Dear Architizer Community,
Today is a thrilling day for Architizer, and for me personally. A group of people I respect have decided to join Architizer, and help us achieve our goal of revolutionizing the architecture industry with Architizer.
New investors include leading architects, Bjarke Ingels, J. Mayer H., Wendy Evans Joseph and WORKac, as well as cutting-edge developer Ironstate and Katerra — a startup that is revolutionizing the construction industry. This strategic round includes the participation of Architizer’s existing investors, which include August Capital, Gary Handel and Series A investor SHoP Architects.
In joining Architizer, these new investors are betting on Architizer revolutionizing the way architects choose the products they need for their buildings. Source brings consumer marketplace dynamics to the $100-billion-a-year architectural-product market by introducing pricing transparency, accurate search capabilities and seamless communication between architects and manufacturers. These innovations help architects do their jobs faster and smarter while providing manufacturers the chance to pitch their products to the right architects at the right time.
Bjarke Ingels describes Architizer as “the architecture community of the future. To unleash the power of the profession, architects need to make big moves to change the way we do business. Architizer does exactly that.”
Since launching Architizer in January of 2016, over $3 billion worth of buildings have been uploaded to the platform to execute over $200 million worth of product searches. Architizer counts some of the largest architecture firms in the country as clients — Studio Gang, FXFOWLE, IA Interior Architects and WEISS/MANFREDI — over 100 architecture firms submitting projects worth on average $50M in construction value. We are just as thrilled to be working with some of the largest building-product-manufacturers in the nation, like ASSA ABLOY, Hunter Douglas, Porcelanosa, Herman Miller and Delta Light.
David Barry of Ironstate describes Architizer as “a no-brainer. From the developer’s perspective, we want our architects making product decisions that don’t have to be rethought at every phase of the project. Architizer creates market transparency so that our architects can make smart decisions the first time.”
Today, architects rely on Google and the telephone to find the products they need. Meanwhile, manufacturers use relationship-sales like lunch-and-learns, trade-shows and live-product-demos. The market is inefficient for both sides. By centralizing demand, Architizer gives both sides an accurate snapshot of the market’s needs. This will foment faster product development and cycles of innovation in building products.
There should be no difference between specifying architectural aluminum panels and buying a salad spinner on Amazon. If architects could comparison shop, read colleague reviews and compare products, the building-product-industry would be leaping to innovate. Better products mean better buildings and market transparency is the fastest way to a better future.
So what can you expect from us? Lots of improvements to the platform and a lot more communication from everyone at Architizer to you — our community.
Thank you all for your support. We would be nowhere without our users!
Marc and the team at Architizer
