The S/L/A/M Collaborative Completes Strategic Merger with Frank Webb Architects

Glastonbury, Conn., – The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM), a leading architectural firm with offices in Connecticut, Georgia, New York and Massachusetts announced today a merger with Frank Webb Architects (FWA), an award-winning firm located in Los Angeles, Calif.

The two companies share a passion for innovation, technology and creativity and have a strong culture rooted in delivering long-term value to their customers. The merger, which was finalized on Sept.1, is expected to deliver immediate results for clients and provide both firms with increased size, scope & reach.

“When we began speaking with the leadership team at FWA back in 2016, we were amazed at how many ways our two firms were aligned,” said Robert F. Pulito, AIA, President, SLAM. “We have wanted to expand on the West Coast for some time, but this wasn’t just about getting bigger. We were looking for a partner who saw the value in a cohesive team approach.”

The FWA leadership team will join SLAM’s executive team and together will immediately begin collaborating to provide existing and prospective clients with thoughtful and sustainable solutions.

“The marriage of these two great companies enables us both to grow in new and exciting ways,” said Gregory W. Coles, AIA, President, Frank Webb Architects. “FWA gains access to diversified geography and new resources, while SLAM gains a West Coast presence and our expertise in key markets. When you combine our talented teams, we are poised to take on even bigger and more complex projects.”

SLAM is a nationally recognized thought leader in the design of health care, education, corporate and sports facilities. The firm has been recognized for its groundbreaking work for leaders like University of Notre Dame, United Technologies, Pfizer and Yale.

 A mid-sized architecture, interior and planning firm located in Los Angeles, CA, Frank Webb Architects has built an excellent reputation as one of southern California’s prominent healthcare design firms. Since its founding in 1990 the firm has been partnering with leading health care and education organizations like Kaiser Permanente, City of Hope, UCLA and USC.

Both companies have a strong emphasis on growth through repeat business. Seventy-eight percent of SLAM’s projects and nearly 100 percent of FWA’s comes from their longstanding relationships with clients.

“That focus on cultivating strong client relationships is another reason why we’re compatible partners,” said Coles. “As our clients grow, we grow with them.”

“We aren’t looking at each design studio as a profit center,” said Pulito. “That often creates a competitive and divisive environment instead of a collaborative team whose collective goal is to identify the best possible solution for a client. Staying true to our ‘One Firm’ approach, we’re going to bring together the right blend of talent for each project, no matter where in the organization they’re geographically located.”

“We are committed to making sure that spirit of close cooperation continues post-merger,” said Coles. “That’s how you deliver better architecture—we all rise together.”

 

Featured

  • i-PRO, NovoTrax Partner for New School Emergency Response Solution

    i-PRO Americas, Inc., which manufactures edge computing cameras, recently announced a partnership with NovoTrax, provider of end-to-end life safety and mass notification solutions, to address gaps in emergency response workflows at K–12 schools, according to a news release.

  • Ancient Resilience: How Indigenous Intelligence Shapes the 4Roots Education Building

    As climate change intensifies, educational spaces must evolve beyond basic sustainability toward true resilience – we must design environments that can adapt, respond, and thrive amid shifting, and intensifying, climate hazards. Drawing on indigenous wisdom and nature-based strategies, integrating resilient design offers a path to create learning environments that are not only functional but deeply in tune with their natural surroundings.

  • K–12 Safety Trends Report Reveals Reliance on Training, Technology

    Wearable safety technology provider CENTEGIX recently released its 2025 School Safety Trends Report, according to a news release. The report is based on more than 265,000 incidents during the 2024–25 school year as reported through the CENTEGIX Safety Platform, used by more than 800 school districts across the U.S.

  • Key Considerations for Office-to-Higher-Education Facility Conversions

    Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, office-to-alternative-use conversions have become a recurring subject of urban development discourse. Office utilization rates across major U.S. cities remain below 50%, with vacancy rates exceeding 27% in San Francisco and 16% in New York. Higher education facilities present programmatic and spatial use cases that align readily with the typical characteristics of commercial office buildings.

Digital Edition