Ontario, Canada April 28, 2011 – Ottawa and Hamilton (Dundas)-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, celebrated for its focus on civic and recreation architecture, and Vancouver-based Busby Perkins+Will, widely regarded as one of North America’s leading green practices, 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.
“The Vermeulen Hind merger supports our strategy to grow by targeted acquisition, as it represents a pooling of expertise that will bring significant benefits to our global business by establishing a strong healthcare practice in Canada,” said Phil Harrison, Perkins+Will CEO. “The establishment of Perkins+Will Canada provides us with a platform to harness our expertise into a national Canadian practice and combine it with the depth and global reach of the Perkins+Will brand.”
Founded in 1992, Vermeulen Hind has deep experience in designing specialized healthcare facilities, including cancer centers. The firm’s portfolio ranges from smaller, adaptive re-use and restoration projects to larger, multi-phase institutional transformations. Vermeulen Hind, along with Perkins+Will’s current Toronto office, will comprise the Ontario practice of Perkins+Will Canada.
“Each Perkins+Will Canada office shares a common philosophy of design excellence, and combining the knowledge, expertise and resources of our legacy firms will result in one of the strongest and most innovative architecture practices in North America,” said Fred Vermeulen Healthcare Market Sector Leader, Ontario. “By collaborating with our colleagues across Perkins+Will, we will be able to strengthen our offering and better meet the growing needs of our diverse client base.”
About Perkins+Will
Established in 1935, Perkins+Will is an integrated design firm serving clients from offices in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Dubai, Dundas, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Research Triangle Park, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C. The firm practices architecture, interiors, branded environments, planning + strategies, Preservation + Adaptive Reuse, and urban design for clients in the aviation + transit, corporate + commercial + civic, healthcare, higher education, K-12 education, science + technology and Sports + Recreation markets. Perkins+Will routinely ranks among the world’s top design firms and has received hundreds of awards, including the prestigious American Institute of Architects’ “Firm of the Year Award.” Social responsibility has been a driving philosophy at Perkins+Will since the firm’s beginnings in 1935. The firm has committed to the 1% Solution through Public Architecture, promising to donate time pro bono to non-profit organizations in need of design services. With more LEED Accredited Professionals than any design firm in North America, Perkins+Will is recognized as one of the preeminent sustainable design firm in the country. Perkins+Will was the first multi-office company to commit to the 2030 Challenge, in which the firm has pledged that all of their projects be designed to carbon neutrality by the year 2030.
About Vermeulen Hind Architects
Founded in 1992, the firm specializes in cancer center, healthcare and research facility design. The firm provides a full complement of comprehensive services – architecture, interior, urban and landscape design, and master and space planning – across two Ontario offices; one in Dundas and one in Ottawa.
Vermeulen Hind is bound by a common thread – to provide comfortable, healthy and stimulating experiences that celebrate life, promote wellness, contribute positively to community and heighten cultural awareness, all with a high degree of professionalism and social responsibility.
Related Stories
| Apr 5, 2011
Top 10 Buildings: Women in Architecture
Making selections of top buildings this week led to a surprising discovery about the representation of women in architecture, writes Tom Mallory, COO and co-founder, OpenBuildings.com. He discovered that finding female-created architecture, when excluding husband/wife teams, is extremely difficult and often the only work he came across was akin to interior design.
| Apr 5, 2011
What do Chengdu, Lagos, and Chicago have in common?
They’re all “world middleweight cities” that are likely to become regional megacities (10 million people) by 2025—along with Dongguan, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Wuhan (China); Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo); Jakarta (Indonesia); Lahore (Pakistan); and Chennai (India), according to a new report from McKinsey Global Institute: “Urban World: Mapping the economic power of cities”.
| Mar 30, 2011
China's low-carbon future city
In 2005, the Chinese government announced its target to reduce energy consumption per GDP unit by 20% by the year 2010. After a multi-billion investment, that target has been reached. The Chinese Climate Protection Program’s goal to increase energy efficiency, develop renewable energies, and promote energy savings while reducing pollutant emissions and strengthening environmental protection is reflected in the “Future City” by SBA Design.
| Mar 30, 2011
Is the AEC industry at risk of losing its next generation leaders without better mentoring?
After two or three horrifying years for the AEC industry, we are finally seeing the makings of a turnaround. However, data developed by Kermit Baker as part of the AIA Work-on-the-Boards survey program indicates that between 17% and 22% of design firms are eliminating positions for interns and staff with less than six years of experience. This data suggests the industry is at risk of losing a large segment of its next generation of leaders if something isn't done to improve mentoring across the profession.
| Mar 29, 2011
City's design, transit system can ease gas costs
Some cities in the U.S. are better positioned to deal with rising gas prices than others because of their design and transit systems, according to CEOs for Cities, a Chicago-based nonprofit that works to build stronger cities. The key factor: whether residents have to drive everywhere, or have other options.