The S/L/A/M Collaborative, a leading architectural firm based in Connecticut, expands its footprint to the West Coast and in the healthcare and Higher Ed sectors through its recent merger with Frank Webb Architects, a Los Angeles-based firm with 17 employees.
Frank Webb Architects’ leadership team, led by its president Gregory Coles, AIA, is joining S/L/A/M’s executive team. The company, which was founded in 1990, will operate under The S/L/A/M Collaborative brand.
Healthcare, civic, interiors, and recreation are FWA’s four main sector practices. Its healthcare and education clients have included Kaiser Permanente, the City of Hope, the University of Southern California, and the University of California at Los Angeles.
S/L/A/M, which was founded in 1976 and has nearly 200 employees, ranked 41st among Architecture/Engineering firms on BD+C’s 2018 GIANTS list, with $40.25 million in bookings in that category. The firm’s services include architecture, planning, structural engineering, landscape and interior design, sustainable design, and construction. Its practices include healthcare, education, and corporate and sports facilities.
Robert Pulito, S/L/A/M's president and CEO, sees his company's merger with FWA as having immediate benefits for its healthcare and education practices. Image: The S/L/A/M Collaborative
Prior to this merger, which became effective on September 1, S/L/A/M had offices in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Georgia. Among its more recent projects are the $21.6 million renovation of the 69,000-sf Pierre Toussaint residence hall at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., and the upgrading of public spaces at the UMass Memorial Medical Center’s campus in Worcester, Mass.
S/L/A/M’s president and CEO, Robert Pulito, AIA, tells BD+C that his company had been looking to merge with a West Coast company “for quite a while.” But finding the right cultural fit was difficult. “Many companies have a misconception about their worth. What was good about FWA was that they were not selling to get out. They saw potential for growing their business.”
The untimely death of one of FWA’s top partners made S/L/A/M’s merger proposal more auspicious. And Pulito believed it would be easier to insert S/L/A/M’s higher-ed practice into the west coast by teaming with a partner that was established in that sector.
FWA’s management will continue to run the business from its office in L.A., and Pulito says that S/L/A/M intends to add resources to expand its west coast operations. He notes that FWA “is extremely well organized and managed, so there’s no need for significant changes.”
Gregory Coles, FWA's president, is joining S/L/A/M's executive team. Image: Courtesy of The S/L/A/M Collaborative
The merger with FWA is part of a larger strategy to increase S/L/A/M’s workforce to between 250 and 300 employees over the next few years. Pulito says his company is looking for merger partners in the Midwest and South.
“My biggest concern now is cultural integration,” he says about his company’s growth plans. “We want to lead through inspiration, and by making sure that everybody understands our strategy.”
Related Stories
| Sep 7, 2014
Ranked: Top state government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
PCL Construction, Stantec, and AECOM head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest state government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 7, 2014
Hybrid healthcare: Revamping inefficient inpatient units to revenue-producing outpatient care
It's happening at community hospitals all over America: leadership teams are looking for ways to maintain margins by managing underutilized and non-revenue producing space. GS&P's David Magner explores nontraditional healthcare models.
| Sep 7, 2014
USGBC + American Chemistry Council: Unlikely partners in green building
In this new partnership, LEED will benefit from the materials expertise of ACC and its member companies. We believe this has the potential to be transformational, writes Skanska USA's President and CEO Michael McNally.
| Sep 7, 2014
Behind the scenes of integrated project delivery — successful tools and applications
The underlying variables and tools used to manage collaboration between teams is ultimately the driving for success with IPD, writes CBRE Healthcare's Megan Donham.
| Sep 7, 2014
Ranked: Top military sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Balfour Beatty, Fluor, and HDR top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 5, 2014
First Look: Zaha Hadid's Grace on Coronation towers in Australia
Zaha Hadid's latest project in Australia is a complex of three, tapered residential high-rises that have expansive grounds to provide the surrounding community unobstructed views and access to the town's waterfront.
| Sep 4, 2014
Ranked: Top courthouse sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Fentress Architects, Tutor Perini, and AECOM top BD+C's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from courthouse facilities, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 4, 2014
Hospital CEOs, architects sound off on state of healthcare design
Healthcare construction will continue to feel the effects of radical changes in the delivery of care, according to healthcare leaders attending the annual Summer Leadership Summit of the American College of Healthcare Architects and the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health.
| Sep 4, 2014
Best of education design: 11 projects win AIA CAE architecture awards [slideshow]
The CAE Design Excellence Award honors educational facilities that the jury believes should serve as an example of a superb place in which to learn. Projects range from a design school in Maryland to an elementary school in Washington.
Sponsored | | Sep 4, 2014
Learning by design: Steel curtain wall system blends two school campuses
In this the new facility, middle school and high school classroom wings flank either side of the auditorium and media center. A sleek, glass-and-steel curtain wall joins them together, creating an efficient, shared space. SPONSORED CONTENT