What it does: Architecture and Planning
Mission: Our vision is to be a leading global design studio, where diversity and integrated ideas thrive.
Size and presence: Around 300 globally in 3 locations.
Best known for: Buchan is an acclaimed global architecture, interior, master planning and brand-experience studio with distinction in retail, commercial, mixed-use, residential, hotels and hospitality.
The good bits: Amazing culture among design teams. Work on forward-thinking commercial projects. Very challenging but satisfying work.
The not so good bits: Company is an architectural firm. Thus pricing is competitive because the market undervalues the role of the architect.
With a rich history of service and design spanning over a century, The Buchan Group has evolved from its roots in Victoria into an interdisciplinary design group serving the needs of clients across Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom. Under the leadership of 31 directors and principals, the 300-employee strong design group is widely acclaimed for its experience and excellence in design in many sectors, including retail, residential, mixed use developments, commercial offices, hotels, civic, health, education, and entertainment and lifestyle. One of Australia’s largest and most prominent architectural firms, The Buchan Group’s commitment to excellence is known worldwide, with clients seeking out services from seven locations across Australia as well as New Zealand, and London, Shanghai, and Dubai.
Tracing its roots back to 1890, The Buchan Group is unlike other architectural practices that carry out master planning, interiors and graphics. As a design practice, the firm has earned countless accolades over its 122-year-long history, not only for the superior quality of its designs, but for its abilities to assess itself on an ongoing basis and evolve to better serve the needs of all clients.
As part of wider The Buchan Group, the Sydney office is continually striving to update its approach to design, and the processes and commercial practice of architectural, interior and graphic design. Acknowledging the importance of ‘pillars’ in the history of architecture, The Buchan Group’s Sydney office has recently came up with ‘Five Pillars’ for the company’s strategic success. Through a cooperative effort incorporating all staff along with collaborators and a survey group, teams were formed to identify the fundamentals of the company’s success. “The five pillars included renewing the brand, reinvigorating design management, external collaboration, internal collaboration, and promoting leadership to deliver transformation for the business,” says Nathan Hones, Principal in the Sydney office. Following a 20-question survey of employees, five groups – each addressing a single pillar – were formed, each led by a senior staff member. Each group worked on five or six points, and information was then fed back into The Buchan Group to illustrate how the company can continue to build upon its strengths.
The process, says Mr Hones, not only serves to assess the company’s goals and objectives, but is a reflection of The Buchan Group’s policy of openness. Instead of a closed-door policy, the company believes in open channels of dialogue, which encourage the flow of ideas and a greater contribution to the overall design process. This collaborative culture in turn benefits staff members on their paths to personal and professional growth.
Buchan’s dynamic culture is shaped and led by our people. From team building to charity fundraising, we empower our staff to get involved and to lead initiatives across the business which foster our values of Courage, Collaboration, Curiosity, Diversity and Passion. Creativity is quintessential to our success and we encourage design and idea exploration to achieve great outcomes for both our staff and clients.
The selection process typically begins with the preliminary interview; next, candidates complete the application for employment.
They progress through a series of selection tests, the employment interview, and reference and background checks. The successful applicant receives a company physical examination and is employed if the results are satisfactory.
Several external and internal factors impact the selection process, and the manager must take them into account in making selection decisions.
Typically selection process consists of the following steps but it is not necessary that all these steps depending on the requirement of the organization some steps can be skipped while performing the selection process.
Our graduates hold an important role at Buchan, bringing forward fresh ideas and providing dedicated support to our talented teams. Starting your career with Buchan provides the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects across the entire scope of architecture and interior design services. Visit our website to download a copy of the program and find out how you can apply.
The average salary for The Buchan Group employees in Australia is AU$74393 per year
As a strong advocate of helping others, The Buchan Group is active in a number of charities. Recently, the company served as the lead consultant for the architectural, interior and graphic design of the new Leukaemia Foundation ESA Village at the Boggo Road Urban Village at Brisbane’s Dutton Park. Working with the Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland, The Buchan Group designed the 5,750 m² project—featuring four levels of residential apartments, office and patient support facilities and a basement car park—vital accommodation for leukaemia patients and their families during treatment. The village is close to the hearts of staff at the firm, and is the result of a long-standing relationship with the Leukaemia Foundation Queensland (LFQ) and their late founder of the Group’s Brisbane practice, Paul Malone, who was himself diagnosed with leukaemia and went on to help others with the disease.
Additionally, the practice is a great believer in working with young people interested in the business of design. The company has been making inroads with a number of universities and seeking to embrace social media such as Linkedin, Facebook and Blogger to engage in the wider conversation on design and the built environment. “We’ve been in business for over 100 years, and what we’d like to do is to take that knowledge and share it with some of the universities as part of their professional practice course,” says Mr Hones. “We would like to say to students, ‘Design is critically important, but there’s no point being a great designer if you can’t operate a successful business.”