Southfield, Mich.-based architectural firm Harley Ellis Devereaux (HED) is joining forces with Deems Lewis McKinley (DLM), a 57-year-old architecture and engineering services firm headquartered in San Franicisco.
The merger, whose terms were not disclosed, is expected to strengthen HED’s presence in the K-12 and Community Education markets, where DLM has established itself as a recognized leader. (Its tagline is “Improving Education through Design,” and 95% of its clients are educational institutions.)
Among its featured projects in that sector is the Bay Farm Elementary School in the Alameda (Calif.) Unified School District, whose eight-acre campus is surrounded on three sides by single-family residences, and adjoined by a five-acre city park. DLM also designed the new 44,000-sf Susan B. Anthony School in Daly City, Calif., which resembles a modern version of a red brick schoolhouse.
This merger expands HED’s presence in California’s Bay Area and Sacramento, DLM’s two primary markets. Prior to this agreement, HED had been managing its accounts and projects in Northern California mostly out of its office in Los Angeles, according to a company spokesperson. Next month, DLM’s staff in San Francisco will relocate to HED’s San Francisco office, which is currently being enlarged. DLM’s employees working out of its Sacramento office will stay there.
“We are looking forward to merging the talents of our two teams and are excited to be part of a very talented studio with deep resources,” says Wallace B. (Wally) Gordon, AIA, LEED AP, President and Chief Executive Officer of DLM, who is staying stay on with HED along with DLM’s principals and senior associates. The one person working in DLM’s office in San Diego—where the firm was founded—will now work from HED’s 20-person office in that city.
Prior to this agreement, HED had 380 employees working from offices in Chicago, Detroit, L.A., San Diego, and San Francisco.
Related Stories
Retail Centers | Aug 10, 2015
Walgreens’ flagship in Hawaii harkens back to the island’s fishing culture
A house where canoes were made served as the model for this drug superstore’s design.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
GOVERNMENT SECTOR GIANTS: Public sector spending even more cautiously on buildings
AEC firms that do government work say their public-sector clients have been going smaller to save money on construction projects, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
K-12 SCHOOL SECTOR GIANTS: To succeed, school design must replicate real-world environments
Whether new or reconstructed, schools must meet new demands that emanate from the real world and rapidly adapt to different instructional and learning modes, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
MULTIFAMILY AEC GIANTS: Slowdown prompts developers to ask: Will the luxury rentals boom hold?
For the last three years, rental apartments have occupied the hot corner in residential construction, as younger people gravitated toward renting to be closer to urban centers and jobs. But at around 360,000 annual starts, multifamily might be peaking, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
UNIVERSITY SECTOR GIANTS: Collaboration, creativity, technology—hallmarks of today’s campus facilities
At a time when competition for the cream of the student/faculty crop is intensifying, colleges and universities must recognize that students and parents are coming to expect an education environment that foments collaboration, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
RECONSTRUCTION AEC GIANTS: Restorations breathe new life into valuable older buildings
AEC Giants discuss opportunities and complications associated with renovation, restoration, and adaptive reuse construction work.
BIM and Information Technology | Aug 6, 2015
After refueling its capital tank, WeWork acquires BIM consultant Case
The merger is expected to help standardize how WeWork designs and builds out office space.
Giants 400 | Aug 6, 2015
BIM GIANTS: Robotic reality capture, gaming systems, virtual reality—AEC Giants continue tech frenzy
Given their size, AEC Giants possess the resources and scale to research and test the bevy of software and hardware solutions on the market. Some have created internal innovation labs and fabrication shops to tinker with emerging technologies and create custom software tools. Others have formed R&D teams to test tech tools on the job site.
Giants 400 | Aug 6, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 115 Healthcare Architecture Firms
HDR, Stantec, and Perkins+Will top Building Design+Construction's 2015 ranking of the largest healthcare architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
Giants 400 | Aug 6, 2015
HEALTHCARE AEC GIANTS: Hospital and medical office construction facing a slow but steady recovery
Construction of hospitals and medical offices is expected to shake off its lethargy in 2015 and recover modestly over the next several years, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.