Stepping into the empty space of a new office packed with modern amenities and aesthetics, it’s easy for John Howorth to reflect on his professional journey, which began in 2009 when he founded 3J Consulting, a civil engineering and community planning firm.

At that point, during what Howorth described as the lowest point of the Great Recession, he was working alone in a 138-square-foot office smaller than many bedrooms. By the next year he was sharing the cramped space with two more employees.

“I don’t know where my head was at,” he said. “That was a big, big struggle mentally.”

As 3J Consulting celebrates its 10-year anniversary, the company boasts a team of more than 30 people eager to move into their new work space: a 12,000-square-foot office in Beaverton that will include a gym, shower and outdoor patio.

Portland-area architecture and engineering firms are continuing to push forward in expanding their workforces and avenues of work, reflecting an industry trend of growth.

A decade past a devastating recession that halted construction projects around the country, local architecture firms are hitting something of a peak. Many that survived the struggles of the last decade now find themselves larger than ever.

“It’s been a crazy five years, I’ll tell you that,” said Natasha Koiv, a principal and staffing director at SERA Architects. “We are surprised that the housing market in Portland has continued to be as busy as it has been.”

SERA is one of several architecture firms looking to expand its portfolio and grasp on the Portland market. The company is now up to 164 employees, with 148 in Portland and 16 more in a new Oakland office. Seven years ago SERA had 85 employees.

Development outside of the downtown area has led to more projects in Portland, Koiv said, but SERA is trying to diversify its portfolio outside of the Northwest. The firm has recently done some design and planning work for Stanford University and Google, and is hoping to add nine more employees to its Oakland office by the end of the year.

“It’s a big effort now that we’re over 160 people,” Koiv said. “We’re too big a firm now to be dependent upon whatever happens in the Oregon economy.”

Another local firm making big strides is LRS Architects, which has more than doubled its number of employees between 2012 and this year, from 61 to 135.

“We’ve been in a constant growth mode,” Managing Principal Trish Nixon said. “We have everything from people right out of school to people in their 60s.”

Like SERA, LRS has pushed to tackle new and diverse types of projects. The firm requires a range of employees whose experiences might be better suited for one assignment or another, Nixon said. Based on the competition LRS has had in hiring architects, she thinks that most other firms are experiencing similar growth patterns.

ZGF Architects, one of Portland’s most established architecture firms, has offices around the country and one in Canada, with 717 total employees. Less than two years ago the company had slightly more than 600 employees.

According to the American Institute of Architects’ Architectural Billing Index, the number of billings and design contracts each decreased in only one month going back to August 2018.

But that doesn’t mean another recession isn’t coming.

“There’s one on the way; we just don’t know when,” Howorth said. “We kind of take it as it comes, but we try to be positioned well.”

Having already experienced a recession helps. Howorth said national leadership will have learned its lessons from a decade ago, and when another recession happens, it won’t be as severe.

Besides taking on new types of projects like those associated with transportation and public works, Howorth has worked to create a company culture that fosters retention. The workplace is flexible for employees with families or time commitments, and the new office’s amenities were decided upon through a company survey.

3J’s reach has also extended to college campuses around the Northwest, where the company takes part in career fairs and other events. For the first time this year the firm has brought on several interns for summer work.

“When I came in and started talking in my little interview, I could just feel that everybody truly loved this company,” administrative intern Lexie Sawin said. “They’re able to be themselves here and enjoy the work.”

This unlocked article courtesy of 3J Consulting

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Traversing roads in certain unincorporated areas of southwest Washington County is becoming much safer for pedestrians thanks to a series of safety improvements.

New sidewalks are on the verge of completion on portions of Southwest 90th and Southwest 113th avenues, where pedestrians previously were forced to walk alongside roads filled with motor vehicles.

“Basically we are filling in the gaps,” said John Howorth, principal engineer at Beaverton engineering and consulting firm 3J Consulting Inc. “We are separating pedestrians from vehicles.”

Sidewalks have been added to areas on Northwest 113th Avenue between Rainmont Road and Anderson Street, as well as Southwest 90th Avenue between Southwest Leahy Road and Northwest Oak Street.

The projects are being funded through the Urban Road Maintenance District Safety Improvement Program and the Minor Betterments Program. The presence nearby of schools, including West Tualatin View Elementary and Metzger Elementary, influenced the county’s selection process. Creation of a safe route for schoolchildren was a major objective of the projects.

Washington County has a list of projects that can be funded through its Urban Road Maintenance District. Projects are selected by a committee using criteria that awards points based on items such as schools, accident prone areas and citizen complaints.

“(Projects near schools) get more points,” said Aaron Clodfelter, senior engineer for Washington County’s operations and maintenance division. “It doesn’t guarantee a project gets picked. The Urban Road Maintenance District advisory committee makes the selection.”

3J Consulting is working on a total of five projects geared to improve pedestrians’ safety on county roads.

The company expects the projects on Southwest 90th and Northwest 113th avenues, with a combined budget of $1,023,000, to finish this fall.

“Of all the projects I have worked on, these are the most welcomed,” Howorth said. “I was walking the site and was getting some of the neighbors saying how much they like having the sidewalks. That is not something you always hear.”

The focus has now shifted to designing sidewalk improvements on Northwest Thompson Road from 114th Avenue to Knollview Drive. Also, the design phase is under way for improvements on Southwest 209th Avenue between Southwest Johnson and Alexander streets. Improvements on Southwest Alexander Street will stretch from 198th to 209th avenues.

One of the biggest challenges the engineers have faced is fitting the sidewalks within the existing public right-of-way. Designers had to also contend with property owners who didn’t understand that their property didn’t extend all the way to the street.

“Neighbors sometimes have improvements go to the street,” Howorth said. “Staying within the existing right-of-way is the No. 1 most difficult thing to do. It is pretty constrained in terms of space.”

Construction began this month; roads are remaining open during construction. Completion of the last project of the bunch is expected by fall 2019.

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