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
Design Innovation Report | Apr 27, 2023
BD+C's 2023 Design Innovation Report
Building Design+Construction’s Design Innovation Report presents projects, spaces, and initiatives—and the AEC professionals behind them—that push the boundaries of building design. This year, we feature four novel projects and one building science innovation.
Mixed-Use | Apr 27, 2023
New Jersey turns a brownfield site into Steel Tech, a 3.3-acre mixed-use development
In Jersey City, N.J., a 3.3-acre redevelopment project called Steel Tech will turn a brownfield site into a mixed-use residential high-rise building, a community center, two public plazas, and a business incubator facility. Steel Tech received site plan approval in recent weeks.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 27, 2023
Watch: Specifying materials in multifamily housing projects
A trio of multifamily housing experts discusses trends in materials in their latest developments. Topics include the need to balance aesthetics and durability, the advantages of textured materials, and the benefits of biophilia.
AEC Tech Innovation | Apr 27, 2023
Does your firm use ChatGPT?
Is your firm having success utilizing ChatGPT (or other AI chat tools) on your building projects or as part of your business operations? If so, we want to hear from you.
Concrete Technology | Apr 24, 2023
A housing complex outside Paris is touted as the world’s first fully recycled concrete building
Outside Paris, Holcim, a Swiss-based provider of innovative and sustainable building solutions, and Seqens, a social housing provider in France, are partnering to build Recygénie—a 220-unit housing complex, including 70 social housing units. Holcim is calling the project the world’s first fully recycled concrete building.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 21, 2023
Arlington County, Va., eliminates single-family-only zoning
Arlington County, a Washington, D.C., community that took shape in the 1950s, when single-family homes were the rule in suburbia, recently became one of the first locations on the East Coast to eliminate single-family-only zoning.
Architects | Apr 21, 2023
Architecture billings improve slightly in March
Architecture firms reported a modest increase in March billings. This positive news was tempered by a slight decrease in new design contracts according to a new report released today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA). March was the first time since last September in which billings improved.
Green | Apr 21, 2023
Top 10 green building projects for 2023
The Harvard University Science and Engineering Complex in Boston and the Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis are among the AIA COTE Top Ten Awards honorees for 2023.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 19, 2023
Austin’s historic Rainey Street welcomes a new neighbor: a 48-story mixed-used residential tower
Austin’s historic Rainey Street is welcoming a new neighbor. The Paseo, a 48-story mixed-used residential tower, will bring 557 apartments and two levels of retail to the popular Austin entertainment district, known for houses that have been converted into bungalow bars and restaurants.
Design Innovation Report | Apr 19, 2023
Reinforced concrete walls and fins stiffen and shade the National Bank of Kuwait skyscraper
When the National Bank of Kuwait first conceived its new headquarters more than a decade ago, it wanted to make a statement about passive design with a soaring tower that could withstand the extreme heat of Kuwait City, the country’s desert capital.
