by Rebecca Walker — October 20, 20008—San Francisco-based SMWM, one of America’s premier, award-winning women-owned architecture, urban design and planning practices, has joined forces with Perkins+Will, a global integrated design firm with 18 North American and 3 International offices.
“Combining the knowledge, expertise and resources of two such professionally complementary and philosophically aligned firms will result in one of the most comprehensive, innovative and integrated design practices in the country,” explains SMWM founding principal Cathy Simon FAIA. “Our strengths in architecture, urban design and planning will add yet another dimension to Perkins+Will’s world-class building planning and architectural capabilities, allowing the two firms together to realize common goals.”
Perkins+Will CEO Phil Harrison emphasizes that the high degree of cultural synergy between the two organizations makes the combined firm particularly compelling. “Both SMWM and Perkins+Will have been fully committed to sustainable design, projects that strengthen social fabric of their communities and architecture that honors the broader goals of society long before these concepts became widely popularized. When two such inventive and complementary firms share the same high level of commitment to achieving critically important societal and environmental goals, joining forces can produce extraordinary synergies and results.”
SMWM has planned neighborhoods, districts, waterfronts and entire communities from the United States to Latin America and Asia. Transformative urban plans have been undertaken in New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Los Angeles and San Diego, in addition to San Francisco.
For more information, see the Perkins +Will Web site.
