News

2024 marked a great year for Ayers Saint Gross, as we continued to work with mission-driven clients to create places for shared knowledge and culture around the world.

The Architect's Newspaper included National Aquarium Harbor Wetland in its roundup of 10 notable landscape architecture projects from 2024.

For more than a decade, Ayers Saint Gross has held periodic Collaboration Day events to help employees build connections, share ideas, and have fun. This year’s event, which took place in October, was the first in-person Collaboration Day since 2019, with employees traveling from around the country to Baltimore for two days of workshops and networking.

The Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden is featured as the World Building of the Week on world-architects.com.

“Harbor Wetland is an example of how to marry science and art,” said Amelle Schultz, ASLA, PLA, a principal and landscape architect with Ayers Saint Gross. “It leaves no doubt that landscape architecture is a STEM discipline.”

Veteran architect Joel Fidler was recently named the new president of the city-based firm, replacing Luanne Greene, who has held the role since 2016. Fidler, 49, had been a principal and vice president at Ayers Saint Gross prior to his promotion. He will begin as president on Jan. 1.

Joel Fidler, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, has been named the new president of interdisciplinary design firm Ayers Saint Gross. Having served as a principal and vice president, and with more than 25 years of experience leading architectural projects, Joel will continue the firm’s long tradition of design excellence for mission-driven clients around the world.  

As the front door to one of the nation’s oldest botanical gardens in continuous operation, the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s most important job was to get out of the way and let the 79-acre campus filled with historic architecture and some of the rarest plants on the planet “do the talking.”

Opened in August, the 929-square-metre Harbor Wetland artfully extends the museum's program into the public realm, creating a community space that doubles as a free outdoor exhibition.

Two Ayers Saint Gross projects received 2024 Excellence in Design Awards, with the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center earning the top award of the year.

Veteran architect Adam Gross will retire this fall after a 40-year career at Ayers Saint Gross. Gross joined the firm in 1984 and has helped it grow from eight employees to more than 190 today.

After four decades of groundbreaking work and forward-thinking design, Principal Adam Gross, FAIA, will retire from Ayers Saint Gross this fall. Since his earliest days with the firm, Adam has served as a creative leader, bringing endless energy and commitment to his work.

The Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center, which opened in 2023, represents a bold, transformative vision for the Missouri Botanical Garden and its mission.

Ayers Saint Gross principals Dennis Lynch and Cooper Melton and Sustainability Director Allison Wilson were all recently featured in a special report from The Chronicle of Higher Education titled, “Campus Housing for Tomorrow: How to Plan for Student and Institutional Success.”

National Aquarium Harbor Wetland, a floating wetland exhibit that serves as a model for sustainable urban development, has been featured in design outlets around the world, including The Architect's Newspaper, Domus, and Gooood.

Building Design + Construction wrote about the National Aquarium Harbor Wetland, giving credit to Ayers Saint Gross as the designer. Ayers Saint Gross worked with the National Aquarium to design the sustainable, high-performing floating wetland intended to restore natural habitats and improve biodiversity and water quality.

Texas State University hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, Aug. 16, to mark the start of construction on the university’s new STEM classroom building. The 168,000-square-foot building is expected to be operational by fall 2026.

National Aquarium Harbor Wetland was featured in Bloomberg's City Lab. Designed by Baltimore-based architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross, the floating structure is among the largest and most ambitious efforts to clean up urban waterways by tapping the filtering properties of native shrubs and grasses.

Dubbed “The Ridge,” this housing integrates two primary needs highlighted during the university’s master planning: a lack of graduate housing on Emory’s core campus and a space for Emory graduate students to gather and support community building.

Principal Amelle Schultz spoke to Architect's Newspaper about the opening of National Aquarium Harbor Wetland. “We think this approach can be replicated at many other compromised waterfronts to improve environmental health in urban conditions. It’s a great way of connecting people to water, and educating the public about water and ecological issues.”

Earl Purdue, longtime leader of our health sciences studio, is retiring from the firm after more than three decades of service.

Innovation districts can attract and develop talent, nurture startups, create economic opportunities, and address societal challenges in health, climate, and equity. Ayers Saint Gross planned districts, including The Pearl and Cortex Innovation Community, are included in this report on how innovation districts can be successful.

Ayers Saint Gross has shared renderings of its new design in Charlotte, NC. The project is part of The Pearl; a planned innovation district that will total three million square feet at its full buildout and is intended to aid the Wake Forest School of Medicine’s expansion and become a new civic hub for Charlotte.

Our National Nurses Week newsletter highlights some of our recent and ongoing nursing and health sciences projects at the University of Central Florida, Duke University, Hofstra University, and more.

Ayers Saint Gross interior designer Karen Bastidas, an associate in our interior design studio, was recognized as an IIDA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Emerging Leader Champion during the chapter's Premiere Design Awards event on May 1.

Our Spring 2024 Engage, Create, Enrich newsletter highlights some of our recent and ongoing projects, including The Howard R. Levine Center for Education, 100 Forge, and Cunniffe Commons at the Ringling College of Art and Design.

Ayers Saint Gross architect and planner Laura Wheaton has been awarded a 2024 AIA Young Architects Award, which honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the architecture profession early in their careers.

The Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden was named Best in Show, the highest recognition of the night, and earned a design excellence award. Frisco Landing at the University of North Texas at Frisco received an award of merit.

Principal Shannon Dowling speaks to associate architect Caitlin Brady about how higher education design can promote belonging on campus for both an article and Architectette podcast episode.

Ayers Saint Gross was recently ranked as number 3 on the Top 70 Museum Architecture Firms for the year on the Building Design + Construction 2023 Giants 400 Report.

At Ayers Saint Gross, we’re grateful for our creative and collaborative employees who shape the built environment and our profession for the better. This year, we would like to congratulate 15 of these individuals on their well-deserved promotions.These individuals are all talented leaders in their field, working with mission-driven clients to create places for shared knowledge and culture. To celebrate their accomplishments, we asked each…

Are you interested in joining our team? Our firm is visiting a number of colleges and universities this spring for campus recruiting and career fairs.

With the turning of ceremonial dirt Friday, University of Central Florida students, donors and administrators celebrated breaking ground on the transformational Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion — a state-of-the-art building that will strengthen patient care by enabling UCF to graduate 150 more highly qualified, compassionate nurses each year.

As Bryant's enrollment grows, on-campus housing must meet the demand. Last winter, the university tapped D.C.-based higher education architecture firm, Ayers Saint Gross, to assess residential life at Bryant.

Ayers Saint Gross was recently ranked highly for our work in student housing and cultural projects on the Building Design + Construction 2023 Giants 400 Report.  

Ayers Saint Gross employees are sharing a playlist that inspires our most creative work, with songs spanning genres, cultures, and time periods.

As we wrap up 2023, Ayers Saint Gross is proudly reflecting on another year marked by achievement, collaboration, and progress.

Kevin Miller, a member of our architecture design staff, was named a recipient of AIA Baltimore’s Emerging Professional Award, which recognizes proficiency and exceptional accomplishments to the profession by those who have been working in the architecture field for less than ten years.

College of Nursing Dean Mary Lou Sole said during a Nov. 16 UCF Board of Trustees meeting that last year the school graduated 275 nurses, and when it moves into the new facility, she hopes that will double. “This will allow us to have larger space and larger labs to be able to educate those nurses plus our focus on new faculty.”

Since his first day of work in 1978, Glenn Birx has played a part in almost every project Ayers Saint Gross has worked on. Now, leading up to his retirement, he is reflecting on his career.

Co-authored by Principal Shannon Dowling, this article explores how the design of higher education environments can be more responsive to the needs of neurodivergent students.

As planning continues to advance towards Wake Forest University School of Medicine's Charlotte campus seating its first class in 2025, designers and engineers are working to ensure the Howard R. Levine Center for Education will be state-of-the-art, including building the facility to a carbon-zero and LEED Gold standard, while also achieving a WELL Building Standard.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) honored two Ayers Saint Gross projects with AIA Baltimore Excellence in Design Awards. Greensboro Hall at Ringling College of Art and Design and the Yahentamitsi Dining Hall at the University of Maryland were given honorable mentions in the higher education category.

The University of Texas at El Paso broke ground Thursday morning on a new Liberal Arts Building that will be called the Texas Western Hall. Designed by Ayers Saint Gross, the new building will have larger classrooms, open spaces, and the newest technology for students.

Ayers Saint Gross has been working with the National Aquarium to design a new floating wetland exhibit, Harbor Wetland, which will be installed between piers 3 and 4 in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Scheduled to open next summer, the exhibit will feature a walking dock and a network of floating, manmade “islands” with plants and grasses to attract and provide shelter for native species.  

Planner and Architect Amber Wendland, who works as a lecturer at the University of Maryland, talks about her work in urban and community-based planning as part of this article for the university's website.

For the second year in a row, Ayers Saint Gross ranked among the top five university architecture firms in the country on the Building Design+Construction 2023 Giants 400 Report. The rankings, which are based on 2022 revenue, listed Ayers Saint Gross as #5 out of 170 firms from around the United States.

Shannon Dowling, principal architect and learning environments strategist, was recently recognized with AIA Virginia’s 2023 Award for Distinguished Achievement. The award, which is given annually, recognizes Shannon for her work as well as her advocacy and service within her local community.

Architect Caitlin Brady, AIA, LEED BD+C was recently named a recipient of AIA DC’s Emerging Architect Award, which recognizes proficiency and exceptional accomplishments to the profession by an architect who has been a registered architect for less than 10 years.

Ayers Saint Gross made its first Just Disclosure with the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) in 2019 to share more quantitative data about the social equity and justice issues embedded in who we are and how we practice design. We’re proud to share we’ve recently renewed our disclosure for 2023.

The Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden was featured in a special episode of Spotlight STL, a weekly show that shares information about St. Louis arts and culture. In the episode, Garden President Peter Wyse Jackson provides a tour of the new visitor center, which was designed by Ayers Saint Gross.

This summer Worcester Polytechnic Institute Facilities are beginning major renovations in Stratton Hall and beyond; and the intense work of creating a new campuswide facilities plan to guide decisions related to the university’s buildings and grounds for the next 10 years.