CHELSEA, MA– Reflecting consistent long-term growth and an evolving national presence, the architecture, planning, and interior design firm, The Architectural Team (TAT), has announced a significant expansion of its leadership team.
This expansion includes the elevation of three architects and an administrative leader to the position of principal, and by the hiring of a new director of interior design. The newly elevated principals include Jay Szymanski, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP; Gary Kane, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP; Edward Bradford, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP; and Vice President of Finance, William Moran. In addition, the firm has announced that Meghann Van Dorn, LEED ID+C, has joined as director of interior design.
With these appointments to its senior decision-making and design teams, TAT empowers a new generation of leaders at an important moment in the firm’s history. Long recognized as an industry leader in multifamily and mixed-use design, and as an advocate for important issues including affordable housing, historic preservation and adaptive reuse, and resilient waterfront development, TAT will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2021 while continuing its expansion into a broader range of market sectors nationwide.
Recent milestones for TAT include the opening of notable large-scale projects such as the award-winning Clippership Wharf waterfront community, Bower mixed-use development, and the Residences at Brighton Marine supportive veterans’ housing campus, all in Boston. Other notable recent achievements include the phased completion of transformative downtown revitalization projects such as the workplace, housing, and retail components at the 1 million-square-foot Sibley Square adaptive reuse complex in Rochester, N.Y., and The Archer Residences and 100 Shawmut in Boston. The firm has also announced construction starts for prestigious high-rise towers including the Raffles Boston Back Bay Hotel & Residences.
TAT’s newly elevated principals have played instrumental roles in many of these projects, and have also led recent involvement in numerous publications, lectures, and mentorship initiatives. In their new roles, Szymanski, Kane, Bradford, and Moran join TAT founder Robert J. Verrier, FAIA, NCARB and senior partners Michael E. Liu, AIA, NCARB; and Michael D. Binette, AIA, NCARB as key members of the firm’s leadership team. “We’re proud to say that these skilled, passionate professionals have chosen to make their careers at TAT, each contributing to the growth and success of our firm for 20+ years,” says Binette, who also serves as TAT’s managing principal. “Respected by clients, peers, and colleagues alike, they are exceptionally experienced practitioners, administrators, and mentors whose presence creates an atmosphere of trust, creativity, and excellence. We’re proud to recognize their ongoing roles, and to support their commitment to continuing the firm’s longstanding promise of serving as a trusted advisor and transforming the communities we serve.”
According to TAT senior partner and design principal Michael Liu, the growth of the firm’s leadership team, including through the appointment of Van Dorn as director of interior design, reflects an increasing diversity of project work as well as an evolving presence in the fields of architecture and interior design. “Our firm has built its practice through a belief in the transformative power of architecture,” says Liu. “As we look ahead and work to address the most critical issues of our moment, from housing shortages, to the climate crisis, and the revitalization of communities across the country, the talent and dedication of our senior leaders will enable us to grow and take on the kinds of increasingly complex work that we find most rewarding and valuable.”
“As TAT’s founder, it gives me great pride to witness this growth and celebrate the amazing talent that is driving our firm’s advancement,” says Robert J. Verrier, FAIA, NCARB, recognized as one of the country’s foremost affordable multifamily housing designers and experts on preservation and adaptive reuse. “There is an energy and added sense of purpose that comes from empowering new leaders, nurturing a firm-wide sense of ownership, and encouraging fresh perspectives. I know that the creativity and integrity of these valued team members will enhance our ability to seek the kinds of exciting project work we value, and to continue to foster the relationships and partnerships that are so important to TAT. I’m eager to watch the remarkable results take form.”
Here is detailed information about the five individuals:
James J. Szymanski, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Principal
A skilled planner and designer of mixed-use, commercial office, market-rate and affordable housing, adaptive reuse, and waterfront projects, Jay Szymanski has earned a reputation as one of the firm’s most versatile architects in his 28 years at TAT. Valued for his open and collaborative design approach and seen as a driving force behind many of TAT’s complex projects, Szymanski’s portfolio includes Bower, a new mixed-use, two-building air-rights development with 312 residential units and 40,000 square feet of commercial space next to Boston’s historic Fenway Park; Lovejoy Wharf, an award-winning Boston waterfront development combining adaptive reuse with extensive new public space and an addition housing corporate headquarters for clothing brand Converse; Building 114, the adaptive reuse of a former naval facility as a new biomedical research facility for Massachusetts General Hospital; the decade-plus long redevelopment of the Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony, one of the country’s oldest federal public housing communities, now with nearly 600 LEED Gold or Passive House Certified homes; and The Archer Residences, a complex transformation of two former university buildings into a 62-unit luxury condominium property regarded as one of Boston’s most desirable new addresses.
Frequently quoted in the media on topics ranging from affordable housing trends to best practices in adaptive reuse, sustainable design, and large-scale planning, Szymanski is recognized as a valuable resource on many of the building industry’s most important and timely subjects. His multifamily commercial and hospitality projects have won design awards and have been published at both the local and national level. Jay is active in a number of advisory groups including the Urban Land Institute. A graduate of the Wentworth Institute of Technology, he is a registered architect in Massachusetts and a LEED Accredited Professional.
Gary M. Kane, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Principal
Gary Kane’s background includes nearly 30 years of planning and design work for adaptive reuse, hospitality, multifamily residential, and assisted living and long-term care projects. Since joining TAT in 1991, Kane has helped lead a diverse array of projects, and has become known as a passionate advocate for architecture’s ability to revitalize communities nationwide. Kane’s current projects include planning and design for the Raffles Boston Back Bay Hotel & Residences, a new 33-story mixed-use tower with a 154-key five-star hotel, 146 luxury condominiums, as well as retail and restaurant space. Upon completion, it will be the famous Raffles brand’s first mixed-use property in North America.
Kane’s other hospitality work includes TAT’s award-winning Back Bay Hotel, the conversion of the historic former Boston police headquarters into a 220-key boutique hospitality destination. His affordable housing portfolio include Upham’s Crossing, the transformation of a former Archdiocese of Boston parish campus into 80 units of new workforce and permanent supportive housing combining adaptive reuse and new construction. Kane’s recent healthcare work includes the White Plains Institute for Rehabilitation & Healthcare, an advanced skilled nursing facility in White Plains, New York.
In addition to his project work, Kane has spearheaded many of TAT’s mentorship and professional development initiatives, including the firm’s sponsorship of and advisory role in a longstanding student design competition at the Boston Architectural College, where Kane also served as a guest critic. A graduate of the Wentworth Institute of Technology, he is a registered architect in Massachusetts and a LEED Accredited Professional.
Edward R. Bradford, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Principal
Known for expertise in housing, hospitality, and master planning work and for extensive collaborations with many of the country’s leading multifamily housing developers, Edward Bradford has played an important role in TAT’s continued growth and success since joining the firm in 1991. Highlights of his project work include numerous award-winning residential communities, such as the redevelopment of an 18-acre former hospital site into Arlington 360, a 200-unit residential campus in Arlington, Mass., Battery Wharf, a four-building, $180 million waterfront complex on Boston Harbor; and a broad portfolio of work for national developers including master planning and design for large-scale residential communities across the northeastern United States.
Bradford is often sought out by clients for his ability to successfully translate brand values and complex programmatic needs into market-leading design solutions, and his collaborations with national developer AvalonBay Communities have led to the completion of more than 3,000 residential units in multiple distinctive apartment communities. As an expert voice on the desires of multifamily tenants and buyers, Bradford’s input on residential amenities has helped to shape trends nationwide. In his new position as a principal at TAT, Bradford will take on an expanded leadership and managerial role, while continuing his award-winning project work. A registered architect in Massachusetts and New Jersey, he holds a Master of Architecture from the State University of New York, Buffalo.
William J. Moran, Principal, Vice President of Finance + Administration
As TAT’s vice president of finance and administration for nearly 10 years, William Moran has played an instrumental role in the firm’s growth, helping shepherd its business operations as it has expanded to comprise a staff of more than 90 people. Moran brings, having previously served as a leading consultant with professional services firm PwC, as a finance director for design firms including Svigals + Partners in New Haven, Ct., and as CFO for venture-backed startups SportsMedicine Systems and Visible Markets. He holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting and finance from the Syracuse University Martin J. Whitman School of Management.
Meghann Van Dorn, LEED ID+C, Director of Interior Design
Meghann Van Dorn joins TAT as the firm’s director of interior design, and as a highly respected leader with nearly 15 years’ experience in design and project management for multifamily and single-family residential, institutional, hospitality, and corporate workplace interiors. Known in the field for her creative design vision, her collaborative problem-solving abilities, and her management and business development acumen, Van Dorn’s approach accords well with TAT’s focus on skillfully meeting client needs. With a keen interest in sustainability and end-user wellbeing, she also brings valuable insights on the latest design techniques for environmental benefits, wellness, and mindfulness.
In her role as TAT’s director of interior design, Van Dorn will be responsible for managing the firm’s extensive national roster of interiors work ranging from asset repositioning and adaptive reuse, to large-scale new construction for senior and assisted living, affordable rental, and luxury condominium housing. Prior to joining TAT, Van Dorn served as a senior interior designer with Dyer Brown Architects in Boston. She holds a Master in Interior Design from Marymount University.
