2009 Architecture Firm of the Year

RTA Architects Colorado Springs design firm thrives on its diversity and client service

Colorado Construction has selected RTA Architects as our Colorado Architecture Firm of the Year for 2009.

By Kimberly MacArthur Graham

© LaCasse Photography

Randy Thorne, president of RTA Architects, Colorado Springs, fondly remembers original firm-founder Leland B. Roberts. “He taught me that service is number one,” Thorne says. “It will make you successful if you make it a priority.”

Thorne is a quick study. Since 1996, RTA has swelled from four people to its current 46. It is ranked as the largest architectural firm in southern Colorado by the Colorado Springs Business Journal and the eighth largest in the state by Colorado Construction magazine.

The Ss. Constantine and Helen Orthodox Church in Colorado springs celebrates the ancient and traditional with variegated masonry exterior walls, copper domes and semi-domes and ceramic gable roofs. (Photo courtesy of rta architects)

The multifaceted firm, which designs facilities for health care, education, retail, recreation and commerce, has survived several recessions, thanks in part to its diversity. Recent notable projects include the St. Francis Medical Center (in conjunction with Earl Swensson Associates Inc. of Nashville) in Colorado Springs, the YMCA of Pueblo Family Center, University Village Colorado Shopping Center in Colorado Springs, and Aurora Public Schools’ new high school (with MOA Architecture of Denver).

Thorne, a self-described “generalist,” has surrounded himself with top-level specialists, including principals/owners John Hoelscher (health care) and Perry Lewis (retail), and a handpicked staff. “These guys are the real experts,” Thorne says of Hoelscher and Lewis. “We have a passion for bringing in younger folks in general, then developing their specific niche.”

Hoelscher says, “RTA is not just the three of us. It transcends the three of us.”

Giving Back

A cornerstone of RTA is the belief that talented people are its greatest asset. Eschewing the model of bringing on staff for a big push, then letting them go during leaner times, the firm has grown steadily, boasting an average employee tenure of five years.

The Glenwood Springs High School project consisted of 30,000 sq ft of renovations and 134,000 sq ft of new construction that replaced the existing school on the same site. (Photo by LaCasse Photography)

Employees are supported in the workplace by an open-door policy, mentoring and plentiful opportunities for growth and advancement. They also benefit from a corporate awareness of life-work balance and support for volunteerism rooted in what Hoelscher calls “an awareness of our debt to the community and the world.”

Lewis adds, “It’s part of our calling as we are successful to make time for staff to give back.”

The staff agrees. “The environment here gives me—gives everybody—energy,” says Ken Gregg, a project architect. “As long as the work’s getting done, there is no pressure. It’s guilt free.”

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Associate Stuart Coppedge, current president of AIA Colorado, adds: “They provide an opportunity for everybody to pursue their passions.”

RTA’s demonstrated belief that employees can balance work with other commitments has led to widespread staff participation and leadership in industry organizations. Charitable involvement for RTA and its employees entails financial contributions; holiday toy and clothing drives; backpack drives for schoolchildren; and fundraising walks, runs and golf tournaments.

Genuine Energy for Clients

RTA’s success at retaining quality people enables staff to be at the top of their game and to enjoy work. “It’s fun to come to work,” Lewis says. “There are different ideas and different teams. There is real energy associated with that: discussions, ideas, storyboards on the wall.”

The Hinkley High School project in aurora will link two buildings and convert four small learning communities within the existing shell. It is a joint venture currently under design with Moa architecture. (Photo by LaCasse Photography)

The Hinkley High School project in aurora will link two buildings and convert four small learning communities within the existing shell. It is a joint venture currently under design with Moa architecture. (Photo by LaCasse Photography)

Coppedge agrees. “You don’t have to learn it all on your own.” Lisa Carpenter, an architectural intern, adds, “The quality of the people was the biggest attraction for me. You feel like you can ask questions. They’re not behind closed doors.”

The spirit of camaraderie and collaboration means that each project is an opportunity to better understand and thereby serve the client. To that end, RTA always begins with in-depth research into local history, culture, flora, fauna, geography and so on. Interesting facts or motifs are shared with the client and often inform design.

Innovation is enthusiastically embraced but tempered with an awareness of what most benefits the client. “It really energizes me, working with an intimate understanding of how they do their business and how I can help them do it better,” Hoelscher says.

Business development manager Amy Fortier adds, “All our architects really plug into the way our clients work.”

Justin Cooper, director of project development for G.E. Johnson Construction of Colorado Springs, illustrates RTA’s dedication to client service and teamwork. Cooper, who worked on the St. Francis Medical Center, says, “RTA always has a can-do attitude.”

The St. Francis Medical Center project in Colorado springs created a full-service hospital for the fast-growing northeast quadrant of the city. (Photo by LaCasse Photography)	Design for the glenwood Meadows mixed-use center in glenwood springs incorporates a “market street” feel while bringing a combination of nine retail and restaurant buildings to the region. (Photo by LaCasse Photography)

He says the client’s targeted opening date required a condensed schedule—24 months for construction and a budget that allowed for no extra shifts. RTA accommodated this by agreeing not only to shortened but also overlapping schedules, which started construction even during schematic design.Cooper says the team never doubted that it would finish the project on time and within budget. “There was a faith-based trust that our two teams could accomplish this,” he adds.

Award Winners

Numerous awards testify to RTA Architecture’s position as a regional design leader. For example, the $271-million, 458,000-sq-ft St. Francis Medical Center won a McGraw-Hill 2008 Gold Hard Hat Award, a 2009 American Society of Interior Designers Colorado first-place award and a 2009 Award of Excellence from the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Concrete Institute.

The YMCA of Pueblo Family Center project consisted of a new campus and indoor and outdoor recreational facilities for the Pueblo community. (Photo courtesy of RTA Architects)	The Shiloh Mesa site plan is designed to create a living neighborhood in Colorado springs with sidewalks and open spaces that link and define neighborhoods containing residential, commercial, spiritual and recreational uses. (Rendering courtesy of RTA Architects)

The project at Sister Ruth Anne Panning Financial Center at Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, which turned a laundry facility into sustainable office spaces, won the 2007 AIA Colorado Merit Award and the 2007 AIA Colorado South Honor Award, as well as the 2007 ASID Colorado Adaptive Reuse/Renovation Award.

Still, there is more work to be done. As Lewis says, “I look forward to every day seeing how we can work together and get better.”