Is this game over for the ‘Terry Venables’ of architecture?

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The driving force behind SMC has been demoted after an investor revolt. Is his business model for architecture finished?

“Stuart McColl is the Terry Venables of architecture,” chortled one architect on hearing of the irrepressible entrepreneur’s humiliating demotion to the post of deputy chair at SMC Group, the company he founded in 1996 (News February 16).
When it comes to heading an architecture practice, McColl certainly breaks the mould. A larger-than-life Scotsman, he is remembered in his 1980s heydayfor wearing suits with “McColl” printed on the pinstripes. He makes no effort to hide the pleasure he derives from making money, and his generosity is renowned, but for many highbrow architects he is simply too much to take.
The story of his rise to the upper reaches of the architecture league table over the last 12 months through a series of acquisitions carried out at breakneck-speed has raised some pertinent questions for his professional brethren— though his downfall may have put wry smiles on their faces. Can architecture practices grow through acquisition? Are such firms compatible with the City? And if not, is there any way these can hope to become global businesses? (...)

Fonte: BDOnline