Potatisåkern, Malmö, Sweden, Moore Ruble Yudell, photo by Lars Finnström.
As one of the two lead partners of Santa Monica-based Moore Ruble Yudell, John Ruble details the practices introduced in his 40-person firm that directly affect how and where his time is spent. During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics MRY implemented an 80-hour/9-day office schedule, which allows the partners and staff to be free every other Friday. Ruble acknowledges that people may still work all or part of their days off, but the plan is popular and (because traffic abates one day a week) blessed by the EPA. Currently Ruble and his partner, Buzz Yudell, are exploring ways of elevating the roles of several of the senior staff. This would satisfy a growing need for MRY’s global clients to work closely with key team members. which in turn would give the partners more time in the office to direct the design effort. Ruble recalls a fairly grueling schedule that, in the past. had him seeing clients out of the office, out of the state and out of the country at least half the time. He notes that while technological means are aimed at reducing the need to communicate in person, the particular work culture of MRY’s clients most often determines how, and in what form, design ideas are transmitted. For example, clients in Germany expect real contact-a demand that is partly fulfilled by local associates with long-term relationships with MRY. In these cases, Ruble and team confer with their European colleagues by e-mail, phone and fax. MRY clients in Sweden and Australia, on the other hand, work in a system that is accepting of multiple modes of conversation, including video conferencing. A strategy favored by Ruble is having international clients come to Santa Monica for work sessions, which he feels adds to the spirit and depth of the collaboration. His recent decision to travel less and design more coincided with the birth of a baby. Increasingly, a typical day finds John Ruble working in the office.
Originally published in early 2000, in arcCA 00.1, “Zoning Time.”
