London-based Pringle Brandon in Discussions to Join Forces With Leading Integrated Design Firm Perkins+Will

NEW YORK, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Perkins+Will, a leading international design firm ranked number one in the Architect 50 list produced by the American Institute of Architects' Architect magazine, announced today that it is in discussions about the potential opportunity to join with London-based Pringle Brandon, an architecture and design leader in the UK, which has enjoyed its second consecutive year of double digit growth.

The London offices would be known as Pringle Brandon Perkins+Will. The combined list of key clients would span multiple sectors including corporate & commercial, education, healthcare, media, public sector, science & technology, sports & recreation, and transportation. The partners, Jack Pringle, Chris Brandon, William Poole-Wilson, Fiona Balance, and Linzi Cassels would continue to lead the combined businesses.

Pringle Brandon Drew would also operate as Pringle Brandon Perkins+Will.  This recently launched practice, offering base build architectural services and strategic advice, is led by former Rafael Vinoly and Foster + Partners architect John Drew, and is currently working on 2.5 million square feet of commercial and mixed-use development in the UK.

By joining forces with Pringle Brandon, Perkins+Will would continue its ongoing strategic development in talent, services, markets, and geographical presence.  Pringle Brandon and its 90 professionals would benefit from being able to offer existing and potential clients a greater range of services across a wider international field.  Perkins+Will provides integrated design services including architecture, interior design, branded environments, and urban design.

"Pringle Brandon's stature in corporate interiors, workplace strategy, and more recently architecture, is a compelling complement to Perkins+Will and would enhance our ability to provide local resources to clients throughout Europe," said Phil Harrison, president and chief executive officer of Perkins+Will.

"Not least, Pringle Brandon has been a vanguard for transforming sustainable architectural practices in the UK. This kind of enterprising leadership exemplifies our shared commitment to sustainable design, research, and innovation, and is the kind of talent that we've had great success integrating and supporting as we grow strategically," he added.

Jack Pringle, joint founder of Pringle Brandon said, "After two years of expansion and success through the recession, we need to keep developing our practice and we are convinced that Perkins+Will's combination of design excellence, broad expertise, and ethos of social and environmental responsibility both meshes with who we are and would enable us to take our client offering to an entirely new level."

Chris Brandon, co-founder of Pringle Brandon, added, "We are extremely excited about the increased possibilities this opportunity would bring us. We've enjoyed two years of diversification, growth, and expansion across Europe, and Perkins+Will can bring a depth of expertise across markets that would have taken us many more years to build.  We want to continue to be a leader at home and expand our horizons abroad."

Founded 77 years ago and with 21 offices in North America and a total of 24 globally, Perkins+Will is a top global design firm renowned for innovation and sustainable design. The firm has more than 1,000 LEED® Accredited Professionals and recently completed the highest-rated LEED Platinum building in North America.  It also has widespread expertise in the corporate, education, science, and healthcare sectors.

Pringle Brandon comes to this potential partnership having celebrated 25 years in business in 2011. The firm specializes in corporate interiors and architecture and has been ranked number one in the annual London Interior Architect Rankings compiled by Metropolis Property Research for two years running.  It is also at the forefront of research for fit-out and workplace consultancy, publishing ground breaking reports starting with the prescient 20:20 Vision in 1996, predicting the impact of flat-screen technology on office design. More recently, the practice has helped develop and pilot the UK refurbishment and fit-out environmental assessment Ska Rating tool and undertaken workplace density research for the British Council for Offices, which sets the specification for all UK offices.  The senior team is also highly regarded with Jack Pringle a former Royal Institute of British Architects President and William Poole-Wilson an active member of CoreNet UK Chapter.

About Perkins+Will

Established in 1935, Perkins+Will is a global multidisciplinary architecture and design firm founded on the belief that design has the power to transform lives and enhance society. With a staff of 1,500 in 24 locations worldwide, the firm serves clients across a broad range of project types, grounding its work in deep research. Perkins+Will ranks among the world's top design firms and is the recipient of hundreds of awards.  It was ranked number three in both Architectural Record's 2011 Top 250 Architects and the 2012 Interior Design Top 100 Giants lists. Social responsibility is fundamental to the firm's outlook, work, and culture, and every year Perkins+Will donates one percent of its design services to non-profit organizations. With pioneering tools to advance sustainable design practices, the largest green building portfolio in North America, more than 1,000 LEED® Accredited Professionals, and a commitment to the 2030 Challenge, Perkins+Will is recognized as one of the industry's preeminent sustainable design firms. For more information visit: www.perkinswill.com.

About Pringle Brandon

Pringle Brandon is an architectural practice, currently working across the UK and in Italy, Ireland, Greece, France, and the Netherlands from its base in London.  It also has an office in Dubai, serving clients in the Middle East.  Established for over 25 years, the practice works with end-users, developers, and other professionals, specializing in the design of high quality, flexible, and future-proof workplace solutions as well as delivering schemes in the industrial and education sectors. The practice provides a comprehensive range of design, consultancy, and research services, and has a detailed understanding of end-user requirements to ensure built solutions that really work. Pringle Brandon is one of the leading workplace design practices in the UK, successfully designing and advising on schemes up to 1m ft2 net in size. In 2009, Pringle Brandon won the British Council for Offices (BCO) Award for Best Workplace Fit Out for its work at Microsoft Building 5 at Thames Valley Business Park in Reading.  Pringle Brandon is an ISO 14001 (environment management systems) certified company and is a SKA Rating Assessor. For more information visit:  www.pringlebrandon.com.

Press Contact:
Lindsay Bubbico
Finn Partners for Perkins+Will
[email protected]
212-583-2738

SOURCE Perkins+Will