Southfield, Mich.-based architectural firm Harley Ellis Devereaux (HED) is joining forces with Deems Lewis McKinley (DLM), a 57-year-old architecture and engineering services firm headquartered in San Franicisco.
The merger, whose terms were not disclosed, is expected to strengthen HED’s presence in the K-12 and Community Education markets, where DLM has established itself as a recognized leader. (Its tagline is “Improving Education through Design,” and 95% of its clients are educational institutions.)
Among its featured projects in that sector is the Bay Farm Elementary School in the Alameda (Calif.) Unified School District, whose eight-acre campus is surrounded on three sides by single-family residences, and adjoined by a five-acre city park. DLM also designed the new 44,000-sf Susan B. Anthony School in Daly City, Calif., which resembles a modern version of a red brick schoolhouse.
This merger expands HED’s presence in California’s Bay Area and Sacramento, DLM’s two primary markets. Prior to this agreement, HED had been managing its accounts and projects in Northern California mostly out of its office in Los Angeles, according to a company spokesperson. Next month, DLM’s staff in San Francisco will relocate to HED’s San Francisco office, which is currently being enlarged. DLM’s employees working out of its Sacramento office will stay there.
“We are looking forward to merging the talents of our two teams and are excited to be part of a very talented studio with deep resources,” says Wallace B. (Wally) Gordon, AIA, LEED AP, President and Chief Executive Officer of DLM, who is staying stay on with HED along with DLM’s principals and senior associates. The one person working in DLM’s office in San Diego—where the firm was founded—will now work from HED’s 20-person office in that city.
Prior to this agreement, HED had 380 employees working from offices in Chicago, Detroit, L.A., San Diego, and San Francisco.
Related Stories
Market Data | Apr 1, 2024
Nonresidential construction spending dips 1.0% in February, reaches $1.179 trillion
National nonresidential construction spending declined 1.0% in February, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.179 trillion.
Affordable Housing | Apr 1, 2024
Biden Administration considers ways to influence local housing regulations
The Biden Administration is considering how to spur more affordable housing construction with strategies to influence reform of local housing regulations.
Affordable Housing | Apr 1, 2024
Chicago voters nix ‘mansion tax’ to fund efforts to reduce homelessness
Chicago voters in March rejected a proposed “mansion tax” that would have funded efforts to reduce homelessness in the city.
Standards | Apr 1, 2024
New technical bulletin covers window opening control devices
A new technical bulletin clarifies the definition of a window opening control device (WOCD) to promote greater understanding of the role of WOCDs and provide an understanding of a WOCD’s function.
Adaptive Reuse | Mar 30, 2024
Hotel vs. office: Different challenges in commercial to residential conversions
In the midst of a national housing shortage, developers are examining the viability of commercial to residential conversions as a solution to both problems.
Sustainability | Mar 29, 2024
Demystifying carbon offsets vs direct reductions
Chris Forney, Principal, Brightworks Sustainability, and Rob Atkinson, Senior Project Manager, IA Interior Architects, share the misconceptions about carbon offsets and identify opportunities for realizing a carbon-neutral building portfolio.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Mar 28, 2024
Longwood Gardens reimagines its horticulture experience with 17-acre conservatory
Longwood Gardens announced this week that Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience, the most ambitious revitalization in a century of America’s greatest center for horticultural display, will open to the public on November 22, 2024.
Office Buildings | Mar 27, 2024
A new Singapore office campus inaugurates the Jurong Innovation District, a business park located in a tropical rainforest
Surbana Jurong, an urban, infrastructure and managed services consulting firm, recently opened its new headquarters in Singapore. Surbana Jurong Campus inaugurates the Jurong Innovation District, a business park set in a tropical rainforest.
Cultural Facilities | Mar 27, 2024
Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats
Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium is a world-class facility home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats ranging from small tanks to a giant 400,000-gallon shark tank.
Market Data | Mar 26, 2024
Architecture firm billings see modest easing in February
Architecture firm billings continued to decline in February, with an AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 49.5 for the month. However, February’s score marks the most modest easing in billings since July 2023 and suggests that the recent slowdown may be receding.
