EwingCole

EwingCole is an American integrated architecture, engineering, interior design and planning firm founded in 1961 as Alexander Ewing[1] & Associates.[2] Headquartered in Philadelphia, with offices in Washington, D.C., Irvine, California, and New York City, New York the firm provides services for project types including academic, corporate, cultural, government, healthcare, science + technology and sports & entertainment.

History

In 1958, the George M. Ewing[3] Co.[4] was retained by Rohm and Haas (since 2009 a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company) to design the expansion and renovation of their corporate headquarters in Philadelphia. George Ewing’s son, Alexander, a partner in his father’s firm, was assigned to the project; Rohm and Haas designated their in-house architect, Stanley Cole,[5] to serve as professional aide to the management committee overseeing the project.

During the early stages of design, however, it became clear that the existing site near Washington Square would not satisfy the company’s needs. Rohm and Haas worked with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to exchange their existing property for a key site on Independence Mall just across 6th Street from the Liberty Bell. The exchange was beneficial to the city as well as to Rohm and Haas because the project ignited the subsequent further development of the Mall.[6]

In order to ease City Art Commission approval for design on such a prominent site, Stanley recommended adding renowned architect Pietro Belluschi to the team as design consultant. The resulting design was lauded for its respect to the nearby park and historic buildings; Philadelphia's city planners praised the Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters as a standard for all redevelopment buildings.[7] (The experience was so successful that the Belluschi, Ewing and Cole collaborated again in the late 1960s[8] on the University Lutheran Center;[9] in the early 1970s, Belluschi, then a consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington, DC, recommended EwingCole for the design of the new headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Stanley Cole served as project manager until the completion of the Rohm and Haas project, when he joined Alexander Ewing & Associates. Cole, Michael P. Erdman[10] and Joseph P. Eubank[11] became partners in 1970, and the firm was renamed Ewing Cole Erdman & Eubank.[12] By 1979, Robert Cherry[13] and Robert Parsky[14] had succeeded Erdman and Eubank in Ewing Cole Cherry Parsky;[15] this partnership continued until 1992, when Parsky’s departure resulted in Ewing Cole Cherry.[16] In 1993, M. Paul Brott[17] (who had worked in the Washington, DC office of the George M. Ewing Company from 1960–1978, rising to the level of partner) became Chairman and CEO of Ewing Cole Cherry Brott.[18] Following the death of Paul Brott and the departure of Bob Cherry, the firm emerged in 2003 as EwingCole.

Growth and expansion

EwingCole, in the interest of serving federal government clients, opened its Washington, DC office in 1995.[19] In 2002, the firm added an office in Irvine, CA.[20]

In 2009, Robert D. Lynn Associates (RDLA)[21] combined with EwingCole. A 40-person firm, RDLA brought a portfolio of healthcare projects which complemented EwingCole’s own healthcare design experience.[22][23]

EwingCole was the third largest in Philadelphia per the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2010 Book of Lists,[24] and No. 158 in the Engineering News-Record (ENR) 2010 annual ranking of the Top 500 Design Firms.[25]

John Gerbner, AIA, became President and COO of EwingCole in 2005.[26]

S. Mark Hebden, AIA, LEED AP, succeeded Gerbner as President in 2011. [27]

References

  1. ↑ American Architects and Buildings database, Ewing, Alexander
  2. ↑ American Architects and Buildings database, Alexander Ewing & Associates
  3. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Ewing, George M.
  4. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, George M. Ewing Co.
  5. ↑ American Architects and Buildings Database, Cole, Stanley
  6. ↑ Philadelphia Athenaeum, Independence Mall
  7. ↑ Clausen, Meredith L. (1999). Pietro Belluschi: Modern American Architect. MIT Press. Pages 313, 316. ISBN 0-262-53167-4
  8. ↑ Evers, Charles A. (1997). "A List of Philadelphia's Modern Monuments," The Philadelphia Architect.
  9. ↑ University Lutheran Center of Philadelphia
  10. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Erdman, Michael P.
  11. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Eubank, Joseph P.
  12. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Ewing Cole Erdman & Eubank.
  13. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Cherry, Robert.
  14. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Parsky, Robert.
  15. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Ewing Cole Cherry Parsky
  16. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Ewing Cole Cherry.
  17. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Brott, M. Paul.
  18. ↑ Philadelphia Buildings, Ewing Cole Cherry Brott
  19. ↑ Building Design & Construction, October 1, 1995.
  20. ↑ Building Design & Construction, September 1, 2003.
  21. ↑ www.rdla.com
  22. ↑ Building Design & Construction, "EwingCole to Merge with Healthcare Specialist Robert D. Lynn Associates."
  23. ↑ Medical Construction and Design, "EwingCole, RDLA Join Together, Creating A/E Firm with Largest Healthcare Focus in the Delaware Valley."
  24. ↑ Philadelphia Business Journal, 2010 Book of Lists.
  25. ↑ Engineering News-Record, "2010 Top 500 Design Firms."
  26. ↑ Contract Magazine, June 3, 2005. "EwingCole Names John Gerbner as President, COO."
  27. ↑ Globe Newswire, June 1, 2011. "EwingCole Names New President."

External links

Official website