(Photo above: (L-R) Austin Davis, Jim Lord and John Fischer | courtesy of Ashley & Vance Engineering, Inc.)
The engineering team at Ashley& Vance modestly describe themselves as “the new kid on the block, rapidly growing in a new market.” Jim Lord, principal civil engineer, and John Fischer, principal structural engineer, are two affable professionals who recently gave me a generous hour of their time and painted an interesting and compelling portrait about their firm, whose Bend branch opened a mere two years ago in an eclectic neighborhood above the Franklin Street underpass.
With a 10-year company heritage and origins in San Luis Obispo, California, the firm is somewhat unique in that they provide both structural and civil engineering services, a complementary package that delivers up a kind of “fluid expertise” in the design and building process. An immediate example of this dual deployment of engineering skills is the Atrium Condo development in Bend’s Old Mill District. This one point of contact created a very successful design-build experience.
“We are a very construction-minded and cost-minded organization,” reports Fischer, “and much of this is driven by the density factor, smaller lot sizes and more complex and restrictive development codes. A developer today has to maximize every inch of ground because they’re enduring significant zoning and financial pressures.”
More than once during our conversation, the topic of company culture surfaced and it was apparent that the team of 40 engineers spread across seven locations conduct themselves in a very collaborative and connected way as they literally share their work across all their West Coast offices, “a kind of central ethos back to the company origins that founders Charles Ashley and Truitt Vance envisioned,” Fischer stated. He pointed out that the San Luis Obispo office acts like an unofficial grooming ground for both the practical training and the cultural training of the engineers and support staff.
A major conduit for the connectivity factor within Ashley & Vance is a youthful age component, wrapped around adaptive technology that fosters video chat and conferencing across locations, almost like stepping down the hall and speaking personally with a colleague. And while engineering is still fundamentally driven by the math and physics piece, the Ashley & Vance group leverages people skills and personalities to place employees where they will flourish, develop strong core skills andfind the best chance of success.
When I asked John Fischer how the engineering field has changed over the years, he replied that “beyond the math and physics knowledge, at the end of the day, we’re all in sales and we place a high value on communication and temperament, we look for people who have the ability to interact well within an established, conservative approach. But innovation, problem-solving and being contractor friendly are critical attributes, these are very meaningful to owners and developers.”
All the Ashley & Vance offices are in communities similar to Central Oregon: they are smaller markets, resort-oriented regions with similar demographics, creating a kind of common thread between the seven offices.
As our lively meeting wrapped up, we once again touched on the subject of passion for the work and the pride in leaving a meaningful project footprint. Lord superbly captured the essence of the Ashley & Vance spirit when he said: “I am going to take great pride when my daughter and I go ice skating at a place I helped build, which is the new Simpson Ice Pavilion due to open this fall.”
Noteworthy 2015 Projects:
Atrium Condos: 15,000 square foot, three story luxury condominiums overlooking Bend’s Old Mill. (David Waldron Architect)
Bellevue Apartment Complex: three story apartment buildings with 150 units near Worthy Brewing on Bend’s East Side (BLRB Architects).
Greenwood & 7th Commercial Building: 5,000 square foot commercial building to open this fall with three suites to be occupied by Back porch Coffee, Tacos Del Mar and Emerald City Smoothie (Teaneck Architecture).
Janis Medical Building: 15,000 square foot two story medical office building near St. Charles hospital (Blaise Cacciola Architecture).
Ashley & Vance Engineering
37 NW Franklin Ave.
Bend OR 97701
541-647-1445
www.ashleyvance.com
