Building Design Partnership (BDP), a major UK-based international firm of architects, designers, engineers and urbanists, has made a strategic investment in Toronto-based architecture and interior design firm Quadrangle. Quadrangle will lead Canadian operations and BDP’s North American expansion. Quadrangle is now owned by a group that includes BDP as its most significant investor, holding a minority stake.
“Quadrangle supports our strategy to grow operations in the Canadian marketplace and greatly enhances our expertise and resources. The addition of a 200-strong studio in one of North America’s largest cities will not only provide exceptional opportunities for our people, it will also enable both BDP and Quadrangle to expand our services into new regions,” said John McManus, chief executive officer of BDP, in a press release. “BDP’s collective grouping of professions design with a progressive outlook and a sensibility towards the creation of a sustainable and human environment. We are confident that our culture and ethos will be greatly enhanced by the addition of Quadrangle. We are also delighted to welcome four of Quadrangle’s principals to the BDP Group Board.”
“We are incredibly excited to join BDP,” added Anna Madeira, executive principal at Quadrangle. “This partnership infuses our business with greater expertise, services and resources that we can offer to our clients, and it enables us to provide our staff with increased opportunities to work on diverse projects.”
Quadrangle’s portfolio includes work in commercial, mixed-use, multi-unit residential, content media and retail markets, as well as specializations in master planning, accessibility, sustainability and adaptive re-use. Quadrangle’s team of over 200 architects, interior designers, technologists and support staff will continue to operate under the Quadrangle name, at the direction of Quadrangle’s principals.
Quadrangle’s current projects include Yonge-Sheppard Centre, a large mixed-use development in North York; 80 Atlantic Avenue, Toronto’s first wood-frame office building in over a century; and Downtown Markham, a large-scale mixed-use development that includes retail, housing, office and hospitality in an urban setting.
BDP is a multi-disciplinary practice that provides architecture, interiors, engineering, lighting, acoustics, landscape and urban design services. The UK-based firm also has studios in China, India, Ireland, the Middle East, Netherlands and Singapore. BDP’s portfolio includes work in the education, healthcare, heritage, residential, cultural, retail, science and research, transportation, sport, office and urbanism sectors. The firm has over 1,000 employees.
BDP’s current work includes providing full interdisciplinary design services to restore and protect the future of the Palace of Westminster. In Toronto, its portfolio includes a three-level retail podium for RioCan at The Well, a large mixed-use commercial development that is currently under construction.
