Monica Bettendorf Hartberg, new president of Minneapolis-based architecture and design firm Miller Dunwiddie, and other third-generation leaders are working on strategic planning at the 54-year-old company.
That focus comes as the 57-person firm settles into new offices in the 100 Washington Square high-rise after recently moving from its home of 25 years. "As we have the move in place and the leadership transition in place, [that] allows us to take some concerted efforts at the business and how we move that forward," Bettendorf Hartberg said.
The firm last year changed its ownership to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), in part to keep the firm independent. Bettendorf Hartberg specializes in transportation and aviation projects and has worked on prominent public buildings in the state including Terminal 2 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Silverwood Park Visitor Center in St. Anthony.
Bettendorf Hartberg joined Miller Dunwiddie in 1999. She has degrees in architecture and environmental design from North Dakota State University.
She succeeds Craig Lau, who is retiring at year's end after 27 years as president and 38 at the firm.
Also joining executive leadership as vice presidents are Mark Miller, John Mecum, Daniel Green, Denita Lemmon, Gregory Hulne, Joel Stromgren, Kathryn Hunsley and Paul May. Miller remains as chief financial officer, Mecum as executive vice president and Chuck Liddy, a principal since the 1990s, as an adviser in an emeritus role.
Q: Why should a potential client choose Miller Dunwiddie?
A: Our core value is about people and building relationships, building communities, building buildings that last. We really are focused on the strength of delivering a project that will have enduring value for our clients and the communities that we're working in. It needs to be bigger than an individual project.
Q: What prompted the firm's move?
A: We felt it was important to try to get everybody on one floor to increase that collaboration and that studio feel that's so important to the day-to-day work that we do. It allowed us to design a space that recognizes individual needs, health and well-being. Our step into this space supported that idea of the people here being the most important element.
Q: What do you like about working in architecture?
A: I really love the intersection of science and art that architecture creates. The way architecture affects us as individuals is fascinating and allows architects and designers to leave a mark on the people who go through our spaces. I've always appreciated the opportunity of being able to learn something new every day, being able to dig into the art or the math and yet have it result in a beautiful space.