Portland’s bike culture will figure prominently in IQ Credit Union‘s new branch at the Peloton building, at 4141 N. Williams Ave., according to interior designers at Bainbridge.

A bike railing and artwork are planned, Bainbridge senior designer and project manager Rachel Schubert said. It’s part of an effort by IQ Credit Union to reach beyond its traditional customer base. The company, which has 13 branches in Vancouver, Washington, is also opening a new one at 423 N.E. Fourth Ave. in Camas, Washington.

Bainbridge, a Portland design firm, was chosen to localize the look of the branch on North Williams Avenue. IQ Credit Union branches, usually 3,000 to 4,000 square feet, have traditionally featured a heavily branded design. But the space at the Peloton building is only 1,400 square feet, so opportunity for branding is limited.

Designers also must meet security requirements for issues like sightlines and teller window heights. Then they have to make room for items like ATMs, which need added space for cooling features. That doesn’t leave much space to spare.

“We are given a tool box of things that are in their brand,” Bainbridge owner Andrea Bainbridge said. “The challenge is getting everything that is in their brand in the space.”

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Many buildings today are designed to be more than attractive and functional; they’re also designed to improve occupants’ health. When it comes to health, new research indicates that where people spend their time can be as big a factor as sleep, diet or exercise. This is influencing project designs. Buildings with sustainable elements have been shown to improve occupants’ cognitive function and sleep quality.

Architects are using a variety of features to help make buildings healthier places for people. Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Washington, uses calming gardens and window positions to bring in natural light. Cascades Academy in Bend blurs the difference between outdoor and indoor spaces in an effort to lure students outdoors. The Daimler Trucks North America headquarters in Portland has walking trails to entice employees to move during the day.

“We’re doing things that were impossible 10 years ago,” said Aly Pierce, interior designer at Hennebery Eddy Architects. “Ten years ago, nobody wanted to do low volatile organic compounds (VOC) paint. Now, people are seeing the benefits.”

Attempts to address health issues in design has led to the development of the Well Building Standard. Similar to Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design ratings, Well Building Standards focus on how design incorporates the health of a building’s users.

“Architects are taking a more global view,” said Herb Giffin, a principal at GBJ Architecture. “We’re not only thinking about healthier buildings on the inside, but also on the outside.”

A 2016 Harvard University study looked at 10 high-performing buildings in five cities across the United States. The goal was to look at the relationship between a building’s conditions and occupants’ well-being and productivity.

The study found that workers that were in “green certified” environments scored 26 percent higher in cognitive tests, had 30 percent fewer symptoms of “sick building” syndrome and got 6 percent better quality of sleep.

One of the factors that had the biggest impact on workers’ well-being and productivity, the study found, was lighting. Brighter, blue-enriched lighting, such as daylighting, improved workers’ circadian rhythms that led to better sleep qualities and higher cognitive functions the next day.

“We have seen a huge incorporation of natural daylight in building designs,” Giffin said.

One of the biggest challenges when designing a new work space can be allowing natural light into artificial structures.

“In an administrative space, you are still trying to get them natural light,” said Jason Mullavey, a project manager at JRJ Architects. “We are always asking how can you get natural lighting in? How do you get lighting levels right?”

Another critical factor, according to the Harvard study, is ventilation. Workers in environmental conditions within the thermal comfort zone defined by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers showed a 5.4 percent higher cognitive function than those in environments outside of that zone.

“Air filtration has become a big issue,” Mullavey said. “There has been a move lately to use natural ventilation. How can we open this up?”

Buildings’ internal environments also are affected by how much off-gassing occurs. Off-gassing creates that “new car” smell that automobile buyers find so intoxicating. Unfortunately, that smell isn’t so innocuous. Whether in cars or buildings, it occurs when newly manufactured items like furnishings, paints or plastics release VOCs and other chemicals into the air. Prolonged exposure can cause headaches, blurry vision, nausea and prompt asthma attacks.

People for decades have searched for ways to mitigate off-gassing. Many of the chemicals used in today’s manufacturing processes have never been tested for their effects on people or animals.

That has led architects to take a closer look at the products they use. Fortunately, the popularity of LEED has prompted manufacturers to be more proactive about what they use in their products.

“The industry has been moving away from off-gassing,” Giffin said. “We use more stringent air filtration. When a product is LEED certified, we can be more confident about what is in it.”

Regulations have also helped. Paint, one of the biggest sources of off-gassing, now has to meet federal rules in regard to how much vapor it can release. Regulations, combined with manufacturers’ desire to appeal to builders of LEED-rated structures, have produced better products.

“It’s gotten easier,” Giffin said. “With the information manufacturers provide today, you can compare materials like you are at a grocery store.”

Interior design has also begun factoring in a building users’ health and well-being. Desks, once the epitome of the sedentary lifestyle, are changing. New styles promote standing or allowing a combination of both sitting and standing.

A 2016 study by the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Texas A&M University found that workers using a standing desk showed a 45 percent increase in productivity compared to their seated co-workers.

“Getting people off their fannies is big,” said Andrea Bainbridge, owner of Bainbridge. “There has been an evolution. About 20 years ago they had a huge push for ergonomics. Now it’s about giving users much more control over their environment.”

It isn’t a new phenomenon. An 1883 article in Popular Science encouraged workers to get on their feet as a way to relieve indigestion.

“Sitting all day is bad for your health,” Bainbridge said. “Getting people moving is a big aspect to having a healthier building.”

Another change is how interiors are now arranged. When Bainbridge began designing interior work spaces 40 years ago, most were small, 8-foot-by-8-foot cubicles designed for people to sit at a desk all day. Today’s office designs are more open with better views.

“Sitting is the new smoking,” Pierce said.

Another factor that affects which elements find their way into a design is the type of building that is being constructed. An office building has far different occupants than a health care facility or a school.

“What we use really varies dependent upon the population type,” said Thane Eddington, an architect with PKA Architects.

Dealing with those different populations can limit an architect’s options.

“In health care, everyone wants hard surfaces,” Mullavey said. “The question is how to warm those spaces up.”

Usually that means using soothing colors or building a calm space. The key is making sure the design meets the needs of occupants.

In the end, architects know that design has limits as to the effect it can have on building users’ health.

“Architecture can only do so much,” Eddington said. “At some point it boils down to people in the building.”

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One of the side effects of the Great Recession was that a lot of architects and designers ended up extending their careers longer than they intended originally. But with an improving economy and many firms now on solid economic footing, many owners and lead principals are finally ready to retire.

“We had a very large amount of folks that planned to (retire) in 2008 and 2012,” Jordan Ramis shareholder Brad Eriksen said. “The reason we are seeing more (transitions) is firms are on firmer economic footing.”

Managing an ownership transition can be a daunting and time-consuming task.

“I recommend looking at five years down the road,” Eriksen said. “It is a very long-term process. Even once everything is in place, you are looking at six to nine months, and there is a lot of leg work to get done.”

The first step, according to Eriksen, is to decide which succession route to pursue. Local firms have generally followed one of three options. The first is an outright sale of the firm to a new owner. Another is to elevate a current employee to owner or partner. And a third is to transfer to a group of partners.

Business owners should begin by determining whether any current employees can or want to take over, Eriksen said.

When Randy Jurgens decided to end his 37-year career at the helm of Jon R. Jurgens (now JRJ Architects) in 2012, Tom Wesel stepped up to become principal owner. Running his own business had always been an ambition for Wesel, and he had worked with Jurgens while pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Oregon. Wesel knew ownership would be an option when he came to the West Coast from NBBJ’s office in Columbus, Ohio.

“I enjoyed the exposure of the smaller firm,” he said. “Randy invited me back with opportunities for buyout, and I came back in 2004.”

Planning ahead was a key aspect that made the transition a relatively smooth one.

“A recipe for success is in the planning,” Eriksen said. “Start thinking about selling well in advance. It gives the architects time to do their due diligence. It just gives you a much greater chance of success.”

Another factor was Jurgens’ willingness to help make sure clients were comfortable with the new management.

“Our clients knew he was around, but it was clear to the staff they didn’t have two bosses,” Wesel said.

One aspect that took some adjustment, Wesel said, was administrative responsibility. Suddenly Wesel was not just dealing with major clients and projects; he was choosing health insurance and 401K plans.

“It wasn’t a shock, but it was a new experience,” he said. “I still really like to be hands on with the clients. Dividing those hands-on client management duties and the office management was different.”

The only change that clients noticed was a name change from Jon R. Jurgens to JRJ Architects.

“Our letterhead looks a little different,” he said. ”It wasn’t a big change in the industry. I was blessed to take over a firm that had strong reputation.”

While choosing a single leader from within can often be a relatively straightforward endeavor, creating a partnership can be more complicated, but secure a firm’s position over the long haul. Scott | Edwards Architecture added six partners when one of its founders, Kelly Edwards, decided to retire in 2013.

A key aspect of the transition was creating a system that would allow the firm to continue doing business far into the future.

“(Going to a partnership) really fit with the culture of our firm,” said Sid Scott, principal of Scott | Edwards Architecture. “There is about a 20-year age difference between the partners. We want the partnership to continue for many years.”

They established a system where partners put in equity to the firm for the percentage of ownership. While Scott has the highest equity stake in the firm, the remaining six all have the same percentage.

Scott said that the keys for partnership success ranged from educating the new partners about their responsibilities to designing a business structure that would work with seven participants.

“It is always an eye-opener,” he said. “You live through everything as it is going. You learn and make mistakes. It is a growing process.”

Making sure everyone is on the same page can be more difficult as a firm adds owners.

“Every time you add a player on either side of the agreement, you have to get them to speak with one voice,” Eriksen said.

Having a culture that prioritized individuality was important to making the new partnership work.

“For employees there was a good sense of ownership,” said Lisa McClellan, who was brought on as one of Scott | Edwards Architecture’s new partners. “As an employee you are always able to sort of run your own ship.”

McClellan said being able to have a hand in guiding the firm and to add another woman in ownership at an architectural firm were the biggest draws of partnership for her.

“It gives me the chance to go out and get the kind of jobs I want,” she said. “I have much more confidence to generate work.”

If handing the reins to someone inside a firm is not possible, then selling to an outside party becomes an option. WGS Planned Interiors & Design chose this route when owner Paul Gibbons decided to retire.

“I had 43 years in the business and had a whole series of other interests that I had been delaying,” he said. “It was time to push the rest button.”

Gibbons looked at his employees first, but no one stood out.

“They didn’t want to have the responsibility of being a business owner,” he said. “That wasn’t a viable option from my perspective.”

That’s where Andrea Bainbridge, principal owner of Bainbridge, entered the situation as a prospective buyer. Reaching an agreement in such a sale usually requires an outside party to evaluate the firm and determine a starting price for negotiations, according to Eriksen. However, Gibbons and Bainbridge bucked that trend and negotiated a deal themselves.

“What Paul prided himself in and what we pride ourselves in is having extremely long relationships with clients,” Bainbridge said.

Bainbridge bought Gibbons’ operation in its entirety. Then Gibbons stayed around for months to help Bainbridge develop a relationship with clients.

“It was primarily about making sure my client base that I had developed over 40 years was taken care of,” Gibbons said. “She is a business lady that had a very similar philosophy. We spent a fair amount of time to see if I could make the transition to her firm.”

Valuing intangible assets is always one of the toughest parts of the sale process. A firm’s hard assets like computers, tables and offices are often fully depreciated and replaced. Intangible assets like a client base and future profits draw buyers.

After hammering out a handshake deal, Bainbridge got three of Gibbons eight clients to become permanent patrons of her service. Gibbons got to move to Aurora, where he pursues his passion for making ornate knives.

“We got three excellent clients, so it was good profit for us,” Bainbridge said.

Regardless of which transition method is chosen, a big part of making it successful is maintaining strong relationships.

“I would make sure that if you have sustaining clients, those relationships are solid,” Wesel said. “If you don’t have a history with a repeat client, you can have 50 percent of your work gone. Your relationship has to be solid.”

Getting good advice well in advance of a possible transition is also vitally important.

“Talk to your advisors,” Eriksen said. “Whether it’s insurance, accountants or lawyers, getting that advice makes it go a lot smoother.”

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