Many engineering firms stay separate from architectural firms because independence improves their chances of winning contracts where developers have already chosen designers.
There are, however, advantages to linking with architects, explained Fadi Ghorayeb, who merged his 15-employee Jones Kwong Kishi (JKK) structural engineering company with architectural firm Dialog late last year.
"We believe that the merger will give us exposure to the national market, whereas right now we work mostly in Vancouver and B.C.," Ghorayeb told Business in Vancouver.
"From a business point of view it is better to be geographically diversified."
JKK has done structural engineering work on skyline-altering projects such as the Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver, Fairmont Pacific Rim and Shaw Tower.
Rare jobs, such as work on the Shangri-La Hotel Toronto, came JKK's way because it had worked for B.C. developer Westbank in the past.
Being part of an architectural firm increases the likelihood that JKK will win future work across Canada because engineering expertise will be part of contract bids.
The arrangement also creates a more tightly integrated team, which improves communication and efficiency.
National work raises the profile of the firm's name in the minds of potential developers who live outside Vancouver, and Ghorayeb said those developers are key because the engineering sector is extremely competitive in Vancouver.
Another strategy JKK could pursue to secure national work would be to establish offices in different cities, but, given the company's size, that would not be cost-efficient.
"We wanted to get the right fit and have quality people," said Dialog's managing partner, Alan Boniface, who approached the JKK principals to pitch the idea of a merger.
"We've probably got 10 towers that we're working on in the Vancouver area right now. Having JKK with us serves us better because they're sitting with us, and we can go through the issues together."
The highest-profile Vancouver tower that Dialog is working on is developed by Westbank but not engineered by JKK.
The 52-storey, 497-foot-tall twisty tower at the north end of the Granville Street Bridge is designed by Dialog and Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and has structural engineering work done by Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers.
Dialog's three other Canadian offices, in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto, have all had structural engineers on staff since inception. Combined, the firm now has about 600 staff, Boniface said.
Larger engineering firms, such as Stantec, have a range of architects on staff as well as interior designers.
Others make do by having landscape architects.
"Landscape architects complement our work because we do land development projects, particularly in Alberta, that include subdivisions and townhouses," McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. chairman Chris Newcomb told BIV.
"Our Terrace office has people who can do industrial buildings, but they're tilt-up structures, two or three storeys, and are very utilitarian.
So it's a big jump to go from there to having building architects on board."
Newcomb added that the firm's three largest areas of business – transportation engineering, municipal engineering and geomatic engineering (mapping and surveying)– account for approximately 75% of the firm's work.
"We only do the occasional building," he said.
