Two prominent Atlanta-based design firms whose specialties include the hospitality sector are joining forces.
On Jan. 1, The Johnson Studio, which has been in business for more than 25 years and currently has 22 employees, will blend its operations into the Atlanta offices of Cooper Carry, a full-service architectural design firm founded in 1960, with offices in New York and Alexandria, Va., and an international portfolio.
Kevin Cantley, AIA, Carry Cooper’s CEO, says that his firm is one of the top three hotel designers in the country. As such, it has worked with myriad restaurant design firms, including The Johnson Group. “We are delighted to have them work alongside our talented hotel and retail team every day,” Cantley said about the merger.
Bill Johnson, AIA, Senior Principal and Founder of The Johnson Studio—whose first big restaurant design project was a Cheesecake Factory in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood in the early 1990s—is staying on to lead the new business’s restaurant design practice. He will work with Cooper Carry’s seven Hospitality Studio principals.
The Johnson Studio will maintain its own brand. “This collaboration provides a platform for future services that we feel will be unparalleled,” said Johnson in a prepared statement.
According to its website, Cooper Carry has 11 specialty practices. Its services include architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, planning, sustainability consulting, and environmental graphics and wayfinding. The company emphasizes “environmentally responsible design,” as well as “connective architecture” that brings people and buildings within neighborhoods together.
Among its recent hotel design projects are the 1.1 million-sf Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C., the 37,916-sf Sea Pines Plantation Golf Clubhouse in Hilton Head, S.C., and the 613,942-sf Hilton Cleveland Downtown.
Related Stories
| Feb 5, 2014
BIA Opens Entries for 25th Annual Brick in Architecture Awards
Entries open on February 10 for the Brick Industry Association's (BIA) Brick in Architecture Awards. Celebrating its silver anniversary, BIA's annual honors spotlight outstanding, innovative and sustainable architecture that incorporates clay brick products as the predominant exterior building or paving material.
| Feb 5, 2014
Multifamily Housing, Green Building, Market Trends, Innovation to be Prime Topics at MBI’s World of Modular
More than 600 developers, contractors, architects, builders, dealers and equipment/service suppliers are expected at the event, slated for March 21-24 in San Antonio, Texas, and hosted by the Modular Building Institute.
| Feb 5, 2014
7 towers that define the 'skinny skyscraper' boom [slideshow]
Recent advancements in structural design, combined with the loosening of density and zoning requirements, has opened the door for the so-called "superslim skyscraper."
| Feb 4, 2014
World's fifth 'living building' certified at Smith College [slideshow]
The Bechtel Environmental Classroom utilizes solar power, composting toilets, and an energy recovery system, among other sustainable strategies, to meet the rigorous performance requirements of the Living Building Challenge.
| Feb 4, 2014
Must see: Student housing complex made with recycled shipping containers
Architect Christian Salvati's new structure is just the first step in bringing shipping container construction to New Haven, Conn.
| Feb 3, 2014
Gehry wins bid to design Berlin's tallest tower [slideshow]
The architect's "rotating cubes" scheme for the 300-unit residential tower beat out design submissions by eight other prominent firms, including Adjaye Associates and David Chipperfield Architects.
| Jan 31, 2014
Trump Hotel Collections announces luxury hotel for Rio de Janeiro
The 13-story, 171-guestroom Trump Rio will be Trump Hotel Collection’s first property in South America and the only luxury hotel in the neighborhood when it opens in 2016.
| Jan 31, 2014
LEGO, Google partner to develop 3D modeling tool for LEGO structures
The free tool, called Build, allows Chrome users to create virtual 3D structures using any shape and color in the LEGO catalog.
| Jan 31, 2014
Ultra-modern McDonald's restaurant voted one of world's best new buildings
This McDonald's, which is combined with a fuel station and recreation areas, was awarded the Best Commercial Building of the Year by architecture website ArchDaily.
| Jan 31, 2014
6 considerations for rehabbing student union buildings
Most colleges and universities feel pressure to offer the latest amenities in order to attract and retain the best and brightest students. While hauling in the bulldozer to create modern facilities is attractive in some regards, deciding to renovate can be just as effective and, in some cases, even preferable to new construction.
