CannonDesign is acquiring and merging with Astorino, a Pittsburgh-based multidisciplinary firm in a deal that strengthens processes, assets, and opportunities for both firms. The merger increases collective capabilities, opens new markets, and enhances value for clients.
The firms cited their close alignment on values, vision, and culture as the foundation of the new relationship—both CannonDesign and Astorino place a premium on design solutions that address unique challenges faced by clients.
“Together, our talented professionals will pursue outcome-based design solutions that optimize our clients’ performance,” commented Gary Miller, Co-Chairman and CEO of CannonDesign. “This merger brings added value and opportunity to both organizations.”
The merger also extends CannonDesign’s presence in the markets Astorino currently serves and positions the firm to expand capabilities into industry innovations for project delivery offering increased choices for clients.
A Design-Led Design-Build division to be managed from the Pittsburgh office will advance innovative methods for project delivery. Louis P. Astorino, Jr., who spearheaded Astorino’s Design Led-Design Build practice group during the last decade, will lead this strategic growth initiative nationwide.
“CannonDesign is a recognized global leader, and we’ve partnered on projects in the past,” said Louis Astorino, Jr., CEO of Astorino. “We are compatible in culture, and complementary in talent, experience and capabilities. This is a superb opportunity for our team to work with CannonDesign’s professionals to expand and innovate.”
While strengthening the firm’s existing focus on healthcare, education, and corporate commercial markets, CannonDesign will gain access to Astorino’s breadth and depth of talent and experience in both standard architectural services as well as innovative processes in research, design, and construction. The firm also will gain access to a valued network of relationships in Pittsburgh and Abu Dhabi, vibrant regions with high growth potential.
Related Stories
| Oct 12, 2010
University of Toledo, Memorial Field House
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Memorial Field House, once the lovely Collegiate Gothic (ca. 1933) centerpiece (along with neighboring University Hall) of the University of Toledo campus, took its share of abuse after a new athletic arena made it redundant, in 1976. The ultimate insult occurred when the ROTC used it as a paintball venue.
| Oct 12, 2010
Owen Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Officials at Michigan State University’s East Lansing Campus were concerned that Owen Hall, a mid-20th-century residence facility, was no longer attracting much interest from its target audience, graduate and international students.
| Oct 12, 2010
Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Gartner Auditorium was originally designed by Marcel Breuer and completed, in 1971, as part of his Education Wing at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Despite that lofty provenance, the Gartner was never a perfect music venue.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cell and Genome Sciences Building, Farmington, Conn.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Administrators at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington didn’t think much of the 1970s building they planned to turn into the school’s Cell and Genome Sciences Building. It’s not that the former toxicology research facility was in such terrible shape, but the 117,800-sf structure had almost no windows and its interior was dark and chopped up.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, Cleveland, Ohio
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. The Cuyahoga County Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument was dedicated on the Fourth of July, 1894, to honor the memory of the more than 9,000 Cuyahoga County veterans of the Civil War.
| Oct 12, 2010
Building 13 Naval Station, Great Lakes, Ill.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt and constructed in 1903, Building 13 is one of 39 structures within the Great Lakes Historic District at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.
| Oct 12, 2010
Full Steam Ahead for Sustainable Power Plant
An innovative restoration turns a historic but inoperable coal-burning steam plant into a modern, energy-efficient marvel at Duke University.
| Oct 12, 2010
From ‘Plain Box’ to Community Asset
The Mid-Ohio Foodbank helps provide 55,000 meals a day to the hungry. Who would guess that it was once a nondescript mattress factory?
| Oct 11, 2010
HGA wins 25-Year Award from AIA Minnesota
HGA Architects and Engineers won a 25-Year Award from AIA Minnesota for the Willow Lake Laboratory.