Schemata Workshop: Seattle Success Story #3
We first noticed Schemata Workshop at the Seattle Mayor’s Small Business Awards in 2009. The architecture firm was honored for their holistic approach to design projects considering social, economic, and environmental impacts on neighborhoods.
We wanted to learn more about these trailblazers as we had a hunch that, given their clear focus on “empowering communities through architecture”, they’d have a lot to share about how they’ve approached marketing in a holistic, sustainable way to grow their–now thriving–business.
But first, a quick primer on building and energy usage: Buildings represent a whopping 40% of the energy Americans use. At Schemata Workshop, we learned that sustainable design is about much more than new materials and modern specs, two hallmarks of “green design”. Sustainable design that will pass the test of time, however, must include efficient repurposing of what already exists. And Schemata Design has this approach down pat.
As with our other Seattle Success Stories, Schemata Workshop’s clear sense of purpose and focus means they attract new clients through word-of-mouth referrals. And once they’ve hooked a client, they tend to keep them because they deliver on their promise of building sustainably and smartly.
Erica asked principal and co-founder Grace Kim about the keys to Schemata Workshop’s far reaching successes.
We began by defining the three elements of sustainability: social justice, economic development, and green building. Besides energy efficiency, we don’t frequently consider the non-green, social benefits of sustainable building…but we should!
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How does Schemata Workshop include sustainability in projects? Good design and passive technologies are fundamental to sustainable building.
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Try to find a reference to ‘green building’ on Schemata Workshop’s website. You won’t, because they’re sticking to all 3 fundamental components of sustainable design an not jumping on the greenwashing band wagon. Put another way: they stick to their essence.
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Every industry has its own stamps of success. In architecture and design, awards are currency when it comes to marketing. Schemata Workshop has won quite a few prestigious ones. How they select which ones to pursue ties back directly to who their ideal client is, i.e. they only pursue awards that will reinforce their standing with their current and potential ideal clients.
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What’s their main marketing mechanism: building honest connections. Clients share good experiences with Schemata Workshop and show off their design portfolio. Professionalism is key.
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Wrapping up the interview, we learn that Schemata Workshop measures success not just in terms of P&L, but also by the number of happy clients they retain.
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[...] Erica asked principal and co-founder Grace Kim about the keys to Schemata Workshop’s far reaching successes. You can read more and listen to the interview on our blog. [...]