The Design Building at UMass Amherst was featured in the “Unveiled” section of the May 20th issue of Architects Newspaper.

Leers Weinzapfel’s Design Building at UMass Amherst is the Project of the Month in the New England Real Estate Journal and is featured on the cover. Read the full article here

The new building with unite the school’s dispersed programs in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Architecture, and Building Technology under one roof. A dramatic demonstration of sustainable design and material research, the 80,000 GSF edifice will be one of the first institutional buildings in the Northeast to employ an engineered mass timber structure. It will be a dynamic place of exchange, collaboration, and experiment celebrating a shared commitment to the environment.

Leers Weinzapfel’s Ohio State East Regional Chilled Water Plant was featured in the May 2015 issue of The Plan Magazine.  Read the article here

The iconic new structure introduces a large, critically important infrastructure facility to a mature campus, preserves an important green space at the campus edge, and frames the gateway for a new campus entry.

A sculptural solution for the large (15,000) ton chilled water plant is integrated into the arts sculpture green area along the university’s east campus edge. The result is an elegant approach that fits well with the urban site and its surrounding context.

In May, the City of Boston brought together designers, community leaders, developers, city officials, and academics in a unique two-day event, the IDeAS: Innovative Design Alternatives Summit. The kick off featured a plenary panel focusing on how innovative design can contribute to the quality of life in Boston, and was followed by a day-long summit at which Andrea Leers was a panelist on the “Who We Are” session.

The summit helped initiate an inclusive, interactive visioning process, to imagine the collaborative planning process, and to learn how citizens and visitors will experience Boston’s physical and cultural environments in the years 2020 and 2030.

IDeAS has emerged in response to the design challenge raised by Mayor Walsh in his December speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, in which he encouraged developers and the design community to “reach beyond [their] comfort zone” and “take design to a new level” to build inspiration into Boston’s emerging urban landscape.

Organized by the City of Boston, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), and Boston Society of Architects (BSA), the events are free and open to the public. Interested attendees are encouraged to register for one or both days.

A dramatic demonstration of our commitment to sustainable design and material research, the new University of Massachusetts, Amherst Integrated Design Building (IDB) will be one of the first institutional buildings in the Northeast to employ an engineered timber structure. A concept fueled by the school’s current research in building technology and made possible by a grant through the 2014 Environmental Bond Bill, the building will have a glue-laminated wood frame, floor slabs of composite, exposed cross-laminate timber (CLT) plank and cast-in-place concrete, and will be a demonstration of leading-edge timber engineering.

The IDB brings together the previously dispersed departments of Landscape Architecture, Architecture, and Building Construction Technology in a dynamic space of exchange, collaboration, and experiment. Organized around an interior atrium spanned by a dramatic timber “zipper” truss, and an exterior landscaped courtyard / outdoor classroom, the design celebrates a shared commitment to sustainability. Our international wood structural design team includes Vancouver- based Equilibrium Consulting Engineers. The project will be a model for the sustainable integration of building technology, landscape, and architecture for the entire University of Massachusetts campus.

The Integrated Design Building will be featured in the upcoming May 20th issue of Architects Newspaper

The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, together with the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, and Metropolitan Arts Press has awarded the Massachusetts General Hospital Paul S. Russell MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation the 2014 American Architecture Award.

The awarded projects were also included in a special exhibition at the annual symposium, “The City and the World” during the Istanbul Design Biennale in Istanbul, Turkey, on view from November 10th through the 25th. The exhibition will travel to Chicago, IL as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial 2015, from September 21st through October 13th 2015.

On December 1, 2014 Andrea Leers was the key-note speaker at the 3rd Annual Lecture in Memory of George Paraskevaides at the University of Cyprus. Organized by the University with support from the Department of Architecture, the lecture honors the memory of George Paraskevaides, a renowned persona of Cyprus, a distinguished businessman and a philanthropist. Established as one of the top architectural happenings taking place annually in Cyprus, the event has hosted talented and eminent architects all over the world. Andrea’s lecture, “Making Connections: design across scales, disciplines, cultures” addressed the ideas of connection that have been fundamental to Leers Weinzapfel Associates design work.

Leers Weinzapfel Associates has been recognized by ARCHITECT Magazine as one of the Top 50 design firms in the U.S. in both Design and Sustainability as part of the 2014 ARCHITECT 50. The magazine noted the firms “solid commitment to sustainability” and highlighted the Collaborative Research Building at the University of North Carolina, an innovative workplace “without borders” and the first building to be constructed on UNC’s new Carolina North academic and research campus.

The annual ARCHITECT 50 program ranks the best architecture firms in the U.S. based on design excellence, sustainability, and business performance. ARCHITECT magazine is the official publication of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). To view the full list, click here.

Tom Chung, AIA, LEED AP BD+C has been promoted to Principal. A design leader in the firm with over 20 years experience, Tom is an exceptionally creative member of the Leers Weinzapfel team. He is a talented architect who has been a primary designer for a number of the firm’s most prominent projects, including the Paul S. Russell MD. Museum of Medical History and Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also has an outstanding ability to lead complex projects, including the the Integrated Design Building at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; the Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences Building Renovation at Brown University; and the Global Education Building at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. As adjunct faculty has taught design studios at Northeastern University School of Architecture exploring architecture and urban design subjects, has been a juror at design reviews including the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and leads office discussions on various design issues. Tom received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia and Master of Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Tom joins Principals Andrea Leers FAIA, Jane Weinzapfel FAIA, and Josiah Stevenson FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, to guide the future direction of the firm.

Jeffrey AIA, is a talented and experienced designer with an expertise in higher education renovation and adaptive re-use. He leads the firm’s green committee and quality control process. Since joining Leers Weinzapfel Associates in 2008, Jeffrey has been an integral design team member for many projects including Oak and Laurel Halls at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT; the addition and renovation to the historic Greenfield Courthouse in Greenfield, MA; and his current role as Project Architect on the Integrated Design Building at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has lectured at the AIA National Convention and has been quoted in numerous magazines including Architecture and Metropolis. Jeffrey received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Kevin Bell AIA is an accomplished designer and studio leader with a wide range of project expertise. Kevin leads the Digital Practice Group in the office, helping to define and implement leading-edge technology. His recent projects include Oak and Laurel Halls at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT; the Paul S. Russell MD. Museum of Medical History and Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA; and the restoration and renovation of the Arlington Street T Station for the MBTA in Boston, MA. Kevin is currently serving as the Project Architect for the Academic Arts Building at Middlesex Community College in Lowell, MA. Kevin frequently participates in studio critiques at Northeastern University and the Boston Architectural College. He received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan and a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia, School of Architecture.