In March 2013, "The Credential" featured a guest article by J. Michael Leinback, AIA, titled "Paperless?!.....Really?!"  Today a paperless document management system within an A/E firm is not unusual.  Technology has consistently and expectedly improved for the professional architecture, engineering and landscape architecture community.  Now a virtual architecture practice office has become a reality.  This month we introduce you to Peter S. Macrae, AIA, Principal, Macrae ARCHitecture, LLC.  Peter has 38 years of experience in architecture design, project management, business development and is a registered architect in 38 states including multiple national and international credentials and achievements.  Read on to learn how Peter established a successful virtual architectural practice.


Macrae ARCHitecture, LLC, based in a suburb of Columbus, OH, has a website, 25-30 clients and an annual portfolio averaging 150 projects.  It enjoys everything an architecture firm in 2018 possess, with one notable exception - employees.

Our firm is a thriving, high-production design firm that delivers architecture, interior and graphic design, project management and 3D modeling services to clients in commercial, residential and institutional markets.  And I remain its only employee.

In 2011 as a result of the Great Recession, my goal was to start a firm without any cash.  I thought it possible to have a full-service, national architecture practice with zero fixed overhead.  No rent. No equipment. No payroll.  Just a laptop, with everything in the cloud.  And it is working like a charm. 

At my previous firm I noticed, the team was located in a studio, they worked more or less "virtually".  The President in the corner office and a big bullpen with all the staff in their 10 by 10 spaces...it's the same work environment as when I started in the profession 40 years ago, but instead of having a set of drawings rolled out on a drafting desk, they have ear buds and send electronic files back and forth to the client, engineers and each other. 

Building my firm of independent consultants, I had a ready-made talent pool composed of good employees my previous firm laid off as it dwindled from approximately 20 people to 6.  The consultant pool increased with the passing of the Affordable Care Act, lifting the worry of high healthcare premiums from our contractors. 

Our professional talents consists of about 16 consultants.  We regularly contract with between six to eight at any one time.  The firm performs work throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, having grown to six teams.  Five are led by mid-career professionals and the sixth managed by me.  We have team leaders located in four different states and five different cities.  Four teams serve national accounts, one team produces high-end corporate interiors and I manage the group engaged in one-of-a-kind stuff. 

The 'virtual" state of the firm remains blind to our clients; there's nothing on our website or in any communication indicating the firm isn't like any other brick and mortar establishment.  Our very few overhead costs include regular license renewals, periodic software upgrades, and necessary liability insurance. 

I don't pretend this Virtual Architectural Practice model is the great disruptor or that it's going to be the only way architects will deliver services in the future.  It's an alternative.  The internet and its connectivity has made this type of practice viable. 

Five Necessary Keys for a Successful "Virtual Firm"

Financial Discipline.  Despite almost no overhead, Macrae ARCHitecture charges the market rate for its services.  The firm also requires clients to pay half the fixed-fee up front and the remainder before receiving the final contract documents. 

Focus on Results, Not Hours.  All projects are fixed-fee.  I've actually convinced all the people working with me to never again think about how many hours it takes to do something.  All that matters are the deadline and collectively realizing the profits.  

Successful Independent Contractors.  Everyone of the people who works with me is an independent firm owner with his/her own clients and projects.  I insisted on it and now we are just one of each others' clients.  One of the first people to join the firm was a project manager who had worked with me for over a decade, never making more that $50,000 annually.  He made nearly twice that in his first year working with Macrae ARCHitecture in the virtual practice model.  

The Right Clients.  The vast majority of our clients are in the private sector, largely because public-sector clients won't agree to our contract terms and can occasionally limit our firm's profit. 

Appropriate Technology Tools.  Clients never ask to meet at our office, which is a good thing because we technically don't have one.  My firm holds meetings with consultants using apps like GoToMeeting and Skype while exchanging files with DropBox and similar tools. 

I can work remotely too, often while vacationing in far-off places.  My wife and I went away to Paris and the South of France and I never told anyone we were going and no one ever noticed we were gone...beautiful!