Introduction
Michael Spencer, AIA, Director of Corporate Facilities Design and Services at Lowe's Companies, joins Jack Ossa on The Power of Design Podcast. The two worked together earlier in their careers and have known each other for 11 years.
Michael spent the first 21 years of his career in architecture firms and moved to the owner's side at Lowe's about nine months before the recording. He talks about what changed, how his team works, and what he looks for in design partners.
About the Episode
Michael explains that his group is responsible for around 25 to 30 corporate facilities across the country, including regional offices, contact centers and data centers, and that on the owner's side he is responsible for the total project cost, down to moving services, IT and audiovisual equipment. He says the biggest surprise was being the one the architects ask about program, headcount and workstation sizes.
He describes the team's three focus areas: associate experience, design thinking and technical excellence. He also tells the story of how a childhood love of building things turned into architecture, with an undergraduate degree at Kent State, a graduate degree at UC Berkeley and a first job at an architecture firm in San Francisco in 2000. Jack recalls the high standards of quality and craftsmanship they both learned in their earlier firm.
The conversation turns to the architecture profession. Michael and Jack discuss how services such as test fits are often given away, and Michael explains why he asks his architectural partners to invoice for extra work. They also cover how the pandemic is shaping the return to the office, why Lowe's is introducing a hybrid work model, and how technology and visualization help a design reach the people who approve it.
Key Takeaways
- Owners see the whole cost: the owner's side includes moving, IT and audiovisual costs, not only construction.
- Choose partners for chemistry as well as price: different firms approach problems differently, so the people side weighs heavily in selection.
- Apply design thinking to requests: look for the root of a request and see how to go beyond what was asked.
- Fairness with partners: ask for an invoice when a partner does extra work, so nobody feels undervalued.
- A shared language helps: a facilities team of architects and interior designers speaks the same language as its design partners.
- Visualization sells ideas: designs must be approved by business leaders, so the best visuals for each project matter.
- Embrace ideas early: young architects are full of ideas, and ideas are at a premium.
Highlights from the Conversation
We want to create great associate experiences through the workplace.
Michael Spencer
I tell the team please send me an invoice, keep track of your time and charge us for the hours that you put into that.
Michael Spencer
Anything we can do to better visualize the design is useful to us.
Michael Spencer
Topics Discussed
- Moving from an architecture firm to the owner's side
- Managing corporate facilities and total project cost
- Associate experience, design thinking and technical excellence
- Selecting and working with architects
- Quality, craftsmanship and balance in architecture
- Fair compensation for design services
- Hybrid work and the return to the office
- Technology, BIM and visualization
Why This Conversation Matters
For companies that manage offices, Michael's three priorities, a good employee experience, design thinking and technical quality, are a practical checklist for any workplace project. They match the questions we ask in interior architecture projects such as the BWM Office and the Collet Office, and they show why owners and designers benefit from setting expectations early.
About the Guest
Michael Spencer, AIA, is Director of Corporate Facilities Design and Services at Lowe's Companies, Inc., based at the company's corporate campus in Mooresville, North Carolina. He studied architecture at Kent State University and the University of California, Berkeley, practiced in design firms for 21 years and maintains his architecture license. Connect with him on LinkedIn or see career opportunities at Lowe's.
