REAL ESTATE
ARCHITECTURE FIRMS, RANKED BY NUMBER OF REGISTERED ARCHITECTS IN ARIZONA
Top 10 SMITHGROUP JJR 455 N. Third St., Suite 250, Phoenix, 85004 // 602-265-2200 // smithgroupjjr. com FOUNDED 1853 AZ ARCHITECTS 34 AZ EMPLOYEES 129 PRINCIPAL Mike Medici, managing partner HIGHEST-RANKING WOMEN Martha de Plazaola Abbott, Anne Bisbarrow, Carrie Perrone, Katheryn Stachler, Sonja Bochart, Stephanie Hertzberg, principals ORCUTT | WINSLOW ARCHITECTURE LLC 3003 N. Central Ave., 16th Floor, Phoenix, 85012 // 602-2571764 // owp.com FOUNDED 1971 AZ ARCHITECTS 28 AZ EMPLOYEES 72 PRINCIPAL William Sheely, Neil Terry, Vispi Karanjia, Erik Clinite, Carl Nelson, managing partners HIGHEST-RANKING WOMEN Kristine Mower, associate partner, director of business development and marketing; Marie Java, associate partner, architect DWL ARCHITECTS + PLANNERS, INC. 2333 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, 85004 // 602-264-9731 // dwlarchitects.com FOUNDED 1949 AZ ARCHITECTS 23 AZ EMPLOYEES 50 PRINCIPAL Steve Rao, president HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Sandra M. Kukla, executive vice president
‘MY WAY OF HELPING’
MELISSA FARLING MANAGING PRINCIPAL BY GEORGANN YARA
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As the first girl to finish four years of woodshop at her high school in Old Tappan, N.J., Melissa Farling knew she was destined to be an architect. Farling’s maternal grandfather loved architecture and when her woodshop teacher suggested it as a career, it made perfect sense. “Something just clicked,” says Farling, who is managing principal and vice president at HDR Architecture Inc.’s Phoenix office. “I loved everything about it.” Since then, Farling has embraced her career as a mission to improve people’s attitudes, spirits and even mental health, particularly when it comes to health care, justice and civic projects. Farling was a junior at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture, when she was assigned to combine two passions in a single project. Research on inmate behavior in prisons fascinated her. In a quest to examine how architecture influences daily life, Farling focused on this concept through prison design, which became her thesis. Further intrigued, Farling’s journey led her to University of Arizona, where she pursued her master of architecture degree, a stable launch pad for her young career. Farling worked for an impressive list of Valley firms before joining HDR in 2014. Large-scale projects
included the Mariposa Land Port of Entry in Nogales, Ariz., and the Arizona Center for Law and Society in Phoenix. She also served as one of the principal investigators on a National Institute of Corrections study that examined the impact that having a view of nature made on officer stress in a jail intake area. Born in Tarrytown, N.Y., to a real estate broker father and social worker mother, Farling moved with her parents and brother to New Jersey at age 7. She met Brian, her husband of 21 years who is also an architect, while both were in graduate school. They have one daughter, who is 12. Farling also co-owned an architectural bookstore that closed in 2001, after being forced out by the landlord. It was one of the most difficult challenges she faced, yet she was touched by the outpouring of community support. “It was truly incredible,” she says. The post-occupancy evaluation of a state hospital project she did while at a previous firm reminded Farling how rewarding her job is and the difference it makes on countless lives. “The response we got from patients, staff and nurses about the impact was overwhelming,” she says. “I love to work with people, understanding their needs and seeing it all come to fruition. This is my way of helping people.”
DLR GROUP INC. 6225 N. 24th St., Suite 250, Phoenix, 85016 // 602-381-8580 // dlrgroup. com FOUNDED 1912 AZ ARCHITECTS 15 AZ EMPLOYEES 61 PRINCIPAL Charles Dalluge, chief operating officer HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Sue Gray, principal DEVENNEY GROUP LTD. 201 W. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, 85013 // 602-943-8950 // devenneygroup. com FOUNDED 1962 AZ ARCHITECTS 14 AZ EMPLOYEES 47 PRINCIPAL Stephen Stack, president HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Julie Barkenbush, CEO CCBG ARCHITECTS INC. 102 E. Buchanan St., Phoenix, 85004 // 602-258-2211 // ccbg-arch. com FOUNDED 1958 AZ ARCHITECTS 13 AZ EMPLOYEES 18 PRINCIPAL Brian Cassidy, principal HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Cassie Lemon, director of studio WESTLAKE, REED, LESKOSKY LTD 1 E. Camelback Road, Suite 690, Phoenix, 85012 // 602-212-0451 // wrldesign.com FOUNDED 1997 AZ ARCHITECTS 12 AZ EMPLOYEES 25 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHESTRANKING WOMAN Rebecca C. Olson, principal, director of studio ARCHITEKTON 464 S. Farmer Ave., Suite 101, Tempe, 85281 // 480-894-4637 // architekton. com FOUNDED 1989 AZ ARCHITECTS 11 AZ EMPLOYEES 25 PRINCIPAL Joseph M. Salvatore, Douglas R. Brown, John F. Kane, Gregory M. Lambright, partners HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Rachel G. Rasmussen, AIA HKS INC. 821 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, 85004 // 602-462-0966 // hksinc.com FOUNDED 2006 AZ ARCHITECTS 10 AZ EMPLOYEES 19 PRINCIPAL Mo Stein, principal, director HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Irene Clark, vice president HDR ARCHITECTURE INC. 3200 E. Camelback Road, Suite 250, Phoenix, 85018 // 602-522-7700 // hdrinc.com FOUNDED 1930 AZ ARCHITECTS 7 AZ EMPLOYEES 35 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHESTRANKING WOMAN Melissa Farling, managing principal
WHO’S WHO IN BUSINESS // 2015
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