VIA Architecture is now known as VIA – A Perkins Eastman Studio after merging with New York based Perkins Eastman.
A global architecture and design firm with 1,100 employees, Perkins Eastman has worked on projects on five continents in 60 countries. VIA is known for its expertise in infrastructure architecture, transit systems alignment design, mobility-oriented development, and urban planning. VIA has more than 70 employees, and studios in Seattle, WA, Oakland, CA, and Vancouver, B.C.
This union between Perkins Eastman and VIA Architecture, established in 1981 and 1984 respectively, provides an opportunity for collaboration across disciplines and studios. It provides an opportunity for Perkins Eastman to significantly bolster its West Coast and Canadian presence, while VIA will be able to draw on the strong market credibility, resources, and geographic reach that Perkins Eastman provides.
“We have been working together with VIA on a variety of projects for several years. During that time we have come to appreciate the unique skills and capabilities that VIA brings to a merged firm, and we are very happy that they too saw how mutually beneficial a merger would be,” says Bradford Perkins, FAIA, MRAIC, chairman of Perkins Eastman. “Moreover, this merger fulfills a long-time goal to have a high quality established presence in two of our favorite cities, Seattle and Vancouver.”
Lauren Hamilton, co-managing principal of VIA Architecture, says, “We are thrilled about working hand-in-hand with the many talented professionals at Perkins Eastman, tapping into its global expertise, and better serving our clients and our communities as we continue creating elevated and livable places through the transit, bridges, neighborhoods, and homes we plan and design.”
VIA Architecture was established as Baker McGarva Hart in Vancouver in advance of Expo ’86. The firm’s earliest projects include system-wide design guidance and Lead Architecture for Expo Line SkyTrain Rapid Transit (1986), Millennium SkyTrain extension (2002), and community planning and design for downtown Vancouver’s waterfront neighborhoods at Concord Pacific, and South East False Creek (2004).
Bringing lessons from Vancouver’s swift transition into the “world’s most livable city,” the firm opened its office in Seattle in 1999 to support transit system planning and design. In 2011, VIA expanded to California, opening an office in Oakland. VIA’s three offices continue to work collaboratively in mid- and high-rise multi-family residential architecture, mixed-use development, transit and infrastructure architecture, and urban design and planning services.
