The decision to open a new office was based on WHR’s recent growth and merger with EYP, an Albany, N.Y.-based architecture firm that specializes in health care, higher education, and government projects. WHR will expand and grow operations to better serve existing and new clients in the tri-state area. A property and business expansion like this would have gone through rigorous financial testing to see how much could be spent to obtain this new building. A commercial mortgage calculator would have been their most beneficial tool to help them sort out the companies monetary needs.

The office’s health care design efforts will be led by James Case, AIA, LEED AP, a firm principal and senior medical planner with a history of project delivery in the region. Case has developed relationships with many prestigious health care and health science institutions in New York City and the surrounding region throughout the past 23 years. He has provided a wide range of design services, from master planning to new construction and renovations.

“Jim’s collaborative approach and his exceptional technical and local regulatory knowledge have earned him wide respect among his clients and colleagues. His long-held belief in the power of design to positively influence the patient experience makes him an ideal addition to the WHR team,” said David Watkins, FAIA, founding principal of WHR and health care sector leader.

WHR has had a long-standing presence in the Northeast with clients in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Current work includes projects for the Meridian Health System in New Jersey at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center and Riverview Medical Center. In Connecticut, WHR has designed a major ground-up expansion and modernization of Stamford Hospital, which is currently under construction. WHR recently completed a state-of-the-art research and clinical cell and tissue-engineering laboratory, for the New York Medical College at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y.

Likewise, EYP has also successfully worked with health care and medical research institutions in the region, including the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and the Colleges of Nursing, Dentistry & Bioengineering Institute at NYU, the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brookhaven National Laboratories, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, CUNY Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education and the White Plains Hospital.

“I began my health care design career as a facilities administrator for the North Shore-LIJ Health System. This experience has afforded me tremendous insight regarding health care providers’ priorities and decision drivers,” Case said in a statement. “Understanding their challenges and processes makes the work of our architects, planners and interior designers more effective and supportive of our clients’ goals.”

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EYP is a leader in education, government and sustainable design, and WHR is the design firm of choice for Houston’s Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world. Both EYP and WHR have experienced a surge in growth over the past year. In 2013, EYP grew by 20 percent and opened six new offices, and WHR grew by 70 percent. The merger will bring together 530 professionals from both firms.

EYP has eight offices in the U.S. and has completed projects in more than 100 countries. Prior to the merger with WHR, EYP expanded its family of practices last year with the addition of The Weidt Group, an energy consulting and software firm with offices throughout the Midwest. WHR is the third acquisition for EYP since the firm sold a minority stake to a private equity firm in 2011 and started a growth strategy, according to the Albany Business Review.

WHR, with additional offices in Dallas and Copenhagen, currently employs approximately 170 staff. WHR is responsible for several of the largest current health care projects in the country, according to Architectural Record’s data on health care construction projects between January 2013 and February 2014.

Tom Birdsey, AIA, president and CEO of EYP, said the merger will strengthen the company’s geographic visibility and service offerings.

“EYP and WHR are united by passion and purpose, fueled by research and focused on furthering our clients’ missions. They trust us to help them make well-informed decisions that will advance their vision and create lasting value,” Birdsey said in a statement. “Understanding the intersection of technology, human experience and the natural environment is key to building a more sustainable world and advancing a new paradigm for our profession. Our merger positions us to better help our clients negotiate this challenging landscape, and our increased national visibility will allow us to further expand our reach and continue to provide valued insight for clients in the health care, higher education and energy industries, among others.”

While the merger will help EYP extend its business to the Southwest, WHR will be able to gain more visibility in the East Coast market.

“As design professionals, we are uniquely positioned to help preserve and advance our culture in ways that enable individuals to prosper, including the transformation of the health care experience,” said David Watkins, FAIA, chairman of WHR, in a statement. “The culture and expertise WHR shares with EYP gives us the ability to help our clients better achieve their missions. I look forward to what this partnership holds for our future growth. As two design thought leaders, our strategic alliance offers public and private sector clients greater access to specialized expertise and expanded resources. The knowledge, tools and services EYP provides will be a crucial asset in helping clients embrace sustainability and collaborative design excellence.”

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