< PreviousNORR operates 15 offices in total in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Middle-East. Across all locations, NORR bases its work on “three pillars,” which Panici named for us: “Design excellence, professional excellence and technical excellence. We want to make sure we have people that have all three traits, so they can work on our diverse projects.”A world of diversityThe diversity of NORR’s portfolio is certainly impressive, going by the long and varied list of successful projects provided by the company, including government facilities, airports, hos-pitals, residential facilities, casinos, hotels, , transit, sports, and many more. “In eastern Canada, we do more government, institutional, healthcare, transit projects. In the west, we do a lot of residen-tial mixed-use buildings. In the States it’s a mixed bag of retail, commercial, institutional. In England – institutional, as well as educational,” explains Vice President Chris Pal. “We have centres of excellence divided by sectors. So, we have a commercial sector, a residential sector and a health sciences sector, et cetera. Essentially we operate Centres of Excellence through our different offices. That’s how we interact with each other in terms of working with different offices. We will have a Centre of Excellence in one of the offices and the other offices will assist and help out with a project,” adds Panici.David Braley Health Sciences CentreInteriorDavid Braley Health Sciences CentreAUGUST 201930Leadership by design“For example, the Athena project could have achieved Platinum LEED status but the client decided not to go through the certi-fication process. But we did everything one would have done anyway. We’ve been advocates for LEED. Much of LEED is just sound design. The next steps beyond LEED are places like passive house design and low GHG [greenhouse gas] or Zero GHG. We’ve got some designers on staff here who are involved in passive facility design,” he says. Other big projects NORR has been involved with recently include the New Toronto Courthouse, a $450 million project in collabo-ration with the world famous architect Renzo Piano (RPBW), a laboratory at the University of Windsor (NORR collaborated with another architectural firm for this assignment providing engineering and lab design services), a Canadian Blood Services facility in Calgary (NORR provided architectural and engineer-ing services), and Union Station in Toronto. The latter is a major transit hub that processes millions of commuters each year. “We provided innovative architectural and engineering design solutions ensuring operations of the facilities were maintained; trains kept on running as the major renovation and excava-tion of the lower concourse was being constructed. We had to design every aspect of the project without shutting down the facility. While people may not be pleased with some of the inconveniences that have to happen, they may not understand the complexity of what we’re trying to achieve. We dug down beneath the railway line while they were operating in order to put a two-storey retail mall into the facility,” says Panici. Work at Union Station remains ongoing. “Today, the company has 740 staff members and is wholly employee-owned.”The Wellington BuildingThe Wellington BuildingLibrary31CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS HeritageNORR has a rich and impressive heritage. The firm was founded in 1938 in Toronto by architect John Burnett Parkin. Parkin’s creative designs were popular and the firm grew. Within two decades, John B. Parkin Associates employed 180 people and was the best known architectural firm in Canada. In the following years, there were changes to the company structure. A 1969 merger established the firm as a multi-disci-plinary business, able to offer both architectural and engineer-ing services. More restructuring occurred in the 1970s and the company became Neish, Owen, Rowland & Roy Architects Engineers. This was later shortened to the simpler NORR. Operations expanded to the United States and across the ocean. Over the decades, NORR became involved in many prominent projects. The firm was joint venture partner for Toronto City Hall (also called “New City Hall,” this project was a major construction undertaking in the 1960s), and worked on Toronto International Airport and an office building for Bata (the international shoe conglomerate). Employee-ownedToday, the company has 740 staff members and is “wholly employee-owned” thanks to the introduction of an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan), says Chris Pal.According to Pal, being an ESOP company has been hugely advantageous. Collective ownership ensures continuity and means NORR can avoid the kind of corporate succession and share distribution battles that sometimes rack firms when a key partner or owner retires. As for new hires, NORR wants people with talent, expertise and a particular mindset. “I think getting people who can work together in an integrated environment requires a certain type of attitude. I personally like people who have a wide variety of experiences… It’s good to have an open mind and be open to collaboration. Working together as a team is a key element of what we’re looking for in people,” says Pal. “We take a look at projects that we’re interested in and assemble the best team possible,” states Panici. We collaborate with world class architects and engineers to ensure that we provide the best design possible for our clients.” This culture of col-laboration, integrated thinking and inspired design also helps explain NORR’s longevity and success, he adds. “Our integrated approach has sustained us throughout the years.” Sir John A Macdonald BuildingInteriorToronto Pearson International Airport Value Park GarageAUGUST 201932Industry recognitionTo maintain the best possible design outcomes on projects, NORR runs a comprehensive quality assurance program. Panici says that each project is led by a Principal in Charge assisted by an architectural project manager who is “responsible for the deliverables – the work plans, schedules, et cetera, with a design architect responsible for the planning and design of the project.” Staff report to the project manager who in turn meets monthly with the Principal in Charge to review the progress of the project and discuss any design and technical issues.Clearly, this formula has paid dividends, given the recognition NORR has received. A list of awards and distinctions the company has won just over the past three years fills an entire page. Among other honours, in 2018 NORR won a World Architecture Award for a Health Sciences Centre at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and an award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for work on a courthouse in Surrey, British Columbia. The McMaster Health Sciences facility also earned a 2017 Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association of Canada Award of Excellence LEED Project. As an award-winning firm, Panici says NORR recognizes the importance of staying true to “our core values of Integrated Thinking and Inspired Design. We adhere to these values and use technology to assist in achieving these goals. The whole industry is shifting and changing and evolving. We live in a digital world,” he says. “We’re fully aware,” he says, “of Parametric design, Revit and 3D modelling, 3D visualization, augmented reality, virtual reality, 3D printing. We are fully immersed in the digital arena. Where that leads us we don’t know yet, but obviously we are sort of using those tools to advance our core business, which is deliv-ering architecture and engineering. One of the things we are implementing is how digital design and Internet of Things (IoT) informs our designs and how digital architecture and engineer-ing evolves to achieve great architecture and engineering solu-tions,” he explains. “That said, we hope to provide the best design solutions by thinking in an integrated way always pointing to our core values. ‘Doing great work’ is one of the best forms of promotion for NORR,” says Panici. “Our clients start advocating for us. That is how a lot of the sectors have grown. I wouldn’t say it’s word of mouth, but it’s through great work that gets acknowledged.” However, the biggest challenge facing NORR is “finding the right people that are willing to join us on our journey.”For all that, the near-term goal for the firm is to be “a global leader in our sectors,” and possibly adding more Centres of Excellence, says Panici. The firm hasn’t ruled out new branches in new locations either. Panici sums up: “I think NORR has a unique footprint in our industry. We approach our projects slightly differently and we use our three pillars of excellence to deliver projects.”Content Developed by Rosie Walker | Designed by Yoana Ilcheva“’Doing great work’ is one of the best forms of promotion for NORR.”Sir John A Macdonald Building33AUGUST 201934Written by Stacey McCarthyArchitecture, planning and interior design firm WDG is well-known for its focus on designing multi-family res-idential, commercial office, higher education, hospital-ity, and government and institutional buildings. What makes the company unique, however, is its creation of urban mixed-use environments.“We were doing office buildings for decades and did residential only here and there, and then the script flipped in the early 2000s,” said Bob Keane, Managing Principal and Director of Higher Education for WDG. “Our focus became more residen-tial, both condominiums and apartments, and it’s been pre-dominantly multi-family ever since. We definitely do our share of office buildings and hotels, and we also do student housing on a national scale, but the majority of our work tends to be large urban mixed-use residential projects, and they tend to be mixed-use high rise concrete structures.”Over the past eighty years, the firm, which was founded by Edwin Weihe, has established offices in Washington, DC and Dallas, Texas, and it has completed more than five hundred major projects during that time. Its Washington office has worked up and down the Eastern Seaboard from New York to Florida and has also done work in Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska and Georgia. The Dallas office also has a broad reach, design-ing projects from coast to coast including Kansas, Oregon, and Colorado. Both office locations have recently been working extensively in Florida, and the company is considering opening a third office in the Tampa area. 35CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS Keane joined the firm in 2004, bringing 17 years of experience to initiate a higher education business sector. “Early in my career, I became pretty dialed in to the higher education world, and student housing in particular. This was the result of participat-ing in many developer-led student housing public-private partnerships (P3s). The P3 process is an intense project delivery process where a developer teams with an architect, contractor, and financial consultants, and provides a university a turnkey on-campus residential community typically in the 400 to 3,000 bed range. This is a highly competitive interview process that requires conceptual design, construction pricing, financial strategies, and management plans. Today the P3 process is alive and well and more and more universities are seeing the benefits of using bond financing or private equity to fund new residence halls.”The company employs 140 people, two thirds of whom are in Washington, and has been led by five managing partners includ-ing Keane. Much of the staff has been with the firm for ten plus years, so it has enjoyed strong continuity. Part of that is due to employees being drawn to the scale, complexity, and quality of the company’s work, as well as its diversity.“People are attracted to our culture of design excellence and sustainability. We very much focus on the individual and their personal growth and success. We put a lot of emphasis on that,” explained Keane. “We work hard, but also play hard.” By stressing individual growth and professional development, WDG has created an environment where young architects and designers can be exposed to various phases of the profession while being supported in their ongoing learning with access to all the latest study materials to prepare for professional registration. Placemaking is integral to all of our project types including multi-family, workplace, student life, and hospitality. “One of the most important things we do is focus on the urban experience and how our buildings meet the street and how they meet the sky. This is what shapes the urban landscape,” said Keane. “How buildings meet the street and interface with public spaces is critical to the urban experience. A lot of that has to do with the programming of the ground level or the first few levels around the street and Terrapin Row - Toll BrothersSix11 - Campus ApartmentsAward-Winning Student Housing Projects• Terrapin Row, University of Maryland, College Park, MD - AIA Award (rare for student housing) • Six 11, Ann Arbor, MI – Student Housing Business Innovator AwardAUGUST 201936the tops of buildings. How you configure the building, how you detail and finesse the public space, transparency versus opaque-ness, material selections – all of these factors ultimately make or break the quality of public space. Similarly, urban roofscapes have become programmed with a range of amenities and communal interior and exterior spaces. These urban environments are the essence of what we do, and this is what sets us apart.”Design projects of the scale that WDG tackles always come with challenges. “Keeping up with technology is always interesting,” said Keane. “The world continues to evolve. It’s a global phenomenon. You hear about how people outsource, so you are competing as a firm with people who are outsourcing to other parts of the world where labor costs are very different, so you are up against chal-lenges like that.”The most important thing the company feels it can do, however, is to serve its clients to the best of its ability.“Seventy-five percent of our work is repeat business. I think that speaks volumes,” said Keane. “We’ve always had a great reputation for design excellence and urban planning, coupled with technical expertise and great construction documents. A lot of the major contractors in DC turn to us when they want to do a design-build project because we have a great reputation for very complete and coordinated sets of drawings.” 37CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS One of the firm’s most notable projects has been the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. WDG won the project through a design-build competition around the time of the 2007 reces-sion. And now, 12 years later, it is working on a third project with the Institute. HHMI performs sophisticated biomedical research, bringing in the best minds from all over the world, with researchers living in the residences that WDG has created.“It’s a special place,” said Keane. “The architectural design of the laboratories is on a very high level. The Institute wanted their housing to be equally modern and cutting edge to reflect the stunning research campus they had created. It’s an incredible environment that fosters world-class research, and it’s won multiple AIA (American Institute of Architects) awards.” For Keane, being a part of WDG and having the opportuni-ties he has had with the firm over the years has been a very fulfilling experience.“As an owner of a business, it’s always rewarding to see the staff really grow from the students right out of school to the ones who stick around five years or more. You really see them turn into highly contributing architects,” said Keane. “It’s also very special when you’re visiting your projects, and they’re half-built, and then it’s finished, and you’re walking through with your client, and to see their excitement as the project takes shape. It’s a great feeling when they walk in, and they feel the quality of the space, the quality of the light, the quality of the materials, and how it all comes together. Those are great moments when you’re taking tours with a group and they are surprised – in a great way – by how the drawings and renderings come to life.” It has become very important to the firm to give back to the communities in which it has been fortunate enough to work. In fact, there is a long list of charitable organizations to which it donates, including the American Cancer Society and the Anne Frank Center. It also does pro bono design work for The Samaritan Inn and Jubilee Jobs, where it has renovated offices and townhouses, transforming them into childcare centers. It also has an event each year called District Night to celebrate and promote entre-preneurial, DC-based companies.“It’s a great feeling when they walk in, and they feel the quality of the space, the quality of the light, the quality of the materials, and how it all comes together.”Cates EngineeringFor more than 30 years Cates Engineering has been faithfully serving clients in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and beyond. Leaders in the construction industry, Cates Engineering is dedicated to cost efficient design, construction friendly drawings, a common-sense approach to structural engineering, and responsive customer service. Applying diverse experience and employing latest BIM technologies aids us in solving the most complicated design chal-lenges and addressing the smallest details. Projects range from complex, mixed-use, mid-rise podiums with hybrid wood/concrete/steel systems to high-rise, post-tensioned concrete designs with deep founda-tions to unique student housing, senior living, and multifamily projects with retail and parking garages. Whatever your next project, Cates Engineering is your prime source for structural design. Learn more at As for current initiatives, it is working on a number of major multi-family projects as well as several large student life projects. One of these is a 700-bed student housing project at the University of Maryland, in College Park, Maryland, with 26,000 square feet of retail and three levels of below-grade parking.“It’s truly a gateway project,” said Keane. “It’s intentionally developed to be a very urbane, almost European project where the store-fronts are forty feet apart, with a narrow one-way lane between the main masses of the building. The idea is that they can close the street off for events like homecoming weekend or festivals, so it is literally the site that connects the campus to the downtown – a portal between the two. It’s a very dynamic location.”That project was the result of another public-private partner-ship in conjunction with Greystar Development. WDG is also working on a large project with Greystar at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, a campus village of 3,700 beds comprising eight buildings, dining, retail, academic space, and physical fitness space.As for the future, the plan is to continue to expand its reach. “The last five or six years, it’s been really astonishing how far we’ve gone outside our hubs,” said Keane. “Going forward, our plan is to continue to hire great people and help them become great architects. That’s been the secret to our success over the years. We attract and retain great people. We offer a lot to our clients because we have many very smart and talented people working for us.” Content Developed by Erin Wells | Designed by Severina Gachparova“The last five or six years, it’s been really astonishing how far we’ve gone outside our hubs.”39CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS Next >