flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Clayco combines architecture and design assets into one business unit

Architects

Clayco combines architecture and design assets into one business unit

Lamar Johnson Collaborative adds BatesForum.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | June 24, 2019

Lamar Johnson Collaborative and BatesForum were the designers on Fulton West in Chicago. Image: Courtesy of Clayco

Fulton East is a $26 million, 12-story office tower in Chicago’s West Loop. This was one of the first projects that two architectural firms, Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC) and BatesForum, worked on jointly.

This week, the firms announced that they had combined to create one business entity with 240-plus professionals and five offices. But the firms had a previous connection in that St. Louis-based BatesForum was 50%-owned by the contracting company Clayco after Clayco merged Bates with its Forum Studio subsidiary in March 2018; and Chicago-based LJC is a Clayco subsidiary, which the contractor acquired in October 2018.

“The future of design is integrated,” says Clayco CEO and founder Bob Clark. “Our integrated delivery model will set a new standard by completely disrupting the inefficiency of the traditional paradigm of design-bid-build.”

Lamar Johnson, CEO of his eponymous firm, adds that this combination is a response to a design-bid-build construction model “that needs to change.” Johnson believes that the combined firm will be better able to draw upon Clayco’s “deep bench of resources and industry leading technology.”

Among the expanded firm’s capabilities are its Technical Assurance Group (TAG), which consults with project teams to apply lessons from the built environment to projects still on the drawing board; and the Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) team, which provides BIM support for the use of integrated models and provides collaboration space for real-time decision-making by owners.

The combined firm exceeds 200 active architecture and design projects in 24 states. Together with Clayco, the overall construction value of active integrated delivery projects exceeds $4 billion. Its client list includes Farpoint Development, Pfizer, Mercy, Brookfield Properties, Blackstone Realty, Levy Restaurants, Lennar Multifamily Communities, Sterling Bay, and The John Buck Company.

The larger LJC will also continue the tradition of civic and community engagement practiced by the firm and Clayco. In the past, it has lent financial support to such organizations as the United Way and Cristo Rey High School.

Tags

Related Stories

| Nov 14, 2014

Bjarke Ingels unveils master plan for Smithsonian's south mall campus

The centerpiece of the proposed plan is the revitalization of the iconic Smithsonian castle.

| Nov 14, 2014

Haskell acquires FreemanWhite, strengthens healthcare design-build business

The combination expands Haskell’s geographic presence by adding FreemanWhite’s offices in Chicago, Charlotte, Nashville, and San Diego. FreemanWhite will retain its name and brand.

| Nov 14, 2014

What college students want in their living spaces

In a recent workshop with 62 college students, architects from Little explored the changing habits and preferences of today's students, and how those changes affect their living spaces.

| Nov 14, 2014

JetBlue opens Gensler-designed International Concourse at JFK

The 175,000-sf extension includes the conversion of three existing gates to international swing gates, and the addition of three new international swing gates.

Sponsored | | Nov 12, 2014

Eye-popping façade highlights renovation, addition at Chaffin Junior High School

The new distinctive main entrance accentuates the public face of the school with an aluminum tube “baguette” system. 

| Nov 12, 2014

Collaboration as competitive advantage

A collaborative planning and design process may seem like a common-sense goal, but the concept can be a challenge to achieve in the fragmented AEC industry. SPONSORED BLOG

Sponsored | | Nov 12, 2014

Williams Scotsman plugs into the jobsite

Many of our customers conduct important business from their temporary modular jobsite office and most require access to technology to get their job done effectively and efficiently. SPONSORED CONTENT

| Nov 12, 2014

Chesapeake Bay Foundation completes uber-green Brock Environmental Center, targets Living Building certification

More than a decade after opening its groundbreaking Philip Merrill Environmental Center, the group is back at it with a structure designed to be net-zero water, net-zero energy, and net-zero waste.

| Nov 12, 2014

Refocusing the shifted line

A recent trend in the practice of architecture that I’ve been noticing is the blurring of responsibility between design and construction coordination. I’m not sure why this trend began, but the subject is worth exploring, writes FXFOWLE's Mark Nusbaum.

| Nov 12, 2014

Designs by three finalists for new Beethoven concert hall unveiled

David Chipperfield and Valentiny are among the finalists for a new concert hall being built to commemorate Beethoven’s 250th birthday in his hometown of Bonn, Germany.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021