Leadership Spotlight: Perkins + Will

Project countries abroad.
Canada, UAE, Angola, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Spain, England

Country with largest percentage of work.
The United Arab Emirates

Locations with the most promising projections.
The largest percentage will be in Canada, Middle East, and China for us. Note the table below for the current size and annual rate of increase of international construction markets:

Defining Global Project
Beijing International School, Beijing, China
Universidade Aghostinho Neto, Angola
Dubai International Airport, Dubai, UAE

Negotiation of fees internationally.
This varies largely by region. Also, these dynamics change year to year. In general, effective fee negotiation requires deep understanding of the region.

Getting paid promptly.
Intimate client contact in person gets you paid.

Frustrations of international practice.
Frustrations include stress on staff caused by travel and difficult local regulations.

Staffing projects abroad.
We staff projects with those interested in doing this work.

The overseas talent pool.
Most of our offices participate in international work, but the majority of work is performed in Chicago and New York.

Licensure issues and governmental regulations.
This varies by country. In most locations, we work with some sort of local associate. In certain countries (China, Dubai, Turkey) we have established entities that are legally registered to conduct business [in that country].

Projections for further growth of international practice.
Yes. An increase of three-to-four times in the next 5 years is projected.

Anti-American sentiment.
No.

Trends in global architecture and design.
We see the internationalization of tastes, design standards, and quality standards, increases in the size of projects and a convergence of capital investors (e.g.: Dubai clients developing projects in Turkey, China, and the US).