Breaking Out

Breaking Out

Architecture by Mark Gordon | Managing Editor

A fledgling architecture firm in Clearwater, led by a planner who once designed jails, is trying to get in on the good times by adding flair to a city not known for artsy architecture.

Chris Miller, who grew up building toy models, was on his way to a prosperous career in the architecture industry in the late '90s. Working for an Ohio-based design firm, he was involved in several multimillion-dollar projects.

The problem was that Miller wasn't building cutting-edge offices or libraries, the trophies of the industry and the kinds of things he dreamed about as a boy when his father brought him home art supplies and tools. Instead, he was designing prisons and military bases.

"It was lucrative," Miller says, "but there was nothing inspiring or creative about it."

When the firm picked up a big contract to build a massive penitentiary in Kentucky, that was enough for Miller. He quit his job, moved to the Gulf Coast - where his parents had just retired - and opened his own shop. It wasn't a social or political statement: Miller says he understood prison cells and military barracks had to be built. He just didn't want to be the one do build them anymore.

After taking time off to get a feel for his new market, in 2000 Miller opened Clearwater-based Metro Architects, teaming up with veteran Cincinnati architect J. Andrew Paul. The duo had good timing: The city is in the midst of a building and construction renaissance, and Miller hopes the firm is locked up in its future.

Metro's revenues doubled from 2004 to 2005 and the firm has just about doubled its contracts on the books, from $600,000 in 2005 to just over $1 million in 2006, Miller says, adding that the firm is above average for its size when it comes to profitability per employee. The firm is projecting to have $3 to $6 million in contracts by 2007.

What's more, the fledgling seven-employee firm is moving ahead with building its headquarters, a three-story office complex on the outskirts of downtown Clearwater, on Court Street.

Metro executive director Matt Rodeghero says the firm expects to break ground on the building by early 2007 and be able to move in by the end of the year. Almost as important as getting out of their current cramped office though, Rodeghero says, is constructing a building that represents the hip, yet practical approach the firm takes with each of its projects. "It'll be a building people will notice," Rodeghero says, "and it will raise the standards of design in the area."

Miller and other Metro employees readily admit their current digs, a tiny office in a dreary-looking faded pink three-story building on Missouri Avenue is a pretty drab workspace for architects that put a high-value on aesthetics. ("The landlord refused our advice of neutrals and grays with some possible accents," says Miller). They have made do with the inside though, even going as far to park a tank filled with saltwater fish in the front hall.

An island treasure

Miller says the firm has been successful so far not only because of creative designs and on-time delivery. Many firms provide those. Metro's strength is simply being a good listener when it comes to clients' wants and needs.

While Miller says he and his staff will offer their input, they go out of their way to stick to the visions of the customer, be it a lone homeowner or a developer building a residential community. In a competitive industry and booming market, that has proved to be a bonus for Metro. Current projects include a seven-story condo building in North Redington Beach and a 16-unit town home project in North Hyde Park.

One recent project, a 7,500-square-foot, two-unit condominium on Treasure Island, was small in terms of stature, but big in how it showed what Metro could do.

The owner of the house, Nick DiOrio says Miller and his staff listened carefully and gave feedback on certain parts. They then wowed DiOrio with their enthusiasm, something he didn't see from competing architects. "The other guys," DiOrio says, "it was like my list didn't exist."

Miller says the DiOrio house, which was built in 2004, was his favorite project he's been a part of at Metro. It has a three-story blue-green glass wedge jutting out and similar angles throughout the building. But it's simple and practical, too, he says, and is a great example of using space efficiently. For example, Miller and DiOrio point out that each unit has its own stairway occupying the same location on the floor plan, what's known as scissor stairs.

The DiOrio home is Miller's anti-prison. It allows him to show off the firm's skills while still building a functional home. It's the type of project Miller set out to do after graduating from Kent State University's architecture school in Ohio in 1998. Speaking about the project, Miller sounds like an artist touting his work before the opening of a new gallery showing. He knows it will be a love-hate relationship.

"For the people that like it, there is a very strong vernacular for it," he says. "But not everyone likes it."

Incorporating the vision

In Clearwater, as in many other parts of the Gulf Coast, Miller says the challenge is finding places to build. "A big part of our business has to be redevelopment," Miller says.

The redevelopment process has been aided by the city's pro-business, pro-building approach, Miller and Rodeghero say. The city has updated design guidelines and there are responsive building officials who are flexible and willing to change, Rodeghero says.

Again, the listening skills apply. Rodeghero says he and has staff have compromised with city officials without losing the overall goal of the project. "If you take [the city's] vision and incorporate it into your project," he says, "you'll do well."

Miller also takes a pragmatic approach to getting things done with city planners and other officials. He tries to be as cooperative as possible to avoid the bickering that can go on between developers and local governments.

"There is a goofy thing that happens in construction," he says. "It's a game where people think everyone else is the enemy, when in actuality, we all want the same thing. We all want the best possible project."