Well-known Baltimore architect, Donald Kann, and the employees of Baltimore-based Kann Partners have joined Columbia-based Waldon Studio Architects (WSA), expanding the firm’s capabilities and increasing its size to just under 40 employees. This new talent brings to Waldon Studio Architects new expertise in historic preservation as well as deep experience in the senior living, hospitality, multi-family housing, and mixed-use sectors. With WSA’s strong portfolio in worship, K12, healthcare, and community facilities, the combined talent broadens and diversifies the firm’s portfolio, providing expertise and experience across the full spectrum of community-based architecture.
Kann Partners has served the Baltimore region for more than four decades. In addition to its commercial and government work, the firm has made a name for itself through historic preservation of notable cultural landmarks, including Patterson Park’s Pagoda, the Thomas Point Lighthouse and historic buildings on the campus of Johns Hopkins University, to name a few. Recently, Kann Partners conducted a comprehensive study that served as the basis for a $17 million improvement plan for Baltimore City Hall. While the entity of Kann Partners will cease operations, its experienced staff will continue to serve clients with expanded capabilities as part of WSA.
Waldon Studio Architects is headquartered in Columbia, Md. with offices in Washington, D.C. and will now have more of a connection in Baltimore City. Adding a Baltimore-based team strengthens WSA’s local presence in the market and provides easier access for clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. WSA’s clients will benefit from access to expanded capacity, skill sets, and services. In addition to Donald Kann, Cass Gottlieb and Jon Fisher join as principals the WSA management team, which includes Ravi Waldon, Bob Lyon, Christa Kerrigan, and Patrick Schultz. WSA will continue its status as a minority-owned firm.
Waldon Studio Architects was founded to serve and strengthen the community through creative design. Through its consultative and collaborative approach, the firm believes that architecture has the power to create positive change, enrich lives and elevate purpose.
“This is an exciting time of growth for us,” says Ravi Waldon, AIA, LEED, BD+C, NCARB, founder and principal at WSA. “The addition of these professionals and their talents not only broadens and diversifies our portfolio, but it is also a great cultural fit. We hire people who want to do something really great – not just in architecture, but in contributing to the world. Donald and the employees we’ve brought on from Kann Partners share that passion and sense of purpose.”
“WSA is a well-respected, growing firm with a great reputation,” notes architect Donald Kann, AIA, NCARB, WSA principal and former founder and principal of Kann Partners. “Joining WSA allows me to more fully focus my continuing work with clients on strategic project analysis and conceptual planning while ensuring an expanded capacity to meet the needs of the clients and communities we serve. I am excited about this new chapter.”
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About Waldon Studio Architects
Waldon Studio Architects (WSA) was founded in 2003 to serve and strengthen the community through creative design. It is an award-winning studio of passionate architects and creatives, designing spaces for worship, education, community, government, corporate, and healthcare clients. Our design approach embodies the service mindset, entering into a partnership between our clients and our team with one unified purpose – for the architectural design to reflect the core values and priorities that are pivotal to our clients’ mission. WSA has offices in Columbia, Maryland, Washington D.C., and Baltimore, Md. While based in the Mid-Atlantic, the firm has worked on projects in more than 23 states. WSA is a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) in Maryland (MDOT) and Virginia (SWaM) firm, and a registered Certified Small Disadvantaged Business Enterprise in Washington DC. For more information, visit www.waldonstudio.com.
About Kann Partners
Founded in 1974 by Donald R. Kann, Kann Partners is an award-winning architecture and master planning firm, with a long and proud history of providing professional services in Maryland. The firm has been recognized for its ability to creatively convert existing buildings to newuses, and to sensitively introduce new structures into existing urban settings. In addition to historic preservation and adaptive reuse, the firm also has extensive experience in the senior living, healthcare, mixed-use and hospitality sectors. KANN Partners blends the strengths of creative design and planning, with the technical skills necessary to complete successful projects of any scale, in both the public and private sectors. For more information, visit www.kannpartners.com.