Partners: network

Nellie Susanella Alden, Ralph Willis Allen, Arnold C. Amundsen Jr., Robert Anglin, Kichio Allen Arai, Hiroshi Asano, Kalman Axelrod, Jane Ayers, William James Bain Jr., William James Bain Sr., Howard Berglund, Bruce Bonine, Clifton J. Brady, Kieran Breen, Dennis Burch, James Joseph Chiarelli, Alistair Cory, Ira Ernest Cummings III, Edward Leonard Cushman, Richard Franklin Dallam II, Paul Raymond Dermanis, Reidar Dittmann Jr., James Whitley Ellison, Dennis Clair Forsyth, Xiao-Hui Gao, David Hall, Michael Hallmark, Dean E. Hardy, Mark Herman, David C. Hoedemaker, Patrick Toner James, Perry Bertil Johanson, Scott J. Johnson, Timothy Johnson, James O. Jonassen, Susan Hannen Jones, Arlene Kisiel-Jermann, Charles Kolb, Bradley David Leathley, David Leptich, Edward Kristian Mahlum, Edward King McCagg II, Steven McConnell, Jane McElroy, William Emerson McKinney, Omer Lloydgeorge Mithun, Robert Louis Morris, Floyd Archibald Naramore, John C. O'Brien, Michael Dean Ossewaarde, Lawrence Parrett, Doug Parris, Mark Perry, Robert James Pope, Peter Christian Pran, Roland Gilbert Pray Sr., John Francis Havergal Thompson Ridley, Brent Rogers, John Abram Rohrer, Joan Saba, Jose Sama, James J. Sanders, John Savo, Kenneth Schwarz, Stuart Silk, Matthew Somerton, Robert Robertson Sowder, Wallace Redmon Stout Sr., James M. Suehiro, Leigh Sutphin, William M. Svensson, William Henry Trogdon Sr., James Tully, Ronald F. Turner, Donald Arthur Winkelmann, Scott Wyatt, Jerry Yin, Alan Young, Henry Clayton Young, Richard Zieve

Active 1943-present

Firm Notes

Floyd Naramore, William Bain, Sr., Clifton Brady and Perry Johanson co-founded this Seattle-based firm in 1943. In its early years, the firm was a loose amalgam of three offices, working in association. Historian Marga Rose Hancock described it: "The firm had originated as an 'ad hoc' combination of three offices -- Naramore & Brady, William J. Bain Sr., and Smith Carroll and Johanson. These three firms retained their own offices for a time while also working at the ad hoc firm, before eventually merging." (See Marga Rose Hancock, HistoryLink.org, "Bain, William James Jr. (1930-2019), Architect," published 12/30/2009, accessed 06/12/2019.) By the time, William J. Bain, Jr., joined the office in 1955, it had had 46 other employees.

In 12/1960, NBBJ elevated four men to Partner status, joining the founders; they were: William M. Svensson, A. Ernest Hennessy, Eric C. Rising and Harry G. Widener. Widener was the firm's accountant. In 1960, two men--Theodore B. Carroll and Carl G. Forssen--had previously achieved the position of Senior Associate, but nine other men joined them at this level in 12/1960. They were: William J. Bain, Jr., son of a founder, James W. Evans, Robert A. Floren, Robert A. Hanson, Dean E. Hardy, Melvin J. Larson, William R. Pickens, Robert R. Pope and W. Redmon (often written "Redmond") Stout. Men made Associates in 12/1960 included Robert D. Bell, Bert J. Bruce, John D. Finnegan, Franklin J. Gribble, Gunnar R. Lie, Robert E. Messer and Vincent L. Oredson. These seven joined G.G. Cottier, George A. Graham, Jr., and Michael D. Ossewaarde, who were already Associates at NBBJ. (See "Architectural Firm Adds Three Partners," Seattle Times, 12/04/1960, p. 38.)

NBBJ, with over 700 employees worldwide, claimed itself to be the third largest architectural office in the United States and fifth in the world (2003); NBBJ operated two branch offices in Beijing, PR China, Columbus, OH, Dubai, UAE, London, UK, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, and San Francisco, CA in 2005; in 2006, NBBJ had nine office worldwide: Beijing, Columbus, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Shanghai; the firm was known as the "NBBJ Partnership" in 2005; Godwin Nitschke Bohm, a Columbus, OH, architecture firm, formed a working association beginning in 1976 and later merged with NBBJ.

On 03/24/1999, Dennis Forsyth and Susan Jones became NBBJ Partners. Leigh Sutphin, Anne Cunningham and David Yuan became NBBJ West Coast Principals. Other personnel moves were made at thie time, as reported by the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.com: "NBBJ has also announced staff promotions to senior associate and associate, and recognized several individuals with company awards at a recent banquet at the Columbia Tower Club. Promoted to senior associate were: John Adkins, Martha Boes, Dave Burger, Rosemary Carraher, Jim Fair, Grant Gustafson, Jeanne Iannucci, Jill Jago, Diane Lasko, Patrick O'Hare, Jin Ah Park, Pola Piper, Leo Raymundo, Jonathan Ward and Jerry Yin. Promoted to associate were: Bill Auld, David Autenrieth, Louisa Chang, Gary Cruce, Cathe Farrington, Roddy Grant, Nick Hendrickson, Tom Henry, Liz Jacks, Richard Lundstrom, Joel McLeod, Joey Myers, David Neiman, Lori Noto, Bobby Pressley, Jill Rerucha, Joe Roseto, Amy Sparks, Duncan Thieme, Gayle Thorne, Jeb Thornburg, Jim Tully, Alec Vassiliadis, Nancy Waiss, and Stephen Wood." (See Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.com, “NBBJ,” published 03/24/1999, accessed 10/07/2020.)

In 2006, Scott Johnson was a Partner with NBBJ. In 2007, the following employees headed the nine branch offices: Gao Xiao-Hui, Principal, Beijing, China; Doug Parris, AIA, Partner, Columbus, OH; Mark Perry, AIA, Principal, Dubai; Alistair Cory, Principal, London, UK; Scott Hunter, AP, LEED AP, Senior Associate, Los Angeles, CA; Jane Ayers, Senior Associate, New York, NY; Mark Herman, LEED AP, Principal, San Francisco, CA; Scott Wyatt, FAIA, Managing Partner, Seattle, WA; Jerry Yin, AIA, Principal, Shanghai, China.

NBBJ employed over 750 employees in 2014. On 03/24/2014, Design Partner Steven McConnell replaced Scott Wyatt as NBBJ's Managing Partner for all but corporate projects, of which Wyatt retained control. Wyatt became Chief Executive Officer. Jonathan Ward replaced McConnell as NBBJ's Design Partner. (See Marc Stiles, Puget Sound Business Journal.com, “NBBJ has a new leader to replace Scott Wyatt,” published 03/24/2014, accessed 10/07/2020.)

PCAD id: 1057