2015 Dynamic Dozen No. 12: Paragon Architecture Inc.

Having established itself as an expert in designing multiuse tornado safe rooms for school districts following a 2010 launch, Paragon Architecture Inc. has expanded its horizons – and revenue followed.  

The firm nearly tipled revenue to $2.13 million in 2014 from $763,000 in 2012.

President Brad Erwin attributes the upward trajectory to new business for clients in the areas of manufacturing, corporate offices and early-childhood education. Erwin says interest in Federal Emergency Management Agency safe rooms spiked following the 2011 Joplin tornado with federal grants covering the bulk of the cost for school districts.

“For the 12-month period of September 2012 to September or October of 2013, there was a lot of activity in the region,” Erwin says, noting up to 20 percent of the firm’s revenues currently come from safe-room designs.

“At one point in time, safe-room work made up more than 75 percent of our project load,” adds Chief Operating Officer Crystal Reynolds.

Though Erwin and Reynolds declined to disclose most of the firm’s most recent clients citing confidentiality policies, Little Sunshine’s Playhouse is one client Paragon has served in the commercial space. They’ve also worked with a couple of Fortune 500 companies in the region on facility designs.  

In addition to promoting company values of honesty and integrity, “the Paragon approach” is about bringing to the table the firm’s expertise – such as in grant applications – and a collaborative design process incorporating input from stakeholders.

“If we are working in a school and going to build a science lab, we are going to ask a science student, the science teacher, the superintendent, the principal, the board of directors and potentially members of the community how they think that space could best serve those students,” Reynolds says. “So, from day one, everyone who would benefit from the space is involved in the process.”

Crowder College, Fair Grove School District and Cassville School District are examples of area schools that started with safe rooms but have continued their design relationship on new projects, Erwin says. About 60 percent of revenue comes from the public sector, with 20 percent coming from professional service companies and 20 percent from industrial and manufacturing clients, Erwin says.

As part of its approach, the company’s 10 employees are encouraged to give back. The firm’s workers are collectively supporting 42 organizations and initiatives including Convoy of Hope, Rock’n Ribs and Art Inspired.

“There is at least one week a month if not two where my time associated with these outweighs billable hours. We are just fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do that,” he says. “If we look back on actual projects that have come from community engagement, I’d say it’s less than 1 percent of our project list. For a lot of us, the reason we are in architecture is to improve our community.”[[In-content Ad]]