitude for other things around architecture. Whether it involved client relations, or if I saw a problem in the office and knew how to navigate that and solve it, there were opportunities for other leadership roles.

鈥淧eople like Rich would always say, 鈥楧on’t worry; there are bigger things for you.’ I’ve been driven to be successful and I’d say this was a planned stop.鈥�

Mitchell has served as president since 2009 and helped guide Mackenzie through the Great Recession. He founded the Seattle office in 2004. He attained Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design AP Building Design + Construction certification and in the past served as chairman of Green Building Initiative, a Portland nonprofit that administers green building assessment and certification.

The transition was planned carefully over the past three years, according to Mitchell.

鈥淚’m very proud to know Mackenzie is far more talented and stronger than it has ever been, and this is accomplished through people,鈥� he stated in a press release. 鈥淭he culture of Mackenzie has always been about working smart, hard and competing in the industry. I’ve led by motivating others to excel and reach their fullest potential, and our success is a collection of individual talent. As a result, we continue the Mackenzie tradition of exceeding client expectations.鈥�

Wieland joined Mackenzie in 1997 as a project architect, stepping into a career he had long envisioned.

鈥淚’ve always been interested in architecture,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y parents kept a first-grade drawing I did of a building and I think I always had an interest in it. I’ve got a creative side and analytical side and it just suits me. There are lots of things we do that are repetitive, and I like the uniqueness of each project we do. If it wasn’t this, I don’t know what it would have been.鈥�

Some of the notable projects Wieland has worked on include the Autodesk tenant improvement, the 1510 Technology Center renovation for Viewpoint Construction Software and Clay Creative. Recently he was involved with Beacon Lake Oswego.

鈥淚’ve touched a lot of different market segments over the years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 started in industrial, went to retail and office 鈥� I’ve run the gamut.鈥�

The two areas Wieland is currently most passionate about are adaptive reuse and mass timber.

鈥淚’ve been fortunate to work on four or five mass-timber buildings,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd with my background in sustainability that’s always interested me. There’s a biophilic quality about it, and I love the economic story about how creating these buildings in urban environments supports the rural economy. All of it I love, and they’re beautiful buildings.鈥�

Wieland said Mackenzie has always handled leadership transitions with caution, and in this case the gradual handover will allow new goals to formulate and the staff to adjust to a new style.

鈥淲e’re still sort of thinking about that,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hile I’m here we’re celebrating our 60th year, so it’s an exciting time for a transition. We’ve really been great at the things we do, so for me it’s leveraging all the positives about Mackenzie and staying relevant in the coming years. We want raise the bar on design across all projects and we’re really engaging in a conversation about corporate social responsibility in a more meaningful way about community investment and equity inclusion. We’ve gotten really serious about it in the past couple of years, and those are things we’re looking forward to continuing.鈥�