Growth-minded AEC firm CannonDesign announced this morning that it will merge with Denver-based Bennett Wagner Grody Architects (BWG), a 28-year AE firm with portfolio strengths in the K-12, Higher Education, and healthcare sectors.
This alliance gives CannonDesign its first office in Colorado, and represents its second acquisition within the past few months. In September, Cannon announced that it was joining forces with Houston-based design firm FKP, whose expertise extends to healthcare, science and technology.
CannonDesign did not disclose the terms of its agreement with BWG. But Brad Lukanic, AIA, who took over as CannonDesign’s CEO 15 months ago, indicated that this deal is part of his 102-year-old company’s larger ambitions to expand by linking with strategic partners. “We’re in the mode of looking at how our practice is evolving,” he tells BD+C. “The two recent mergers are key steps” in CannonDesign’s growth framework, and are expected to help the company expand its position in the education and S+T sectors.
Brad Lukanic, CannonDesign's CEO, says his company intends to continue growing organically and through mergers with strategic partners. Image: courtesy of CannonDesign
Don Grody, AIA, a founding partner at BWG, says that about a year ago his firm started thinking about its future within a consolidating AE industry, too. It concluded that prosperity hinged on locating the right partner firm. He says the company worked up a list of 200 AE firms, and targeted 20 of them with an information piece about BWG. “CannonDesign was one of the firms that responded positively to BWG as well as to the Colorado market.”
Grody says the merger “allows us to harness new services and expertise to help our clients leverage the built environment to improve performance and create stronger futures. It gives us a very distinct perspective in the industry.”
CannonDesign has coveted a bigger presence in Denver “for a very long time,” says Lukanic. BWG’s recent projects in the state include Colorado State University’s Behavioral Sciences Building, Colorado Mesa University’s Engineering Building, and numerous projects with Kaiser Permanente. CannonDesign’s work in Colorado includes the renovation and expansion of the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Student Recreation Center, the expansion of the University of Colorado Hospital’s Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion, and the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Holaday Athletic Center.
Don Grody, one of BWG's founding principals, is in charge of innovation, quality planing, and excellence at his firm. Image: courtesy of CannonDesign
BWG’s management team, including its three principals, is staying on with the company. BWG will operate as Bennett Wagner Grody Architects | CannonDesign, and while its brand will eventually disappear, that transition process “could be fairly long,” predicts Lukanic, because Cannon Design doesn’t want to lose any of BWG’s marketing cachet.
Once its merger with BWG is completed, CannonDesign will have nearly 1,000 employees working in 19 offices in North America and abroad.
As for future expansion, Lukanic says CannonDesign is tracking markets where populations are growing and where its core business sectors are strong. He points specifically to Texas as an area where the firm wants to be a bigger player, and to construction services as an area for potential increased business.
He says that CannonDesign is also looking at “a few key international markets” for expansion, both within and outside of North America.
Lukanic believes that, by operating multiple offices, CannonDesign has a better shot at attracting and retaining the “emerging leaders” it will need to be successful in the future. Its geographic diversity “gives our people more lifestyle options.”
Related Stories
Architects | Jul 19, 2022
Perkins Eastman Bolsters Its Dallas Studio with 5 Dynamic New Principals
Seasoned staff bring talent, experience, and enthusiasm to expand firm.
Energy-Efficient Design | Jul 19, 2022
All is not lost: 3 ways architects can respond to the Supreme Court’s EPA ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants dealt a significant blow to our ability to fight the climate crisis with federal policy.
Office Buildings | Jul 19, 2022
Austin adaptive reuse project transforms warehouse site into indoor-outdoor creative office building
Fifth and Tillery, an adaptive reuse project, has revitalized a post-industrial site in East Austin, Texas.
Women in Design+Construction | Jul 18, 2022
Registration is open for BD+C's 2022 Women in Design+Construction Conference
Join your AEC industry peers in Chicago, September 26-28, 2022, for the 7th annual Women in Design+Construction Conference, hosted by the BD+C editorial team and the 35-person WIDC Advisory Board.
Airports | Jul 18, 2022
FAA will award nearly $1 billion for airport projects
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award nearly $1 billion to 85 airports of all sizes across the country to improve terminals.
Building Team | Jul 18, 2022
Understanding the growing design-build market
FMI’s new analysis of the design-build market forecast for the next fives years shows that this delivery method will continue to grow, despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mixed-Use | Jul 18, 2022
Mixed-use development outside Prague uses a material made from leftover bricks
Outside Prague, the Sugar Factory, a mixed-used residential development with public space, marks the largest project to use the sustainable material Rebetong.
Building Team | Jul 15, 2022
ABC: Construction materials prices increased in June, up 20% from a year ago
Construction input prices increased 1.9% in June compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today.
Arenas | Jul 15, 2022
U. of Oregon renovation aims for ‘finest track and field facility in the world’
The renovation of the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field had the goal of creating the “finest track and field facility in the world.”
Building Team | Jul 14, 2022
ABC’s construction backlog inches lower in June; Contractor confidence falters
Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator fell 0.1 months in June and stands at 8.9 months, according to an ABC member survey conducted June 21 to July 5.