CREW Greater Philadelphia members Sara Anderson and Jamie McDonald have completed multiple business to business transactions spanning the Northeast corridor, partnering to create Brickworks design studios in Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, and most recently, Manassas, Virginia. Sara is the Project Manager of Property for Glen-Gery and Jamie is Partner at KMC Partners.
Brickworks North America Corporation, the parent company of Glen-Gery Corporation, launched the first North American Design Studio in Philadelphia in 2020. This was Brickworks' seventh design studio, adding to the six located throughout Australia. The modern studio offers the architectural and design community a premium design experience where they can collaborate on projects, select from a broad product portfolio of high-end, stylish bricks, and host or attend industry and networking events. KMC provided different levels of service for the design studio including pre-lease negotiations, pre-construction, and serving as prime general contractor and construction manager.
The Philadelphia Studio kicked of construction in the Fall of 2019 and was complete in the peak of the pandemic. Located at 1319 Walnut Street, the Philadelphia Design Studio is a stunning 3,500 square foot space on the first floor of the Witherspoon building, which is known for its distinctive architectural details. Architects, developers, and other trade professionals have endless design possibilities with both traditional brick products to modern, sleek color and high-end Venetian glass brick.
Based on a successful project completion the team carried that project knowledge base directly into the design and construction of New York City and Baltimore studios. The New York City Flag Ship Design Studio is located at 445 5th Avenue measuring more than 16,100 square feet across two levels and features collaborative spaces and expert consultations, multi-floor event space, state-of-the-art Broadcast Studio and business offices. The Baltimore Studio, located at 600 South Broadway, is a 3,312 square foot stylish space in the historic neighborhood of Fells Point.
A fourth project is currently under construction in Manassas, Virginia. The 30,000 square foot warehouse location will serve as a Masonry Supply Center for Glen-Gery with both warehouse operations and a 5,000 square foot showroom space. Project completion is scheduled for late summer 2022. This fourth project also introduces a third CREW Greater Philadelphia member to the mix, Denise Richards. Denise is a Partner at Keast & Hood Philadelphia and was selected by Sara to join the Manassas MSC team.
The project teams for each project were a mix of international design staff based in Australia and local Architects, Engineers and Trade Partners for expertise in each city.