Minneapolis-based architecture, interiors, and planning firm
Architectural Alliance recently merged with smaller-but-prominent design and architecture company
20 Below Studio, also located in Minneapolis.
The merger fuses the two firms' client-centered experience for broader capabilities, notes Carey Brendalen, Principal at Architectural Alliance. "This is two strong organizations coming together," he says. "We've worked with different types of clients and we have different capabilities, and now we're leveraging those differences in a complementary way."
20 Below, an 8-person firm that's established a strong reputation in interior architecture and design, will partner with Architectural Alliance's 74-member team. The newly joined firms are expected to drive growth, Brendalen says.
Architectural Alliance has experience in market segments like aviation, retail, hospitality, and public sector work, and with 20 Below's expertise in interior architecture, growth should come naturally as a result of the combined energy and experience.
"Together, we will offer greater reach, creativity, and expertise in the architecture and design market," Brendalen says, adding that such a combination is especially crucial since client needs are becoming more complex. More variables, like the convergence of work and lifestyle needs, require the firms to approach projects in a new way.
"It sounds trite, but there's shared value in terms of what we can bring to customers," says Brendalen. "We're excited to see what comes out of the partnership. We think there's beauty here as well as pragmatism."
Source: Carey Brendalen, Architectural Alliance
Writer: Elizabeth Millard