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
| Aug 25, 2022
New York City’s congestion pricing aims to reduce traffic, cut carbon
Officials recently released an environmental assessment that analyzes seven different possible pricing schemes for New York City’s congestion pricing program.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Aug 24, 2022
Solutions for cladding performance and supply issues
This course covers design considerations and cladding assembly choices for creating high-performance building envelopes — a crucial element in healthy, energy-efficient buildings.
| Aug 24, 2022
California’s investment in ‘community schools’ could transform K-12 education
California has allocated $4.1-billion to develop ‘community schools’ that have the potential to transform K-12 education.
| Aug 24, 2022
Architecture Billings Index slows but remains healthy
For the eighteenth consecutive month architecture firms reported increasing demand for design services in July, according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).
| Aug 23, 2022
New Mass. climate and energy law allows local bans on fossil fuel-powered appliances
A sweeping Massachusetts climate and energy bill recently signed into law by Republican governor Charlie Baker allows local bans on fossil fuel-powered appliances.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 100 Science + Technology Facility Architecture + AE Firms 2022
HDR, Flad Architects, Gensler, and DGA top the rankings of the nation's largest science and technology (S+T) facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 85 Laboratory Facility Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Flad Architects, HDR, DGA, and Payette top the ranking of the nation's largest science and technology (S+T) laboratory facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 85 University Engineering + EA Firms for 2022
AECOM, Jacobs, Salas O'Brien, and IMEG head the ranking of the nation's largest university sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 150 University Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Gensler, CannonDesign, SmithGroup, and Perkins and Will top the ranking of the nation's largest university sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
| Aug 22, 2022
Gainesville, Fla., lawmakers moved to end single-family zoning
The Gainesville City Commission recently voted to advance zoning changes that would allow duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes to be built on land currently zoned for single-family homes.