International design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman and California-based firm Dougherty are pleased to announce the intent to merge their practices. The merger will significantly build upon the established practices—particularly K12 and higher education design—of both firms and diversify their combined expertise, particularly in California. The combined firm will total over 1000 employees, adding enhanced resources, client value, and opportunities for employees. The merger is planned to be effective May 1, 2018.
Erich Burkhart FAIA, Executive Director and Managing Principal of Perkins Eastman’s San Francisco office, says, “Perkins Eastman has had a longstanding commitment to expand on the West Coast. Dougherty’s respected and highly-regarded architectural design practice here in California naturally aligns with Perkins Eastman’s plan to diversify the firm’s expertise in the region, enhancing our client relationships, and providing growth opportunities for our valued employees.”
Betsey Olenick Dougherty FAIA, LEED AP, Dougherty’s founding principal, furthers: “The merger of Dougherty with Perkins Eastman represents the perfect alliance of a highly respected international design firm with a regional hands-on studio. Both firms share a common cultural commitment to personal service, quality, technology advancement, sustainability, and community-based quality of life projects.”
Both firms were founded with similar beliefs—that architecture can have a direct and positive impact on people’s lives, achieved through close collaboration with the client and community. In particular, the award-winning K-12 and higher education portfolios of both firms reflect a commitment to the planning and design of high-performance environments that enhance educational outcomes for students and function as the centers of their communities. The merger will strategically position the combined firm to better address the requirements—and opportunities—of 21st-century high-performance educational and other civic environments.
Related Stories
Government Buildings | Jul 13, 2023
The recently opened U.S. Embassy in Ankara reflects U.S. values while honoring Turkish architecture
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) has recently opened the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. The design by Ennead Architects aims to balance transparency and openness with security, according to a press statement. The design also seeks both to honor Turkey’s architectural traditions and to meet OBO’s goals of sustainability, resiliency, and stewardship.
Affordable Housing | Jul 12, 2023
Navigating homelessness with modular building solutions
San Francisco-based architect Chuck Bloszies, FAIA, SE, LEED AP, discusses his firm's designs for Navigation Centers, temporary housing for the homeless in northern California.
Sponsored | Fire and Life Safety | Jul 12, 2023
Fire safety considerations for cantilevered buildings [AIA course]
Bold cantilevered designs are prevalent today, as developers and architects strive to maximize space, views, and natural light in buildings. Cantilevered structures, however, present a host of challenges for building teams, according to José R. Rivera, PE, Associate Principal and Director of Plumbing and Fire Protection with Lilker.
Building Owners | Jul 12, 2023
Building movement: When is it a problem?
As buildings age, their structural conditions can deteriorate, causing damage and safety concerns. In order to mitigate this, it’s important to engage in the regular inspection and condition assessment of buildings for diagnosis.
Mass Timber | Jul 11, 2023
5 solutions to acoustic issues in mass timber buildings
For all its advantages, mass timber also has a less-heralded quality: its acoustic challenges. Exposed wood ceilings and floors have led to issues with excessive noise. Mass timber experts offer practical solutions to the top five acoustic issues in mass timber buildings.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 11, 2023
Converting downtown office into multifamily residential: Let’s stop and think about this
Is the office-to-residential conversion really what’s best for our downtowns from a cultural, urban, economic perspective? Or is this silver bullet really a poison pill?
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 10, 2023
California updates building code for adaptive reuse of office, retail structures for housing
The California Building Standards Commission recently voted to make it easier to convert commercial properties to residential use. The commission adopted provisions of the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) that allow developers more flexibility for adaptive reuse of retail and office structures.
Laboratories | Jul 10, 2023
U.S. Department of Agriculture opens nation’s first biosafety level 4 containment facility for animal disease research
Replacing a seven-decade-old animal disease center, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility includes the nation’s first facility with biosafety containment capable of housing large livestock.
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 6, 2023
The responsibility of adapting historic university buildings
Shepley Bulfinch's David Whitehill, AIA, believes the adaptive reuse of historic university buildings is not a matter of sentimentality but of practicality, progress, and preservation.
Market Data | Jul 5, 2023
Nonresidential construction spending decreased in May, its first drop in nearly a year
National nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.2% in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.06 trillion.
