HMC Merges With Substance Design Consortium

PHOENIX — In its second major merger this year, HMC Architects merged with Substance Design Consortium, a Phoenix-based design firm.

The new firm will be known as HMC+Substance Design and will operate from its existing studio in downtown Phoenix.

Earlier this year, HMC Architects merged with San Francisco-based Beverly Prior Architects, forming HMC+Beverly Prior Architects.

The Consortium’s founding principals Donna Barry and Jose Pombo will join HMC’s corporate leadership with Barry serving as design principal and Pombo as associate principal, senior project manager.

Randy Peterson, president and CEO of HMC Architects, said that having started his career in Phoenix in 1983, the merger reflects the spirit of homecoming for him.

“By joining forces with Substance Design, we are gaining the talent and resources of an emerging design firm who shares the same commitment to client service that we value so much at HMC,” he said. “Donna brings a passion for design that is consistent with our firm’s culture. I look forward to her being a key leader in our continued growth in Arizona.”

Substance Design Consortium will merge with HMC’s existing Tempe, Arizona office, led by Principal-in-Charge Erik Hanson and Design Principal David De Valeria. Hanson will continue to manage the combined downtown Phoenix studio.

“The new partnership is mutually beneficial,” Hanson said. “By combining our employees, we’re gaining new perspectives and a great energy that will inform our clients and projects moving forward.”

With the merger, Substance Design Consortium can offer clients planning, architecture, and interior design services in new markets, including healthcare, justice, commercial and civic design.

Notable projects by Substance Design Consortium include the iconic Hayden Flour Mill in Tempe, Ariz., Phoenix Theatre Mainstage, and the Glendale Community College Public Safety Science facility.

“We believe this will open possibilities to us that are increasingly reserved for larger local and national firms and we look forward to successfully competing head to head with the biggest and best in our market,” Barry said.

Barry and Pombo founded Substance Design Consortium in 2007 and have focused their practice on creating high-performance architectural solutions that maximize program requirements while responding to the natural environment.