Williams Design|Build and Williams Construction Management of St. Charles, Ill., announced it has acquired Vasilion Architects of Batavia, Ill. The two firms will now serve as a single source for architecture, design/build, and construction management under the new name Prairie Forge Group. Prairie Forge Group will be led by Thomas M. Tristano as president, David V. Stermetz as vice president and director of construction, and Steven J. Vasilion as director of architecture.
“We have aligned four decades of experience with the expertise of new, innovative team members to further enhance the service offerings we provide to our clients,” said Tristano. “The acquisition of Vasilion Architects was a natural step in our evolution. As we build upon our past resources and success, we remain focused on the core values upon which we established our firm decades ago – quality, people, and service.”
Prairie Forge Group is headquartered in St. Charles, with an office in Kansas City, Mo. The firm provides owners and clients throughout the Midwest region with innovative, timely and economical turnkey solutions. Areas of practice include municipal, parks and recreation, healthcare, commercial, multifamily, historic preservation, and religious and education sectors.
“Regardless of complexity, Prairie Forge Group works to serve as the project advocate from beginning to end,” said Stermetz. “While each project is addressed individually and solutions are tailored to job specifics, one thing remains consistent across the board: we serve our clients efficiently and effectively.”
Prairie Forge Group's completed projects include the Lake Forest Municipal Services Facility in Lake Forest, Ill.; St. Charles Fire Station No. 1; the Schwiebert Riverfront Park in Rock Island, Ill.; and the Bob & Edna Meadows Regional Cancer Care Center at St. Joseph Provena Hospital in Elgin, Ill. The firm has also completed projects for many park districts, recreation departments and municipalities throughout the state of Illinois.
“I am eager to join forces with Tom Tristano and his team,” said Vasilion. “Their vast knowledge and construction expertise is a tremendous resource. I believe in design|build and am thrilled to join forces on this new adventure.” +
Related Stories
| May 6, 2011
Ellerbe Becket now operating as AECOM
*/ The architecture, interiors and engineering firm Ellerbe Becket, which joined AECOM in 2009, has fully transitioned to operating as AECOM as of May 2, 2011.
| May 2, 2011
URS acquires Apptis Holdings, a federal IT service provider
SAN FRANCISCO, CA and CHANTILLY, VA– April 28, 2011 – URS Corporation and Apptis Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of information technology and communications services to the federal government, announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which URS will acquire Apptis.
| May 2, 2011
Perkins+Will merges with Vermeulen Hind Architects, offically launches Perkins+Will Canada
Ottawa and Hamilton-based Vermeulen Hind Architects, one of Canada’s leading healthcare architectural firms, has merged with Perkins+Will. Vermeulen Hind joins Toronto-based Shore Tilbe Perkins+Will and Vancouver-based Busby Perkins+Will to create Perkins+Will Canada. The combination marks the official launch of Perkins+Will Canada, a merge that will establish the firm as among the pre-eminent interdisciplinary design practices in Canada.
| Apr 26, 2011
Ed Mazria on how NYC can achieve carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030
The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects invited Mr. Mazria to present a keynote lecture to launch its 2030 training program. In advance of that lecture, Jacob Slevin, co-founder of DesignerPages.com and a contributor to The Huffington Post, interviewed Mazria about creating a sustainable vision for the future and how New York City's architects and designers can rise to the occasion.
| Apr 26, 2011
Video: Are China's ghost cities a bubble waiting to burst?
It's estimated that 10 new cities are being built in China every year, but many are virtually deserted. Retail space remains empty and hundreds of apartments are vacant, but the Chinese government is more concerned with maintaining economic growth—and building cities is one way of achieving that goal.
| Apr 25, 2011
Earn $300 million by NOT hiring Frank Gehry
An Iowa philanthropist and architecture aficionado—who wishes to remain anonymous—is offering a $300 million “reward” to any city anywhere in the world that’s brave enough to hire someone other than Frank Gehry to design its new art museum.
| Apr 20, 2011
Marketing firm Funtion: to host “Construct. Build. Evolve.”
Function:, an integrated marketing agency that specializes in reaching the architecture, building and design community, is hosting an interactive art event, “Construct. Build. Evolve.” in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park on Thursday April 21, 2011 at 11:00AM EDT. During the event attendees will be asked to answer the question, “how would you build the future?” to rouse dialogue and discover fresh ideas for the future of the built environment.
| Apr 20, 2011
Architecture Billings Index: new projects inquiry index up significantly from February
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the March ABI score was 50.5, a negligible decrease from a reading of 50.6 the previous month. This score reflects a modest increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 58.7, up significantly from a mark of 56.4 in February.
| Apr 19, 2011
What are the 15 most-watched construction and engineering stocks?
According to Motley Fool, a multimedia financial services company, the most-watched construction and engineering stock is Fluor (NYSE: FLR), which ranks #1 on BD+C’s Giants 300 engineering list with $1.994 billion in revenue in 2009. Check out the 14 other most-watched A/E stocks.