Envisioning success
Overcoming bias is in the blueprint
When a project lands on the desk of Envision Architects, owners Daria Mallin, Jennifer Robillard and Kelly Klopfer know that as a certified women-owned business, they sometimes have to prove themselves more than the average architecture firm.
One client, for example, has repeatedly told the women that good minority- and womenowned businesses are hard to find.
“We are up against more when we enter situations with that bias,” Mallin said. “So we start with a perception challenge, out of the gate, in some cases.”
But the trio can carry forth with confidence — they know their work speaks for itself. It helps that all three were raised with the knowledge that as women, they could do anything they wanted.
“It was very natural to be in a leadership position from that vantage point of, you’re a person with skills and passion, and it’s not gender-spe
cific,” Mallin said. “And I think that has nurtured a work culture that aligns with that value.”
All the owners are local and come from varying backgrounds, ensuring a diverse and inclusive work culture as well.
The firm, which was founded by Mallin’s father and two other partners in
1983, has tackled a wide variety of complex and technical projects since the 2016 ownership transition, achieving a national presence in the process. That work has spanned from college campuses to energy manufacturing to cannabis, and to community work at places such as the Honest Weight Food Co-op and the New York State Museum renovation. The work is fueled by a mission statement: Leading design and advancing communities.
But it’s also fueled by a skilled and united team headed by compassionate leaders.
Their leadership style is “striving to be accessible and approachable to everybody and work as a collaborative,” Klopfer said. “As a practice, there’s always learning going on and you learn from the mentors and the senior staff and the experience they bring. That mentoring … is important to us.”
It hasn’t always been easy. The transition has presented numerous obstacles to the team.
“And yet, here we are, and we’ve moved past all of them,” Mallin said. “And we've learned so many valuable lessons about persistence, about trust, about your confidence, about responsiveness. It's really been a very steep learning curve.”
Those obstacles reared their heads again throughout the COVID -19 pandemic, forcing the company to quickly pivot its typical practices. Employee well-being benefits and services were increased; systems and deadlines were readjusted; blueprints went from being blowouts laid across large tables in front of the team to being scrutinized on individual computer screens through Zoom screen-sharing.
“Now we've lived through it successfully and we can carry that skill forward,” Mallin said, commending the value of working with others in person. “I'm still itching to be around a table more. It’s just really a part of how Envision operates.”