Liljegren founded her company during the last recession to help companies redesign their space. Ten years later, the coronavirus has sparked the start of another downturn, and much commercial real estate space has turned upside down. She said she is aiming to help again.
"A recession is the perfect time to rethink what you can do with your building. You may not take a big leap forward but you may need that early analysis," she said.
Last week, the American Institute of Architects released its Architecture Billings Index report, which surveys more than 750 architecture firms nationwide.
It awards scores based on business being done, with anything below 50 indicating a decrease. March billings scored a 33.3. New project inquiries and design contracts scores dropped dramatically, posting scores of 23.8 and 27.1, respectively, according to the report.
As many of her current projects have stalled, Liljegren said she and her team at Omgivning have created design charrettes, or design workshop examples, as a way to generate more business.
Omgivning is not alone. As architecture firms brace for the financial ramifications of the coronavirus, many are creating new design concepts that include social distancing guidelines, design trends and other potential health protocols to prepare clients to navigate the coronavirus and post-coronavirus environment. "This is a natural disaster," RDC President and CEO Brad Williams said of the coronavirus.
"This is survival of the fittest ... From our standpoint, what we're trying to do is position ourselves with our existing clients to tackle those [design] issues."
It is a trying time for architects. Month-to-month billings are down dramatically, many firms are reporting halted projects and very little new business is occurring at the moment, AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker told Bisnow.
Generally, architectural workflow is a good leading indicator of broader economic trends in the economy, because many are involved in business investments in nonresidential commercial real estate projects early in the process, Baker said.
"Architecture firms saw a sharp steep downturn almost immediately in March and it has continued that way," Baker said, surmising that many projects fell off in the second half of March due to shelter-in-place mandates that were ordered earlier that month.
Baker said new signups for work and general inquiries for the month also fell. The good news: Many firms have reported a healthy backlog of current projects, about six months’ worth.
Still, the longer the pandemic continues the more the design business will drop. "It's pretty clear April and May are going to be very bad months for design," Baker said. Keep in mind the billings index is a month-to-month comparison survey, he added.
"I would guess that we would see an abysmal score in April, way below 50," he said. "Will it be as low as 33? Hopefully not. That would be a steep decline on top of a steep decline." ZGF partner James Woolum said his company has experienced some slowdown with a few clients putting projects on pause, but others in healthcare and tech continue to move forward.
"The general observation I can say is that while we have had some projects that have paused, we have other clients saying the work needs to continue," Woolum said. "That's due to the diversity of [ZGF's clients and] work and a little bit of luck. A lot of life right now is the luck of the draw."