Business Building: The History of RAI

The history of every company is unique. Everyone has their own back story, and the same can be said for Rossmann Architecture Inc. (RAI).

In late 2012, Erik Rossmann, the President of RAI, was at a crossroads. He was employed at a place that did not offer the growth he wanted, and he realized that he would have to leave where he was to achieve his long-term goals. In December of 2012, Erik and his wife Sara took a leap of faith and that was the beginning of RAI.

After having designed his parents’ new home, Erik began the company in the spare room of their house, transforming it into a makeshift office. This space was the beginning of his work as an independent architect. As he and Sara worked alone, many projects needed to be completed by reaching out to contractors. This allowed them to gain connections with many and build a network for the company over the next couple years. In 2014, he purchased the “worst” looking house on Boulevard Saint-Joseph and converted it into an office that would allow for the growth of a company, as well as show that RAI was here to make changes and improvements to the community.

Upon opening the office in January 2015, they hired their first few employees and began growing at a steady rate. Several of the employees that were hired ended up being the contractors that they had gained connections within the previous years. By 2016, RAI was no longer just a single architect – it was a growing business.

As the company took on a few employees and work started piling up, the Rossmann’s began discussing what avenues the company would pursue, and how the company would cope with growth and change. They were at the point where many behind the scenes and administrative roles were needed for the operation of the business. The options were to downsize or upsize, but both presented their own challenges and advantages. While downsizing would allow them to handle a smaller workload and remove many stress factors of running a business, to upsize and begin expanding the company would allow operations to be streamlined so that each member of the team could focus on what they do best.

Then came 2020. This was a big year that created some major changes. The choice to grow the company was a difficult one, but they decided to take a chance and began making plans. The Rossmann team made a choice to optimize the “slow” time provided by the 2020 pandemic as it provided the opportunity to restructure the company, and not be concerned about the changes being made at the office level.

While the company continues to expand both upwards and outwards, the seemingly humble beginnings of Rossmann Architecture are where the foundation of their business truly lies and is what all future building is based upon.