Left to right: New Britain Beehive Bridge (photo credit: Olson Photographic); Botanical Garden of Healing (photo credit: Robert Benson Photography); CCSU Barnard Hall (photo credit: Halkin Mason Photography); Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (photo credit: Halkin Mason Photography); Halda Therapeutics (photo credit: Halkin Mason Photography).

We move into 2022 ever optimistic with 2021 serving as a transformational year in many ways. We all continue caring for and protecting our loved ones and communities, but Svigals + Partners simultaneously shares hope for the coming year. Here’s to bright new horizons and to the highlights of 2021.

STAFF NEWS
Our greatest asset is our staff. In no recent year have we had as much exciting staff news as 2021. We begin by announcing the well-deserved promotions of three leaders who consistently demonstrate the creativity, innovative thinking, and commitment that is the foundation of our future. Please join us in congratulating:

• Doug Lovegren, in recognition of his masterful strategic planning and unflappable management style inside the office, on the jobsite, and with clients, has been elevated to Partner joining the ranks of Jay Brotman, Bob Skolozdra, and Chris Bockstael.
• Julia McFadden, for her developing business acumen, marketing stewardship, and unwavering commitment to elevating all we do, has been promoted to Principal.
• Marissa Mead, for her inspirational design leadership and talent, and her impressive client management skills, has been promoted to Associate Principal.

Also acknowledged in 2021 for their contributions moving the industry ahead were: Alana Konefal, who was named a CBC board member and the organization’s next president; Jeremy Jamilkowski, named to AIA-CT’s elected officers for 2022; Omarys Vasquez, elected to Board of Directors as VP/President Elect for NOMA-CT; Katelyn Chapin, awarded the 2021 AIA Young Architects Award; and Marissa Mead, awarded CT Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2021.

Svigals welcomed four new hires in 2021: Michael Montano and Skyler Moncada as architectural designers, Ana Sirota in interior design, and Eve Galewitz in administration. Please join us in offering well-deserved congratulations and hearty welcomes to all. 

In 2021, Svigals continued helping clients reach new milestones. Among others, Technolutions and Halda Therapeutics moved into their new headquarters. New Haven Innovation Labs completed renovations to portions of the John B. Pierce Laboratory, in partnership with BioCT, to make way for a new generation of research start-ups. CCSU welcomed students to Barnard Hall. Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center opened in West Haven to serve its community, and launched projects with us in multiple other locations. Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp welcomed campers to our newly completed Lodge and Bunkhouse project. The Elm City Bioscience Center at 55 Church Street lit up the dark skies of New Haven with their branding and illuminated signage. And the Botanical Garden of Healing, a first-of-its-kind memorial dedicated to victims of New Haven gun violence, was unveiled in a televised, bittersweet event this summer. 

Residences at Fort Trumbull (rendering credit: Kevin A. Levick)

The work continues as we engage, collaborate, innovate, and problem-solve for the clients who came to us in 2021. New Haven’s Union Station redevelopment and strategic planning explores creative ways to expand retail and restaurant offerings in the landmark space. Exciting new residential/mixed-use projects continue energizing Connecticut, such as Ashmun and Canal, High Street, Fitch and Whalley Avenue, and 10 Liberty in New Haven, Pondview in Farmington, and the Residences at Fort Trumbull in New London.

Our academic clients are embarking on planning and capital improvements benefiting not only students and professors, but communities and beyond at Princeton, MIT, Quinnipiac University, UCONN, Housatonic Community College, and New Haven Public Schools. While many satisfying projects come through our Yale University continuing services contract, we are particularly honored to have been chosen to renovate the Yale Aesthetics Center after having designed their existing surgery center which successfully served as their home for nearly two decades.

Prosperous, compassionate communities is our vision. That pursuit continues as the region’s boom in life sciences and innovation focuses on improving lives with new projects from Quantum-Si, Quantum Circuits, Pepsico, and the 160,000 SF future headquarters of clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, Arvinas, at 101 College Street. At the grassroots level, non-profit clients continue reaffirming their commitments to lifting up communities in and around New Haven. We are humbled and honored to have been awarded meaningful projects in 2021 by organizations such as Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK), Mary Wade Home, and ConnCorp. 

Innovative Design and Display (photo credit: Halkin Mason Photography)

Sharing our experience and expertise is a privilege we welcome. In Standing for Something, Jay Brotman discusses company culture and its impact on staff, creativity, and long-term success. In A Facility Story, Chris Bockstael shares how S+P’s hallmark collaboration process brought a leading, global exhibit and production company’s origin story to life. Julia McFadden advocates for better school design that supports the whole child in Building Safer Schools That Don’t Look Like Prisons. Omarys Vasquez and Katelyn Chapin contributed to Young Architects Forum’s Connection Magazine’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) issue discussing actionable ways the AEC industry can diversify and support emerging professionals.