Morris Originals Transforms Its Architecture Department with Uptalent

Morris Originals grew its architectural team with Uptalent.io, cutting staffing costs by over 50% while bringing in skilled remote professionals to handle design, Revit modeling, and 3D renderings.

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3
candidates hired
$ 54,000
cost saved per year

Industry

Architecture and Construction

Company size

2- 10 employees

Location

Seattle, WA

Morris Originals is a small design firm specializing in high-end luxury residences. Their work is driven by creative and authentic ideas, with each project reflecting a careful consideration of the client’s needs, desires, environmental context, and budget. This approach results in a unique juxtaposition of material and form, creating residences that are both luxurious and deeply personal.

 

Introduction

Morris Originals, a boutique architecture and construction firm based in Seattle, WA, was on a mission to scale its operations while maintaining its unique design philosophy. With a growing demand for their creative projects the firm needed more hands on deck. However, like many small design firms, Morris Originals faced challenges hiring locally due to high staffing costs and the limited availability of qualified professionals.

 

In 2021, Morris Originals turned to Uptalent.io, a platform that connects top-tier remote professionals from Latin America with U.S.-based companies in the architecture, construction, and engineering sectors. Uptalent was able to provide them with a solution that allowed them to seamlessly expand their team, reduce operational costs, and continue delivering high-quality design work without compromising their budget. After three years of successful collaboration, Morris Originals continues to work with their Uptalent team, relying on their remote professionals to support their ongoing growth and project demands.

The Problem

As a small firm with only 2 to 10 employees, Morris Originals wanted to expand its architectural department but struggled with the financial burden of hiring locally. The Seattle job market demanded competitive salaries, and hiring full-time employees came with additional overhead, including taxes, benefits, and HR expenses.

 

The firm also needed highly specialized skills in architectural design, particularly in Revit Modeling, Technical Documentation, and rendering, to meet client demands for both small and large-scale Residential projects. With rising project workloads, finding a cost-effective way to grow the team became urgent.

Challenges

Morris Originals faced three key challenges:

 

  • High Local Hiring Costs: Recruiting locally meant paying premium salaries while dealing with additional overhead and HR costs, making it financially unviable for the firm to expand.

 

  • Lack of Specialized Talent: Finding professionals with the specific expertise in Revit and rendering within their budget was difficult.

 

  • Need for Scalability: The firm wanted to grow but needed the flexibility to scale up or down based on project demand without long-term commitments to local hires.

 

Choosing UpTalent

After exploring various options, Morris Originals decided to partner with Uptalent. They were attracted by the platform’s promise of providing remote talent that could work seamlessly with their existing team while reducing staffing costs by more than 50%. Uptalent’s network of highly skilled Latin American professionals with U.S Market experience presented the perfect opportunity to meet their growing needs.

 

The decision to go remote was initially driven by cost-saving motives, but Morris Originals soon realized the strategic advantages of having a team that could be scaled easily and integrated with their in-house processes.

 

Becker Residence_Ext Renders

 

Solution

Uptalent provided Morris Originals with three full-time professionals:

  • 1 Full-Time Job Captain to oversee team management and production work.
  • 2 Full-Time Senior Revit Drafters and Renderists to handle design, technical production and 3D rendering tasks.

 

With this remote team, Morris Originals can:

  • Complete 4 to 6 full construction documentation sets per month (High End Residential Projects)
  • Deliver 10 to 30 high-quality 3D renderings per month for client presentations and marketing materials.
  • 1-2 photorealistic video animations
  • Prepare and submit 2 to 3 building permit packages monthly, ensuring compliance with local regulations and speeding up project approval timelines.
  • Streamline revisions for ongoing projects, reducing turnaround time by up to 30% compared to local hires.
  • Handle detailed Revit modeling for 3 to 5 residential projects per month, ensuring precise technical drawings and accurate material take-offs.
  • Save $54,000 per year on staffing costs compared to hiring locally!

 

These professionals act as an integral part of the Morris Originals team, attending weekly meetings, collaborating on project updates, and allowing the firm to meet tight deadlines without compromising on quality. The work is delivered efficiently, and the savings allow the firm to reinvest in other areas of the business, including new client acquisition and marketing.

 

“Partnering with Uptalent has been a game changer for us. We were able to build a full architectural department with top-tier professionals, all while cutting down our staffing costs by over 50%. The remote team became an extension of our firm, working seamlessly with us and delivering high-quality results. Thanks to Uptalent, we’ve been able to take on more projects, scale quickly, and continue to grow without the financial strain of hiring locally.” – Corry Morris, Principal of Morris Originals

Corry Morris
Principal of Morris Originals

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Morris Originals Transforms Its Architecture Department with Uptalent

Morris Originals grew its architectural team with Uptalent.io, cutting staffing costs by over 50% while bringing in skilled remote professionals to handle design, Revit modeling, and 3D renderings.