On supporting client partnerships through a collaborative design-build delivery process.
Government agencies are navigating structural changes shaped by funding shifts, workforce consolidation, and delivery reform as they reassess their real estate portfolios. To address these challenges, agencies are increasingly adopting design-build models to reduce risk, accelerate schedules, and manage costs.
Michael Anderson, AIA, Principal with HGA’s Government practice, knows the challenging terrain well—and the solutions to help clients move forward. He has provided collaborative team leadership coupled with a keen understanding of client needs since joining the firm in 2013. His work includes secure land ports of entry, government headquarters, courthouses, and administrative buildings, often with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).
In the following, Michael highlights the design value HGA brings to the program—and what inspires him daily.
Michael Anderson
Principal
You have worked with government clients throughout your career. What energizes you about your work?
What energizes me most is the opportunity to create meaningful impact. In partnering with government clients, I am driven by the responsibility and privilege of shaping enduring architecture in the public realm and creating spaces that serve, inspire, and support our communities. Knowing that public spaces can enrich daily life for so many people reinforces a sense of purpose and keeps me deeply engaged in every project.
What new challenges have impacted your approach over the past few years?
Many government agencies are navigating a period of significant consolidation and restructuring, which has introduced new challenges for our active and pending projects. We recognize the uncertainty that this environment presents as we continue to lead with empathy, nimbleness, and purpose. We stand as committed partners that can adapt to evolving project scopes, schedules, and requirements. Our commitment ensures that, no matter how uncertain times are, HGA remains the partner that our clients can trust to successfully deliver their projects.
With budget, speed-to-market, safety, sustainability, and design excellence all impacting success, how do you balance priorities?
Success starts with intentional communication. We encourage our teams to prioritize clear and continuous communication with our partners to provide alignment throughout the project.
Balancing project considerations requires a holistic approach, one where no single consideration takes priority over the others. I lead teams to evaluate each design choice through this integrated lens, ensuring that we deliver solutions that are not only efficient and cost-effective, but are constructable, sustainable, and high quality. Ultimately, it is about driving alignment, making informed decisions, and delivering the best possible solution.
What innovation does HGA bring to the design-build process?
Design-build is fundamentally different from other project delivery methods, demanding a distinct mindset and deliberate philosophical approach. Success requires intentional leadership to move beyond the industry’s default of designer and builder working in silos toward, instead, a collaborative relationship that builds off each other’s strengths. While not all designers are suited to this delivery, our teams at HGA are fortunate to thrive in an environment defined by collaboration and integrated expertise.
For instance, for a current GSA modernization project with our design-build partner Brasfield & Gorrie, we are setting new standards for innovation and collaboration. By incorporating in-person page-turn sessions prior to every design submission to the government, we ensure our entire team is aligned. While this process requires a significant investment of time, it has consistently elevated the quality of our submissions, delivering notable value to both our design-build partner and government client.
Knowing that public spaces can enrich daily life for so many people reinforces a sense of purpose and keeps me deeply engaged in every project.
Michael Anderson
Principal
What are you looking forward to this year?
At the top of my list is the upcoming construction completion of the U.S. Courthouse Fort Lauderdale. This is significant because it is our latest project that meets the GSA Design Excellence program requirements through design-build project delivery. I am also excited about the strategic direction of our government practice and the team’s energy focused on intentional growth. We are adding new team members and expertise, expanding our existing relationships with design-build partners and government agencies, and identifying new opportunities that will move us forward. So, yes, I have much to look forward to this year as we continue to deliver value to our clients.
Learn more about the people and partnerships behind our Government work.