Fast-growing profitable Norwegian architecture office with international ambitions
SPINN Architects was founded in 2012 with the goal of creating innovative school architecture. The office has doubled the number of employees each year until 2019 and has grown from 4 to 40 employees. Based on rapid and profitable growth, SPINN Architects has been appointed Gazelle Company for 5 years in a row.
According to general manager Daniel P. Barth, choosing the right BIM tool has been an important factor in this success.
SPINN Architects has grown to become one of Norway's largest specialists in school projects and has departments in Oslo, Tromsø, Stavanger and Trondheim. During the last eight years, nine school buildings have been completed and work is underway on over 30 new school projects in various phases from programming and feasibility studies to detailing and construction site follow-up. 5 of the projects that are underway are massive wooden schools where IFC is used for coordination between wood manufacturers and consultants.
"SPINN Architects has created a very attractive work environment that promotes innovation, technology and competence building", says partner and professional leader James Dodson.
From the start, the architectural office has been digitally organized, and communication and information go quickly and seamlessly no matter where in the country the architects work from.
"SPINN Architects was already well equipped to work digitally when the pandemic hit us. We at SPINN Architects have already had this digital way of being organized for 10 years, and it has been a great advantage for us", tells Dodson.
"We work on the same BIM model in real time, and all the projects are in the cloud. SPINN works nationally and has projects from Hammerfest in the north to Bamble in the south", confirms general manager Daniel P. Barth.
SPINN Architects has worked with Archicad ever since the company was founded. After some trial and error with other BIM tools, they believe that Archicad is the most architect-friendly tool. Archicad and the use of Teamwork and BIMcloud are the office's most important tools.
"The way you can navigate the Archicad model is incredibly much more flexible than with other BIM tools we have tried. It is also not to be underestimated that Archicad is very affordable, compared to other competing programs."
Predictable licensing solutions and price development are very important for a profitable growth over time. Archicad offers floating network licenses so more users can share a smaller number of licenses.
"BIMcloud allows us to work simultaneously in the models, and the flexible solution with floating network licenses has made it seamless to connect new employees and departments as we have grown and expanded. We just call and ask for more and more licenses when we need it", says an enthusiastic Barth. "We could not have the growth we have had without Archicad as a platform."
Dodson is a little over average technically minded and interested. He likes to stay up to date on the latest programs and technological developments. The office has worked hard to establish a good workflow where they use Archicad for more or less everything. He sees it as important that information is not lost along the way. If you use several programs for different functions in a workflow, you can count on something being lost.
"I define myself as a bit of a nerd. I would like our architects to create illustrations in Archicad and not in Illustrator for example. This is something I got a little thin on in the beginning, but the advantage is that everything is live in the BIM model which is always linked to the presentation material we make. This means that we save a lot of time in the projects."
And time is a precious resource in the construction industry in general and among architects in particular.
"We are very happy with the graphics in Archicad, and I think the program makes great readable drawings in relation to the scales we work in – whether it is from 1-200 drawings or construction drawings from 1-50, the elements we have work on all scales", says Dodson.
Barth adds: "The integration of auditing tools and publishing tools is also very good in relation to construction site follow-up. If you have made a change and posted a selection in the model and connected the elements that are affected by the change, Archicad will automatically set up a warning dot on possibly affected drawings. You will receive an indication that this drawing should be checked and that perhaps it should be included in an audit you send out. As a contribution to efficiency and quality assurance, there are functionalities in Archicad that we greatly appreciate and benefit greatly from."
"This makes it very easy and simple as you can set up predefined drawing sets with what we will deliver at the end of the week. When everything is ready, you can press a button, and it will be placed in the correct folder. This is a great advantage compared to if you had to save one file at a time when you need to print 30-40 drawings. You sleep better at night", smiles Daniel - who is also KS responsible at SPINN Architects.
"Part of the reason for the success of SPINN Architects is that we have gone in depth instead of going into breadth by specializing in school projects. In addition, productivity among employees is an equally important factor. People can draw quickly and efficiently without spending a lot of time on the BIM tool itself."
SPINN Architects has the impression that Archicad is very widespread among those who are studying today. It has also never been a challenge to bring in experienced people who are skilled at Archicad. The fact that the program is both user-friendly and intuitive means that people get up to speed quickly and become efficient in record time.
"Archicad is good at built-in structure and navigation and is updated in relation to Norwegian Standards. We who work with public clients, get detailed requirements specifications on what the different things should be. This means that we spend very little time structuring our export formats", Barth explains
"There is also a short distance between Nordic BIM Group and the customer, and it is easy to pick up the phone to call if there is something we are wondering about. The support team gives us very good and quick follow-up the times we have been stuck and needed help". Dodson adds that the office has its own favorites and elements that are used internally and has its own layout that works well, for example in architectural competitions. But there are small adjustments compared to the standard in Archicad.
SPINN uses Twinmotion for easy and fast visualization. "It is thankful and easy to navigate and export animations. The funny thing is that Twinmotion has become an important part of our workflow and we have turned it into VR technology", says Dodson.
The office has purchased VR glasses for all employees, and these are currently used internally. Here it is exported via Twinmotion to import models into their VR programs.
SPINN Architects participates in many price and design competitions where the company delivers design at the same time as the contractors must calculate the price. There are short deadlines, and the contractor needs detailed models to be able to price the project accurately.
"We can quickly get a good surface delivered to the contractor with our setup in Archicad. We spend our time efficiently on the design and work out a BIM model for pricing so that we have what is needed. The contractors give us feedback that what we deliver is very good for pricing."
"This gives the contractor less uncertainty, which in turn means that they can have sharper prices in competitions", tells Dodson.
SPINN Architects has ambitious goals to grow further, also internationally. The office is looking at opportunities both near and far, but for the time being wants do not want to tell too much about it. Dodson is temporarily revealing some of the plans. In the long run, they want to try the German market, and have already hired three German seniors, and they have several employees who have studied in Germany and know the professional language.