Perkins Eastman

Perkins Eastman is an international architecture, interior design, urban design, planning, landscape architecture, graphic design, and project management firm. Headquartered in New York, New York, the firm is led by founding Principals Bradford Perkins and Mary-Jean Eastman, along with three other Principal Directors: J. David Hoglund, Aaron B. Schwarz, and Jonathan N. Stark.

History

Bradford Perkins and Mary-Jean Eastman met at Llewelyn-Davies International, where Bradford Perkins served as the Managing Partner of the New York, Toronto, and Caracas offices. Both of them then moved to Perkins + Will (a firm founded by Bradford’s father), where Bradford became the Managing Partner of the Eastern offices and Mary-Jean ran one of the major design studios. In 1981, they left Perkins & Will to found Attia & Perkins, which was reorganized as Perkins Eastman in 1984.

Growth and Expansion

In addition to the completion of notable, award-winning projects, the firm has bolstered its growth into other practice areas by acquiring smaller firms, beginning in 1999 with a merger with Susan Black Architects to create Perkins Eastman Black, the Toronto office. Perkins Eastman's Charlotte, North Carolina office then combined with Healthcare Interiors, Inc. (HCI) in September 2004. In August 2005, Akol Architects of Oakland, California, merged its practice with Perkins Eastman. That same year, Perkins Eastman also acquired the creative staff at Larsen Shein Ginsberg Snyder LLP (LSGS) of New York, New York, culminating a close working relationship built over the past ten years on more than two dozen projects. In 2007, the firm combined with both the Basler Mosa Design Group, a firm providing architecture, planning, urban design, and interior design services, and the Liebman Melting Partnership, an award-winning firm of architects and planners.

In recent years, Perkins Eastman has also formed affiliations with four firms that provide related services to clients and operate as part of the firm under an affiliate business relationship. BFJ Planning (BFJ) offers professional expertise in planning, zoning, design, environmental analysis, real-estate analysis, and transportation planning. RGR Landscape (RGR) focuses on land planning and design for cultural institutions, public open space in urban settings, parks, recreational facilities, residential, and commercial projects. Urbanomics provides public- and private-sector clients with an array of economic development planning studies, market studies, tax policy analyses, program evaluations, and economic and demographic forecasts. Russell Design, an internationally recognized multi-disciplinary graphics firm, specializes in corporate communications, branding, and identification planning, as well as design for electronic media and environmental graphic design.

Today, Perkins Eastman employs approximately 800 employees in 11 offices worldwide, making it the largest New York-based design firm [http://crainsnewyork.datajoe.com/app/ecom/pub_viewhtml.php?listid=1875&year=2007&htmlkey=maLmAFHnilG1w "Crain's New York Business, April 2008"] , one of the largest architectural firms in the United States [http://archrecord.construction.com/practice/top150/0806top150-1.asp "Architectural Record, June 2007"] [http://www.bdcnetwork.com/article/CA6576761.html "Building Design and Construction, July 2008"] , among the 15 largest architecture firms in the world [http://mag.digitalpc.co.uk/ActiveMagazine/getBook.asp?Path=BLDN/2008/01/01&BookCollection=BLDN_AM&ReaderStyle=Normal&browserWindowWidth=1430&browserWindowHeight=850&IsMac=1&IsNetscape=1 "BD World Architecture 100, 2008"] , and the 16th largest interior design firm [http://www.interiordesign.net/id_article/CA6525229/id "Interior Design, January 2008"] . The firm maintains offices in: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1995); Stamford, Connecticut (1998); Charlotte, North Carolina (2001); Chicago, Illinois (2002); Oakland, California (2005); and Arlington, Virginia (2005). Internationally, Perkins Eastman operates in Toronto, Canada (1999); Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2006); Guayaquil, Ecuador (2008); and Shanghai (2008), as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE).

Practice

Perkins Eastman started with a focus on senior living and healthcare design. Perkins Eastman’s practice in senior living started with The Jewish Homes in Miami, which hired the firm to design six additional buildings for its facility. This client also referred the firm to the Morse Geriatric Center, the Jewish home of West Palm Beach, where Perkins Eastman refined what is now the widely used bi-axial room. These projects were widely published and visited by other sponsors, which led to projects that formed the foundation of the Pittsburgh office and contributed to the firm’s growing national reputation in the field of senior living.

With Woodside Place (1991) in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, Perkins Eastman developed the prototype for a growing number of specialized residences for persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Redstone Highlands, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was one of the country’s first truly affordable continuing care retirement communities (CCRC). Other notable projects include Buckingham’s Choice (2000), Perkins Eastman’s first completely new CCRC, and the Gurwin Geriatric Center (2008) on Long Island, New York, the firm’s largest assisted living project to date. The firm's recent portfolio also includes: Bivins Foundation: Childers Place, Amarillo, Texas, USA, Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters: Marywood Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, Hebrew SeniorLife: Newbridge on the Charles, Dedham, Massachusetts, USA, and Kendal-on-Hudson, Sleepy Hollow, New York, USA

Internationally, Perkins Eastman has completed several CCRC complexes in Japan, including Sun City Takatsuki (2001), Sun City Yokahama (2001), Sun City Kashiwa (2003), and Sun City Ginza East (2006).

One of Perkins Eastman’s first projects, New York Foundling Hospital (1998), helped launch the firm’s healthcare practice. This practice grew significantly in 1996, when the firm began to work with one of its most important clients, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, which helped transform Perkins Eastman from a national to an international healthcare practice. Today, the firm works for most of the major medical centers in New York City, as well as for clients in New Jersey, North Carolina, Connecticut, Arkansas, California, Ontario, and Israel. Some of its recent significant projects include: Beijing University International Hospital, Beijing, China, Duke University Hospital Emergency Department, Durham, North Carolina, USA, Saint Vincent’s Medical Center Modernization, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA, and the University of Pennsylvania Health System: Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Over the years, the firm broadened its range to include expertise in several other practice areas, including: housing, higher education, hospitality, primary and secondary education, public, office and mixed-use, hospitality, corporate interiors, research, religious and cultural facilities, and urban design. The firm currently has projects in all practice areas in more than 40 states and 25 countries.

Housing

Canterbury Green (1987), a highly visible mixed-use project that contained the first new rental housing units in downtown Stamford, Connecticut, gave the firm its start in the housing market, as it received several design and planning awards. The firm continued to grow this practice area by completing a variety of housing projects, ranging from affordable housing projects to high-end residences. Currently, the firm is engaged with large-scale housing projects, like Avalon Riverview (2002), a project in Queens with more than 800 rental units along the East River opposite the United Nations, for Avalon Bay Communities. "Other Notable Housing Projects"
839 Sixth Avenue, New York, New York, USA
Albee Square, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Aurora Over the Hudson, Cliffside Park, New Jersey, USA
Avalon Riverview North, Long Island City, New York, USA
The Centria, New York, New York, USA
Dolphin Towers, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Higher Education

Perkins Eastman took advantage of the New York State University Construction Fund (1997-present) to establish its presence in higher education. The firm’s first project was the College of Mount Saint Vincent, for which it designed a new library in 1990. In 1998, the firm converted a former Bloomingdale’s department store into the new Stamford campus of the University of Connecticut, an award-winning project that helped the firm to bolster its higher education practice. Other recent projects include the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies (2006) in Nanjing Jiangsu, China, and a planning project for the new campus of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China.

"Other Notable Higher Education Projects"

St. John’s University: DaSilva Academic Center, Staten Island, New York, USA

Stony Brook University: Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, Stony Brook, New York, USA

Primary and Secondary Education

In conjunction with its higher education practice, Perkins Eastman also developed its primary and secondary education practice with projects like Green Chimneys (1996), for which the firm provided renovations and additions, and the Solomon Schechter School (2001), a new upper and middle school in Westchester County, New York. Other notable projects include additions and renovations to the Byram Hills High School (2001) in Armonk, New York, as well as the Helen S. Faison Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the new Concordia International School (2007) in Shanghai, China.

"Other Notable Primary and Secondary Education Projects"
Fairfield Middle School, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
Nations Academy, New York, New York, USA

Public

Starting with the Brooklyn Public Library’s Clarendon Branch—the firm’s first public agency project—Perkins Eastman has grown its public sector practice to include projects like the Ithaca City Courthouse (1993), a small court building and police headquarters for Ithaca, New York, and the 107th Police Precinct (1993) in New York City. These paved the way for larger projects like the Queens Civil Courthouse (1997), which was widely published and received several design awards, the renovation of the historic Foley Square Federal Courthouse (1999) in New York City, and the Brooklyn Supreme and Family Courthouse (2004), one of the firm’s largest projects to date at 1.1 million square feet.

"Other Notable Public Projects"
Chongqing Library, Chongqing, China
New Seoul City Hall, Seoul, South Korea

Thurgood Marshall US Courthouse: General Services Administration, New York, New York, USA

Office and Mixed-Use

The Republic National Bank Headquarters and Knox Building in New York City marked the firm’s first significant office project. This, as well as the Canterbury Green project, allowed Perkins Eastman to grow its office/retail/mixed-use practice. Some notable projects include the World (Wright) Financial Center (1990), Renaissance Technologies Corporation in Long Island, New York (1997), NordenPark (2002) in Norwalk, Connecticut, and the Wanliu Shopping Center currently being designed in Beijing, China.

"Other Notable Office and Mixed-Use Projects"
Flushing Commons, Queens, New York, USA
Harbor Point Square, Stamford, Connecticut, USA
Jinan South City, Jinan, China
Sky View Parc, Queens, New York, USA
The Proscenium, Sarasota, Florida, USAGongKang Retail Centre, Shanghai, China
Metropolitan Gardens, Denver, Colorado, USA
Muscat, Oman Mixed-Use Development, Muscat, Oman
The Shops at Columbus Circle Luxury Merchandising Kiosk, New York, New York, USA

Hospitality

Perkins Eastman’s hospitality experience includes urban and suburban hotels, large-scale waterfront resort developments, and clubs. The firm started with planning and design assignments that eventually led to built projects. The firm’s portfolio includes six hotels for Embassy Suites Hotels, the Marriott Eastside Hotel in New York City (2000), multiple projects with a leading Brazilian resort developer, and more than a dozen country clubs. The firm is also currently working on the Cooper Hotel in New York City, along with architect Jean Nouvel.

"Other Notable Hospitality Projects"
Beach Point Club, Mamaroneck, New York, USA
Burning Tree Country Club, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
Grand Street Hotel, New York, New York, USA
Quaker Ridge Golf Club, Scarsdale, New York, USA

Corporate Interiors

Perkins Eastman has one of the largest interior design groups in the United States, responsible for the design of a variety of corporate office interiors. In addition to early clients like Shea & Gould (1985), Integrity Life Insurance (1989), and Helen Keller International (1993), the firm has done work for Fujifilm (2002), Ann Taylor (2004), The Dannon Company (2005), and Victorinox Swiss Army (2007).

"Other Notable Corporate Interiors Projects"
Malibu-Kahlua International, White Plains, New York, USA

Merrill Lynch, New York, New York, USA

Pfizer Headquarters, New York, New York, USA
Synapse/Time Inc. Headquarters, Stamford, Connecticut, USA

UBS Warburg, Stamford, Connecticut, USA

Research

Perkins Eastman’s research practice started with several laboratory design projects for Cornell University Medical College. In 1994, the firm designed the headquarters of Consumers Union, and continued to strengthen its reputation in this area with the completion of the University of Arkansas Medical Center in 2001. In 2007, Perkins Eastman completed the largest DNA laboratory in the country: the Office of the City Medical Examiner’s DNA Forensics Laboratory.

"Other Notable Research Projects"

Carnegie Mellon University: Nanotechnology Facility Study, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Consumers Union Headquarters and National Testing Facility, Yonkers, New York, USA
International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) Research Lab, Brooklyn, New York, USA
University Innovation Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Religious and Cultural Facilities

The firm’s work in educational facilities helped spawn a growing practice in religious and cultural facilities, starting with a pro bono effort to rebuild the Scarsdale Girl Scout House and Art Center (1983) in Scarsdale, New York. Since then, Perkins Eastman has designed churches and synagogues for Saint Ignatius Loyola Church Undercraft (1990) and Temple Beth Shalom (1996), among others. The firm has also done work for the American Museum of Natural History and designed the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, one of its first LEED® Silver certified projects. Currently, the firm is completing the new TKTS Booth for the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) and Times Square Alliance in New York City.

"Other Notable Religious and Cultural Facilities Projects"
Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York, New York, USA

Shanghai World Expo 2010, Shanghai, China

Urban Design and Planning

With the addition of two affiliates, BFJ Planning and RGR Landscape, Perkins Eastman has been providing urban design, planning, and landscape architecture services, with projects ranging from a master plan to revitalize the Steelpoint Peninsula area in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to the Hudson Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan for Hudson, New York. Internationally, the firm is working on many large-scale urban design and planning projects in China and other countries, with projects like the Shanghai World Expo 2010, Toronto 2015 World Expo, and an expansive resort community on Paradiso Island, a man-made island off the shore of Abu Dhabi.

"Other Notable Urban Design and Planning Projects"
Donghia Garden Project, Songzhaung, China
Haitang Bay Hotel and Resort Master Plan, Sanya, China
Pittsburgh's Hillsides Physical Investigation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Wujiang South City Concept Master Plan, Wujiang, China

The firm’s principals and staff also regularly participate in professional conferences, research studies, and other activities to advance the state of the art in each of its specialized practice areas. A number of principals and staff members have authored basic textbooks on elementary and secondary school design, senior living, justice facilities, retail/mixed-use facilities, and healthcare facilities, as well as more than 200 articles in professional journals and research papers on related topics.

Major Awards

2008

Childers Place, Amarillo, Texas
"Design/Environments for Aging: Citation of Merit; National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Best of 50+ Housing Award: Gold Award"

Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies, Nanjing, China
"AIA Committee on Architecture for Education, CAE Design Awards: Merit Award"

Sun City Park Yokohama, Yokohama City, Japan
"National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Best of 50+ Housing Award: Silver Award"

2007

Brooklyn Supreme and Family Courthouse, Brooklyn, New York
"Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Building Brooklyn Awards: Design Award"

Duke University Hospital: Emergency Department, Durham, North Carolina
"New York Chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Lester Dundes Design Award: Healthcare"

Sun City Ginza East, Tokyo, Japan
"National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), 50+ Best of Seniors Housing Award; AIA/AAHSA Design for Aging Review: Merit Award"

TKTS Booth, New York, New York
"Art Commission of the City of New York, Design Award"

2006

Bet Torah Synagogue, Mount Kisco, New York
"AIA Westchester/Mid-Hudson, Design Awards: First Honors Award"

The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
"AIA California Council (AIACC) Design Awards, Honor Award; American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Honor Awards, Honor Award; American Institute of Architects (AIA) Pittsburgh Chapter, Honor Award and Green Citation; National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Preservation Honor Award"

Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters Marywood Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan
"AIA/AAHSA Design for Aging Review, Citation and Merit Award; National Association of Home Builders, Best of Seniors Housing Award: Gold and Innovation Awards, Assisted Living Overall Facility; Environmental Design and Construction Excellence in Design Award, Mixed-use Residential"

2005

455 Central Park West, New York, New York
"American Council of Engineering Companies of New York, Engineering Excellence: Gold Award; New York Landmarks Conservancy, Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award"

Helen S. Faison Academy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
"Society of American Registered Architects (SARA), National Design Awards"

St. John’s University DaSilva Academic Center, Staten Island, New York
"Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, Distinctive Building Awards Excellence for Exterior, Interior, and Natural Beauty; Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) New York Chapter, 10th Annual Design Awards: Award of Excellence; AIA Staten Island, Honor Award for Architecture; Society of American Registered Architects (SARA), National Design Awards"

Willow Towers Assistive Living Residence, New Rochelle, New York
"National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Best of Seniors Housing Award: Platinum Winner, Assisted Living Facility-Large"

References

[http://www.contractmagazine.com/contract/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003709391 "Continual Education," "Contract, February 2008"]

[http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/05/china/architecture/ted-fishman-text "The New Great Walls," "National Geographic, May 2008"]
"International Arrivals," "The Architect's Newspaper, February 2008"



[http://www.nysun.com/real-estate/accentuating-the-vertical/75679/ "Accentuating the Vertical," "The New York Sun, May 2008"]

External Links

http://www.perkinseastman.com
http://www.bfjplanning.com
http://www.rgrlandscape.com
http://www.urbanomics.org
http://www.russelldesign.com