Content provided in partnership with

Business Services Industry

Cannon celebrates a century of design excellence

Real Estate Weekly, Sept 29, 2004

In 1916, Will Alban Cannon, Sr., opened an architectural practice in Niagara Falls, NY, and quickly won his first competition entry for the design of the new Niagara Falls City Hall, a four story classical stone structure still in use today.

This modest beginning was the basis for the steady development of the firm, an evolution that received renewed impetus in 1945, when Will, Sr., was joined in the practice by his tow sons, Will, Jr., and Don.

Relentless legwork and perseverance from the two younger Cannons gradually helped Cannon establish a foothold in the burgeoning healthcare market. The beginning assignments--typically, small community hospitals--became real--time tutorials for what would soon become Cannon Design's predominent market segment: the healthcare industry.

Most Popular Articles in Business: Research and Markets : Tesco Plc - SWOT Framework Analysis; Do Us a Flavor - Ben & Jerry's Issues a Call for Euphoric New Flavors; eBay made easy: ready to start an eBay business? These 5 simple steps will ...; Katrina's lawsuit surge: a legal battle to force insurers to pay for flood ...; Wal-Mart's newest distribution center opened last month near the southwest ...; More »

As more projects were won--and as the educational and commercial segments were explored--Cannon Design began to outgrow its local boundaries. By the 1960's the Cannon brothers had created a national vision for the practice of architecture and engineering--a vision that required the resolution of only a few "details."

The firm began to acquire small, local architectural and scientific firms, thus broadening its base of professional expertise and gaining key political inroads to previously inaccessible markets.

By the 1970's, Cannon Design was firmly established as western New York's preeminent architectural and engineering firm. But that wasn't enough for the firm's leadership, which harbored ambitions for a true national practice.

To achieve this goal, the firm's geographic presence would require a substantial expansion. The first step in the process was the creation, in the early 1980's, of the Cannon Corporation, an umbrella company for both Cannon Design and for future firms identified for acquisition. In 1982, the first offices purchased under the auspices of the new corporation extended Cannon's presence to St. Louis and Washington, DC.

The addition of the two offices established Cannon Design within the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic regions, adding substantial expertise to further expand the professional scope of the firm. However, one vital piece was deemed missing: the company needed a presence in New York City.

In 1985, that all changed. Cannon Design's first New York City project was for the Bronx Lebanon Hospital, a joint venture that initiated the establishment of the New York City office. By 1989, Cannon Design had grown to a population of more than 400 and was ranked two consecutive years by a national trade publication as the leading healthcare design firm in the nation. Today, a staff of 70 architects, engineers and support staff work together in midtown Manhattan to provide a full range of professional services for all of Cannon Design's market sectors, including healthcare, education, corporate/commercial, sports, recreation and federal government.

While geographic expansion provided a platform for the local development of the firm's professional skills, Cannon Design's leaders recognized that the true value of a national practice was the ability to assemble the best team from a broad range of talent. But what organizational and practice strategy should be used to create a unified practice? In the 1990's, the firm's regional profit center model was eliminated in favor of a single-firm, multi-office ("SFMO)") model. This strategy accomplished two positive goals.

First, the multiple identities of the fawn, as defined by local and regional office interest, were eliminated in favor of a single consolidated image. Second, the profit-center concept was abandoned as accounting was consolidated to the Grand Island, NY, office, thus eliminating the laborious need for intra-company billing.

The SFMO concept also has allowed Cannon Design to realign its practice to better serve our clients. The talents from multiple offices, for example, are readily organized for effective collaboration. By the mid-1990's, Cannon Design extended its practice by merging with firms in Chicago and Los Angeles. The LA merger served to open the West Coast to Cannon Design, particularly in the area of our higher education practice, and also formed the basis for a national sports practice.

The company's growth, in both geographic and financial terms, has continued to the present day. Cannon Design employs more than 650 people in fourteen regional offices throughout the United States and Canada and has annual revenues that approach $100 million.

Inspired initially by the unwavering vision of Will Alban Cannon, Sr., and continued through the efforts of his sons, Cannon Design has grown from a one-person firm located in Niagara Falls to an international presence in the world of architecture and engineering that continues, with foresight and prudence, to improve the quality of the world in which we live.

For Further information regarding Cannon Design, please contact Judy Pullar in our NYC Office at 360 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017 or call 212.972.9800

Business Services Industry

Cannon celebrates a century of design excellence

Real Estate Weekly, Sept 29, 2004

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Autos

Most Popular Articles in Business

Most Popular Publications in Business