Design of the Times – SMRT in Mainebiz
Ellen Belknap, President, and Jeana Stewart, Workplace Studio Leader, spoke to Mainebiz about how SMRT has transitioned to fully-remote operations in the face of the coronavirus and how workplace design may be affected in the near future. “I can see how this is really going to create less travel, and people are going to be…
Histories Meet in SMRT’s New Portland Office
Finding our diamond, er, bakery in the rough. After 18 months of searching for a new office space, we began to fear we’d have to leave the Portland Peninsula, our home for the last 136 years. When 20,000 s.f. of high bay, raw space opened up on the Washington Avenue corridor (or, “WAVE”), we immediately…
Architects and Engineers Look to Embrace New Technology
Mainebiz interviewed 20 business leaders about their outlook on the coming year. Ellen Belknap, our President, spoke about Maine’s strong position for green technologies, particularly cross laminated timber, as the whole architecture / engineering / construction industry works to reduce carbon emissions.
Building Healthy Workplaces
Jeana Stewart, the leader of our Workplace Studio, was interviewed in Mainebiz about the wellness concepts incorporated in the recently completed global headquarters for WEX. Jeana’s services and the workplace studio provide immense value to employers who understand the role a welcoming, healthy workplace environment plays in employee recruiting and retention. By using a collaborative,…
From Research to Ribbon Cutting: SMRT’s New Workplace Studio Aligns Client Goals and Vision
Jeana Stewart, NCIDQ, LEED AP, has been elevated to lead SMRT’s newly formed Workplace Studio. Stewart has more than a decade of experience in the research, planning and design of workplace environments for clients in the corporate, education, science and technology, and government sectors. Her selected experience includes the programming and design of the interior…
Virtual Reality in the Design Process
Mainebiz recently featured SMRT’s use of virtual reality to help clients visualize what their space can look like before the first piece of building material even arrives on site. “The use of virtual reality was an invaluable process as it allowed us to experience the building ‘live’ during the early planning process” and make any…
Berman & Simmons’ Restoration Receives Honor Award
Maine Preservation’s 2018 Honor Awards celebrated 13 revitalization projects from Augusta to Standish, as well as the Sagadahock Real Estate Association in Bath, as examples of outstanding historic preservation. Included in the list was the restoration of the historic Osgood Building, home to law firm Berman & Simmons for more than 100 years, in Lewiston,…
Designing for Positive First Impressions
Understanding the interaction between a client’s employees and their customers is the foundation of creating environments that work. SMRT’s design to modernize the reception, waiting and conference areas in Berman & Simmons’ headquarters strikes a careful balance: a welcoming entrance area, fronting comfortable conference spaces that afford privacy for the sensitive face-to-face meetings typical at…