Recognizing a decade of sustainability, conservation efforts
Making a difference
September 23, 2024
GREEN BAY – For the past 25 years, Dimension IV – an architectural and planning firm headquartered in downtown Green Bay – has strived to design in a manner that produces sustainable communities and creative spaces.
Supported by the decades-long expertise of owner Dan Roarty and the knowledge of its eight-plus-member team, Dimension IV provides services in the areas of architecture, planning, sustainability and economic development – approaching every project from a variety of perspectives.
“Having more than 75 years of experience to draw upon, we excel at projects that require creative thinking,” Roarty said.
Twists and turns
When an opportunity to purchase a firm he was working at with a few other architects didn’t pan out how he had hoped, Roarty said he moved on to other opportunities.
“One thing I was adamant about was a longer transition period between when the (previous owner) left and when we had complete control over the company, and we couldn’t overcome that – so, I left,” he said.
Roarty said this decision led him to a position with a general contractor.
“Completely different profession, a completely different way of doing things,” he said. “My intention was to be there for about three years and then open my own company. That was a way to assure all parties (from my previous employer) that I was not out taking projects, that I was really separating myself and letting some time pass between when I was there and when I started my own company.”
Roarty said “strangely or ironically – however you want to look at it,” things started to fall into place.
“The owner of the construction company and myself got to the point and said, ‘is it time?’” he said. “At that point, I felt good about my distance from the previous company. He was happy that I accomplished what he asked me to do.”
When he made the leap in opening Dimension IV, Roarty said his former construction company boss allowed him to bring with him three projects he had already been cultivating during his time there as a way of kick-starting his company.
“So that was our foundation – that’s how we got started,” he said.
Evolving with industry changes
Since Dimension IV’s inception, Roarty said it has been a mission for the firm to involve itself in a project its team has never touched before.
“We really have done that,” he said. “We’re not changing away from that, necessarily, but after 25 years, you’ve tackled 21-22 different project types, so it’s a little bit more challenging to find a project that we haven’t done before.”
Roarty said looking back that probably wasn’t the best way to start a company – “you don’t have enough experience yet – ‘well, you’ve only done one project like that or you’ve only done three projects like that.’”
“But fast forward through a history of 25 years, now it’s not an obstacle anymore,” he said. “We’re struggling to keep up with the workload (today).”
Roarty said the consistent stream of work prompted Dimension to add to its team – welcoming two new staff members within the last few months.
Roarty said his career doesn’t go back as far as linen and ink, “but I did work with mylar and lead pencils.”
“For many people who are familiar with the various things, there was something called a pencil pointer and a lead holder,” he said. “The lead holder looked like a wooden pencil, but it was made of metal. The end of it had a push button that, as you push the button down, the claws at the other end open up, and that allowed you to slide the lead in. Then you let the lead slide out to where you needed it to draw.”
If the pencil wasn’t sharp enough, Roarty said, “you put it in a pencil pointer.”
“That was a heavy round device that sat on your desk so that you could spin the pencil in it without knocking it over or anything,” he said. “It had cone-shaped sandpaper inside, and you adjusted the top to set the angle of the pencil – and you just spun it around in there a few times when you needed to (adjust the pencil’s sharpness).”
Lead pencils, Roarty said, also meant erasers and erasing shields.
“We also had power erasers – my kids loved them,” he said. “The erasing shields allowed you to cover up some of the work, but only erase the work you needed to.”
When architects wanted to make a copy of the design – “I’m old enough or young enough, however, you want to look at it” – Roarty said, they utilized an ammonia process.
“When we exposed mylar with the lines and you ran it through a (special) light, that light would erase or take away (everything), except for the shadows that were created by the line,” he said. “Then when you ran it through the blueprint machine – (and exposed it to the ammonia) – you would end with a blueprint. Eventually, you started using big printers with color jets or toners that print out color copies of your drawings.”
Those aspects of the industry, Roarty said, have completely disappeared and won’t ever be a part of it again – “but those are the tools I started with.”
With the introduction of technology and electronic programs, Roarty said you can save, write over or add another layer easily.
It’s all in the details
From strategic planning and building analysis to project implementation and construction administration, Roarty said Dimension IV is involved in projects from beginning to end.
The four main areas of Dimension IV’s focus, he said, are architecture, planning, sustainability and economic development.
Under each of those umbrellas, Roarty said, are deeper areas of focus, including:
- Architecture – space studies, sketches/perspectives/models, educational, recreational, historic preservation/restoration, government, urban redevelopment, commercial, religious and construction administration
- Planning – visioning, stakeholder participation, needs analysis, site analysis/selection/acquisition, zoning, comprehensive plans, urban development, master plan/master development, design guidelines and implementation
- Sustainability – green specifications/material research, site/location analysis, future consideration/options, energy modeling/building analysis, customized workshops/trainings, green analysis/assessments, LEED® consultation/project management, LEED® certification/application and salvage/recycling management
- Economic development – business planning, programming, growth/expansion development, site analysis, image development, financing consultation, grant writing, strategic planning and business recruitment
Over the past 25 years, Roarty said “so many projects” have stuck with him – ones such as the Green Bay Botanical Garden in Green Bay; St. John’s the Baptist Church in Howard; the community pavilion project in Sister Bay; a variety of On Broadway, Inc. projects; and the Hamilton Community House project in Two Rivers.
“We’ve enjoyed the restaurant projects we’ve done – we’ve learned a lot about restaurant work,” he said. “We’ve enjoyed our small retail shop projects we’ve done.”
Being located in Green Bay’s Broadway District, Roarty said was a strategic decision – partly due to its vast array of lunch spots.
“It meant that we could have a business here and be part of something viable, growing and local,” he said. “I could also take the client anywhere I wanted to, and I would never have to worry about what they want to eat. We could get Japanese, Thai, burgers, fine food – we have some of the top restaurants in Green Bay here.”
Visions for the future
Abraham Ploeger, an architect with Dimension IV, said his favorite part of his job is taking clients’ ideas to the next level.
“They might come to you as a set of parts, and you come back to them with a whole that the value of the whole vastly exceeds the sum of the parts that they gave you,” he said. “They might come to you with an initial idea… and you take that idea and give them what they wanted, but in a better way than they could have envisioned.”
With Dimension IV for the past three years, Ploeger said the plan for the next generation of the firm will likely be in his hands.
“As Dan sees a path toward (retirement) – maybe someday we’ll let him leave – I think he sees me as his protege,” Ploeger said. “I have a minority ownership in the company now, and that will grow as the years go.”
Ploeger said the plan is to also continue to build Dimension IV’s team.
“We are very busy,” he said.
Roarty said the firm will continue to work with its existing clients and facilities – “changing them, bringing them up to date, morphing them into something new or reinvigorating them into something new.”
“We continue to see ourselves working with assembly projects – those would be churches, community buildings, the things that people rally around,” he said. “We’ll continue to do single-family homes, custom design. We hope we continue to advance, add projects that we’ve never done before, and in that vein – some different ideas are in play right now.”
