Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

DLR Group Acquires Two Education Design Firms

  • By Matt Jones
  • 08/23/21

Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced the acquisitions of two major education design firms stationed on the east and west coasts. The San Diego-based BakerNowicki Design Studio and the Washington, D.C.-based Bowie Gridley Architects (BGA) will expand DLR Group’s reach to K–12 clients all around the U.S.

“By joining forces with these exceptional design firms, DLR Group is enhancing our competitive position in K–12 education on both coasts,” said DLR Group Senior Principal Jim French, FAIA. “We’ve added expertise in design and educational funding in California, as well as planning and design for private, independent K–12 school clients in the Northeast to elevate DLR Group as the premier education design practice.”

BakerNowicki Design Studio was founded in 2011 and focuses exclusively on educational architecture for K–12 and higher education facilities. One of the organization’s specialties is an intimate knowledge of education funding in California. The firm will operate as DLR Group|BakerNowicki within the San Diego market, and it will work alongside DLR Group’s K–12 studios in Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, and San Francisco.

Bowie Gridley Architects, meanwhile, specializes in master planning and design for K–12 independent school clients. According to a news release, it brings to the table specializations in performing arts, museums, preservation, higher education and hospitality design, as well as a variety of experience and its reputation along the Atlantic Coast and in the northeastern United States. BGA will combine its operations with DLR Group in a new Washington, D.C., location in spring 2022.

BakerNowicki brings 28 design professionals and Bowie Gridley Architects 24 design staff to the DLR Group’s ranks. Both firms’ project teams will be able to provide clients with a deep design experience across the fields of engineering, interiors, high performance design, landscaping, science and technology, and various specialized design services.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.