By Richard Friedman, Founder & President at Friedman & Partners
AEC firms often re-examine and refine their mission, vision, or core values. Many firms do this during annual strategic planning, making a tweak here, a readjustment there. Much less frequently do firms completely revamp their direction and brand in the way that Bergmeyer did in 2020, when the firm transitioned from a traditional architecture/interior design practice into a “design collaborative.” Let’s look at what drove this transformation, along with the process and ultimate benefits.
The Value of Being a “Design Collaborative”
A cynic might see Bergmeyer’s transition to a "design collaborative" as a cosmetic marketing exercise to help them stand out in a crowded field. The firm’s leadership— and the results— say otherwise. They describe the transformation as a five-year journey that redefined the firm’s reason for being, deepened its value to clients, and helped it move beyond the industry challenge of commoditization.
“Architects have hemmed themselves into this small box,” says Bergmeyer President & CEO Rachel Zsembery. “Everything becomes about risk management, specialization and the growing complexity of documentation. But architecture used to be much more expansive and comprehensive. We wanted to re-embrace that mindset and enhance our ability to say ‘yes’ to addressing unmet client needs.”
That mindset led Bergmeyer to rethink its structure, delivery model, and its purpose.
What It Means to Be a Design Collaborative
The term “design collaborative” is a strategic, intentional choice to reflect a fundamentally different way of working. Instead of organizing by departments or disciplines, Bergmeyer assembles cohesive, cross-functional teams tailored to each project’s specific needs.
“Many firms claim to be interdisciplinary, but in practice they remain multidisciplinary—handing off work between silos rather than integrating teams from the start,” says Zsembery. “We believe in having a wide range of designers— architects, interior designers, industrial designers, strategists— at the table from the very beginning who stay involved throughout. We integrate our practice from day one.”
The structure allows Bergmeyer to eliminate friction in the design process and deliver a more complete, seamless experience to clients. The approach is particularly effective for hybrid projects that span multiple sectors or require expertise across markets, such as combining retail with restaurant, or R&D and light industrial uses in workplace design.
“Working in the ‘architecture and’ space is where real value is created,” Zsembery says. “That’s where we innovate; by bringing together people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise.”
JJ Nelson, who joined Bergmeyer in 2020 as Director of Brand Communications, helped lead the repositioning effort. “One of the biggest things I saw was the leadership team’s self-awareness,” Nelson says. “They had the urge to explore, but the discipline to do it in a healthy, intentional way. They didn’t wait for someone else to go first.”
The benefits extend beyond project delivery. By staying adaptable and unified, Bergmeyer stretches engagements across a client’s business lifecycle. In some cases, this means starting with brand identity or web design and expanding into architectural or interior work. Or the reverse.
When a service falls outside the firm’s core expertise, Bergmeyer brings in partners. “Our goal is always to create a more frictionless experience for clients,” says Zsembery. “While we’ve seen the benefit of developing new service areas to adapt to the needs of clients, we also bring in partners—specialists in their field—who share our commitment to collaboration and client service.”
In one case, Bergmeyer created a new practice area with a third-party specialist to address an underserved market need. Bergmeyer+ helps teams recognize challenges clients face in the retail market developing sustainable fixture programs aligned with corporate sustainability goals and commitments. The result is a model for adding expertise in material science, strategic sourcing or sustainable manufacturing.
“It was about providing the right expertise at the right time,” says Zsembery. “Not trying to do everything, but putting the right people together with industry-leading expertise.”
A Five-Year Evolution, Unlocking Potential
When Bergmeyer decided to rebrand, leadership understood deciding was only the beginning of a process. Over the last five years, they engaged all staff in a series of visioning and optimization exercises, including its first-ever all-hands visioning alignment retreat— “Bergapalooza.”
“The process unlocked our full potential as a firm,” Zsembery says. “We identified new possibilities: new services, new partnerships, new ways of supporting our clients and each other.”
That mindset has fueled the firm’s steady growth, from 65–75 employees for several years to over 100 today. It also inspired new roles, including recasting the HR Director into the Director of People and Culture and adding Nelson’s hybrid brand/communications leadership post.
B Corp Status Reinforces the Brand Change
In 2024, Bergmeyer earned B Corp certification after a two-year effort that involved changes to governance, HR policies, data systems and accountability frameworks.
“We began exploring ways to formally define our commitment to our people,” explains Zsembery, “the communities we serve, and sustainable design principles. Saying you have certain values is one thing; it’s another to measure them and ensure you’re improving.”
Zsembery says becoming a B Corp rose to the top. “It’s a global program that involves a range of industries, including several of our clients. Certification involves an extensive audit and verification process. You have to earn it.”
She notes the work to achieve B Corp status was worth it. “It has become a real point of team pride. People are excited to work for and with a company that believes in using its influence to effect positive change in the world. Clients and recruitment candidates select Bergmeyer because it’s a B Corp; it resonates with their values.”
Bergmeyer first became a Massachusetts Benefit Corporation— a for-profit entity legally committed to considering the impact of its decisions on society and the environment, not just shareholders. The firm also added its first outside board member, a move that Zsembery says has “helped us stay true to our guiding principles as we evolve and grow.”
Finding and Owning Their “Unique Why”
What truly sets the renewed Bergmeyer apart is clarity of purpose. “We spent a lot of time asking: What is our unique why? What is at the foundation of this firm that’s unownable by our peers?” explains Zsembery. “When you strip away the marketing, most architecture and design firms are more similar than not. So for us, it was about identifying what was truly unique to Bergmeyer in our business operations, our design practice and our client engagement.”
The firm’s self-reflection resulted in a brand position that isn’t centered on a particular service or market sector, but on a values-aligned, curiosity-driven and inherently collaborative approach.
“In strategy work, one of the hardest things is knowing when to incrementally evolve versus when it’s time for a bigger, bolder pivot. This tension between small steps and big leaps is where a lot of companies get stuck. We weren’t afraid to question long-held beliefs that weren’t serving us anymore. That willingness to make bold moves has been fundamental to our new positioning,” says Zsembery.
For Nelson, the most important benchmark is authenticity. “Nothing we say externally should feel different from what we live internally,” he said. “That alignment builds trust with clients, within our team and with the public. And it gives us the confidence to lead through courageous experimentation.”
He emphasizes the experimentation isn’t for its own sake. “A lot of work happens before we try something new. We’re not guessing. We’re curious, intentional and willing to get uncomfortable. That’s what it takes to be at the forefront and set the tone in the industries we serve.”
One example of that mindset is Bergmeyer’s artist-in-residence program, which invites creatives from outside the AEC space to physically locate within their studio for a time to further a broader dialogue around the creative process.
Advice for Other Firms: Evolve with Intention
As it celebrates its 50th year, Bergmeyer’s reaffirmation journey offers lessons for any AEC firm looking to adapt to changing markets, workforce expectations or competitive pressures.
Start with values. Involve your people. Break down silos. Be honest about what your clients truly need. And most of all, don’t be afraid to rethink the structure of your firm itself. “‘Because we’ve always done it that way’ has no place here,” says Zsembery.
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Richard “Rich” Friedman, Founder & President, Friedman & Partners (www.friedmanpartners.com) has worked in and consulted to the AEC and environmental industries for more than 30 years. He has worked with firms of all different sizes, including numerous ENR 500 organizations. In 2005, Rich co-founded A|E Advisors LLC, a consortium of national consultants serving the AEC and environmental consulting industries. He has conducted seminars and workshops for design and environmental industry professional associations and venues, including AIA, ACEC, AGC, NSPE, SMPS, and ArchitectureBoston Expo (ABX). He has been featured in A/E industry publications, including ENR, AIA’s Architect and Practice Management Digest, SMPS’ Marketer, NSPE’s PE Magazine, and ACEC’s Engineering Inc. Rich earned a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.S. from Penn State University, as well as an MBA from Babson College.
(Return to the cover of the January 2026 PM Digest)