2016 Recap: An Excellent Year

Our most significant contributions to the design and engineering professions occur through our focus on design that makes lives better. In 2016 we enjoyed many opportunities to realize these important successes.

Design Excellence

Our project milestones reflect the diversity of our work throughout the year. From innovative medical school design and master plans for significant mid-twentieth century campuses to student-life buildings and brand identities for top tier universities, our work is shaping and improving academic environments across the country. Of particular note this year, under our award winning 2013 Medical District Master Plan, our Dell Medical School Health Learning Building was completed as the first phase of a 6.5 million-square-foot addition to The University of Texas at Austin downtown campus.

In 2016, Page design strategies brought benefits in many different areas. We worked with not-for-profits, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline and Austin’s Montessori for All. In Houston, one of our truly unique and award-winning projects, the Cistern, brought a defunct underground water utility back to life as a public space that accommodates temporary art installations and has already attracted thousands of visitors. We are reshaping skylines with new multi-story residential buildings in Washington D.C., Texas and Colorado. And our efforts with civic and government clients ranged from domestic municipal complexes to embassies in remote lands.

This spring, we introduced art + architecture, an evening in the garden that brought together allied design professionals in a discussion about promoting design in everything we do. We also created a new office lecture series dedicated to design. The Third Thursday events provide an opportunity for our designers to discuss our projects and trends with the entire firm. 

Growth Milestones

Defining moments of the firm’s growth included the acquisition of Dyal Branding & Graphics, an award-winning design studio with a long tradition of collaborating with Page, both as the team in charge of our rebranding and a trusted collaborator on many projects. Early this year, we also introduced Page/houses, a dedicated design website for our luxury residential design. Additionally, we welcomed new directors of sustainability and landscape architecture in 2016.

Project Awards and Recognition

In 2016, our projects were honored with more than 20 design awards. Highlights include Interior Design Magazine’s recognition of the Cistern as a Pièce de Résistance in its Best of Year Awards. The Architect’s Newspaper honored our work in Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park as the winner of the Civic Institution category of the Best of Design Awards. Pierce Skypark and 2902 at the W Residences both received honorable mentions in the Best of Design Awards as well. We received three other national design awards from the Society of American Registered Architects for our projects the U.S. headquarters for Ottobock, The Hub at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the Cistern.

Recognition throughout the year including the 2016 professional rankings—which identified Page’s inclusion in the ARCHITECT 50, Interior Design Giants and Architectural Record Magazine’s Top U.S. Firms—only affirmed our successes and reinforced our resolve to create designs that makes lives better. We are particularly proud of the fact that AIA Dallas named Page 2016 Firm of the Year.

Sharing Our Expertise

Throughout 2016, we shared our expertise from the podium at several significant industry conferences, ranging from NeoCon to the National Tribal Nations Healthcare Conference to the World Building Conference in Finland. Pagers were active in their local AIA conferences as well as the Texas Society of Architects (TxA) annual convention, where we made six presentations and participated on two panel discussions. The event was also the culmination of Page Associate Principal Paul Bielamowicz's role as president of TxA. Likewise, in his role as 2016 president of the AIA International Region, Page Senior Principal James M. Wright led the organization through a successful international conference in Toronto. 

Our employees made notable contributions to the growth and promotion of our profession throughout the year. Principal Jamie Flatt co-presented an innovative discussion about leveraging neuroscience for creativity and learning that began as a Steelcase Fellowship for workplace research. Flatt also joined the Texas Architect Magazine Publications Committee while Principal Tom Earp continued his relationship as a contributor to Consulting-Specifying Engineer Magazine and joined its editorial advisory board. Senior Principal Mattia Flabiano participated on both the Downtown Dallas Executive Committee and Dallas Center for Architecture Board. Principal Wendy Dunam Tita was appointed to the Downtown Austin Commission and also served as 2016 AIA Austin President-Elect.

Additionally throughout 2016, Page voices and projects were featured in national, regional and local media outlets. Standout moments included Designer Devanne Pena’s interview with National Public Radio about her thoughts on diversity and women in architecture, a CityLab article about the Cistern, Texas Architect Magazine’s focus on our performing arts centers, and local media dedicated to Associate Principal Jen Bussinger’s work.

Page is proud to play a strong leadership role in the development of the communities we serve, and in 2016 we challenged ourselves to raise the bar in terms of our design mission, leadership in the profession, impact on our local communities and contribution to expertise in our field.