Sasaki Associates has acquired Concord, Mass.-based planning and design firm Sgarzi Associates. Founded in 2003 by Chris Sgarzi, Sgarzi Associates has developed a strong reputation for their programming, planning, and design of sports, recreation, and student life facilities throughout the Northeast. Sgarzi’s expertise and existing client relationships will further enhance Sasaki’s nationally-recognized sports design practice. He will serve as a principal at Sasaki and will work with firm leaders in both its Boston and San Francisco offices.
Sasaki has also added Stephen Sefton to the sports design studio as senior associate. Stephen joins the firm most recently from Ellerbe Becket / AECOM where he served as a senior sports designer in their San Francisco office. He brings to the Sasaki team over 16 years of dedicated experience in the design of sports facilities, including a focus in large-scale spectator buildings such as stadia and arenas.
The merger with Sasaki offers Sgarzi Associates’ clients access to a greater depth of resources and a wide range of collaborative, interdisciplinary services—although they will still experience the same commitment to service, innovation, and excellence in design to which they are accustomed. “I enjoy getting to know my clients and learning about their unique campus cultures and traditions,” says Sgarzi. “Helping them achieve and exceed their aspirations for their built environment is very rewarding. As part of Sasaki, I can offer them the benefits of comprehensive services and a truly collaborative approach to institutional sports planning and design.”
The acquisition also signifies a homecoming for Sgarzi. Prior to founding his own firm, Sgarzi was a senior associate and associate director of Sasaki’s sports design studio. While Sasaki and its sports practice have progressed considerably in the interim decade, the firm’s dedication to collaboration and delivering context-specific solutions to their client’s unique problems has remained constant.
A selected list of the studio’s current and recent projects include a new field house at Middlebury College, the expansion and renovation of the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex at Stonehill College, a new athletic center and student life facility at the College of the Holy Cross, the Harold Alfond Athletics Complex at the University of New England, a study for a track and lacrosse facility at the University of Michigan, a new Student Recreation Facility at Arizona State University in Tempe, and the Welcome Center and Ice Arena at Plymouth State Universityin New Hampshire. BD+C
Related Stories
| Oct 16, 2014
Must see: Illustrator interprets iconic windows concocted by renowned architects
Graphic designer Federico Babina has made a name for himself when it comes to art inspired by architecture, or more accurately, art inspired by architecture that's inspired by other forms of art.
| Oct 16, 2014
Henning Larsen Architects to design train station for planned Danish town
Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects won Frederikssung municipality’s architecture competition for a regional train station in the planned city of Vinge—Denmark’s largest urban development.
| Oct 16, 2014
Report: How to keep public libraries relevant in a digital age
Public libraries will avoid being relegated to the scrap heap of history in a digital age as long as they continue to serve as platforms for learning, creativity, and innovation that strengthen their communities, according to a new Aspen Institute report.
Sponsored | | Oct 16, 2014
Drilling deeper: The booming Bakken Shale region
The Bakken Shale region, which spans from central North Dakota to the northeastern corner of Montana, is rapidly growing as a result of the oil and gas boom. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 16, 2014
Germany to commemorate Berlin Wall anniversary with 10-mile LED 'balloon' installation
The project, named Lichtgrenze (or Border of Light), makes for a colossal art installation dividing Berlin back to East and West. Eight thousand LED light-filled balloons, each 11 feet high, will line the path.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
Sponsored | | Oct 16, 2014
Mill Brook Elementary School colors outside the lines with creative fire-rated framing solution
Among the building elements contributing to the success of the elementary school’s public learning areas is a fire-rated stairwell that supports the school’s vision for collaboration. HMFH Architects designed the stairwell to be bright and open, reflecting the playful energy of students. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 15, 2014
Drones may soon assist code inspectors for construction in the UAE
The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Labour announced that they will start using drones to help inspectors record when construction sites are breaking laws.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 15, 2014
Final touches make 432 Park Avenue tower second tallest in New York City
Concrete has been poured for the final floors of the residential high-rise at 432 Park Avenue in New York City, making it the city’s second-tallest building and the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere.
