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Photo by Frank Aymami<br />
From left: Interior designer Jennifer Mitchell, principals/architects Brian Faucheux and Thomas Brown, intern/architect Karl Bernhard and principals/architects Billy Sizeler and <strong>Allen</strong> Ohlmeyer pretend to<br />
direct traffic outside the Department of Transportation and Development’s Regional Transportation Management Center. The firm designed the facility.<br />
Sizeler Thompson Brown<br />
Architects<br />
As an intern, Karl Bernhard didn’t expect to<br />
get very much respect or responsibility<br />
when he began working at Sizeler Thompson<br />
Brown Architects. Soon after stepping into the<br />
firm’s office three years ago, he was pleasantly<br />
surprised to be proven wrong.<br />
“I’m involved with the design process,<br />
speaking with clients, going to sites,” he said.<br />
“Because of the experience, I feel like I’m growing<br />
exponentially.”<br />
Bernhard said there’s a sense of trust and<br />
camaraderie at Sizeler that he really appreciates.<br />
The architects give him the opportunity to<br />
contribute to design and aren’t afraid to let him<br />
talk to clients on his own.<br />
“A lot of owners (from other architectural<br />
firms) seem to be scared of that — ‘What are they<br />
going to do?’ or ‘What are they going to say?’”<br />
“We’re very team-oriented,” Studio<br />
Administrator Veronica White said. “It’s<br />
pleasant to come to work.”<br />
White, who has worked at Sizeler for 22<br />
years, said the firm’s annual employee retreats<br />
encourage team building. When she was going<br />
through difficult times of loss, the company<br />
provided a lot of moral support and time off.<br />
“They’ve really stood by me for a lot of trouble<br />
I’ve had,” she said. “They were extremely<br />
supportive and understanding.”<br />
It took a disaster to bring all the employees<br />
together in a way they hadn’t been before, said<br />
Brian Faucheux, principal. After Hurricane<br />
Katrina, the company set up a temporary office<br />
in Prairieville where employees interacted in a<br />
more tight-knit atmosphere than they had<br />
before the storm in <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong>.<br />
“At the end of it all, we interviewed everyone<br />
and asked what we should bring back from<br />
this,” Faucheux said.<br />
One answer that came up repeatedly was to<br />
keep regular employee lunches, something the<br />
firm still does. Sizeler buys lunch once a month<br />
Nature of business: architecture<br />
Where based: <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong><br />
Employees: 50<br />
Average starting salary: $36,600<br />
Median salary: $53,000 for staff, $102,800 for<br />
principals/associates<br />
Average employment time: six and a half years<br />
Benefits: health care with 75 percent coverage, dental, vision<br />
and prescription plans, 401(k), continuing education program,<br />
day care options, telecommuting, flexible hours<br />
Wait time for benefits: none<br />
Paid days off: 27.5<br />
Web site: www.sizelerthompsonbrown.com<br />
during full staff meetings.<br />
“People really bonded in circumstances that<br />
were not typical in the work environment,”<br />
Faucheux said.<br />
Since then, the company has encouraged a<br />
lot of other community-oriented exercises.<br />
Every year, the staff has a chance to participate<br />
in the company’s Art for Art’s Sake exhibit in<br />
the Warehouse District.<br />
The company gives employees a challenge<br />
and some materials and then offers a pre-show<br />
screening and a reception with hundreds of<br />
guests on the night of the event.<br />
“We’re a fairly large architecture firm in <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>Orleans</strong>, but we really have a close-knit, family<br />
atmosphere,” Faucheux said.•<br />
— Katie Urbaszewski<br />
December 14, 2009 39