Designing for a Client Who Held the Line
Sustainable design intentions are easiest to commit to at the start of a project. The harder test comes later, once costs are scrutinized and budgets are finalized, when those early ambitions either hold or get value-engineered into something smaller. Mölnlycke held the line. When SMRT began engineering the expansion of Mölnlycke’s manufacturing facility at Brunswick Landing in Brunswick,…
Remembering Steve Landry: A Legacy of CareÂ
Many of us at SMRT continue to feel the absence of  Steve Landry. Steve was the kind of person who left a mark not just through his work, but through his character: his kindness, his quiet dedication, and his genuine care for others. Those qualities shaped how he showed up every day, and they are deeply missed. One…
The Protein Race: 5 Critical Topics to Consider When Designing High-Performance Aquaculture FacilitiesÂ
Designing for the Future of Protein As the world gets hungrier for sustainable protein, land-based aquaculture, specifically indoor salmon farming, has evolved from a cool idea to a critical solution. But taking fish out of the ocean and putting them into a sophisticated indoor facility is an entirely different ballgame. It requires a massive architectural…
Measuring What Matters: Embodied Carbon Insights from Our 2025 SE 2050 Submission
Why Embodied Carbon Starts with Structure In integrated design, every discipline shapes a building’s carbon footprint, but structural decisions carry particular weight. The choices made early, about systems, materials, and form, lock in a significant portion of a building’s embodied carbon before other design variables are even resolved. That’s the core reason SMRT are signatories in the…
The Secret Sauce of Enrollment: Why Student-Centered Spaces are the New Campus DifferentiatorÂ
If you’ve spent any time on a college campus lately, you know the vibe has shifted. It’s no longer about having the most impressive library or the oldest ivy-covered brick walls. Today, the conversation is dominated by enrollment pressures and a generation of students who are, rightfully, asking, “What is the actual experience of being…
What RAPID + TCT Revealed About Additive Manufacturing’s Most Urgent OpportunityÂ
Earlier this month, SMRT’s Nick Hadiaris and I attended RAPID + TCT in Boston, North America’s largest additive manufacturing conference. The show floor covered the full spectrum: large-scale aerospace components, boat hull tooling, industrial molds, materials innovation across polymers and metals. The breadth of what additive manufacturing can do today is well-documented. The more pressing question, at least from…
What the Radiopharmaceutical Industry Is Telling Us Â
The radiopharmaceutical sector is at an inflection point. Demand for targeted therapies is accelerating. CDMO capacity is expanding. Base isotope supply is scaling to meet it. And the companies building and operating in this space are moving with urgency. We’ve been in this industry long enough to recognize what that moment looks like. We were at the summit…
When Existing Conditions Data Fails You, Construction Pays the Price
Renovation and upgrade projects are only as reliable as the information behind them. When that information is incomplete, the resulting issues tend to show up during construction when the cost for rework and change is at its highest. Outdated drawings, missed dimensions, and hard-to-reach spaces have long been the source of costly surprises that compress budgets and push timelines. …
Modeling the Difference: What Seven Years of AIA 2030 Data Tells UsÂ
Consistency over time builds a different kind of picture. Seven submissions in, that picture is coming into focus. That shift is what this year’s submission reflects: seven years into SMRT’s AIA 2030 Commitment, the data is starting to tell a story. Our 2025 reporting year portfolio is the largest and most robust we have submitted to date: 38 projects, 1.5 million gross square feet, and…
A Village Takes Care of Its Own
On a clear April morning in Tamworth, New Hampshire, SMRT Architects & Engineers joined the Betty C. Ketchum Foundation, local officials, state legislators, and members of the Tamworth community to break ground on Tamworth Village Commons. For SMRT, it was more than a ceremonial moment: shovel in hand alongside neighbors, caregivers, and elected officials, it was a…