An ongoing revolution in the design of facilities for healthcare, higher education, research and the arts has transformed the way we experience them, and Stanley Beaman & Sears: Twenty-Five Years gives readers a front-row seat for the action. The 220-page illustrated book, published by Visual Profile Books, follows the ascent of Stanley Beaman & Sears, the award-winning Atlanta architecture firm founded in 1992 by three young architects, Kimberly Stanley, AIA, Betsy Beaman, AIA, IIDA, SEGD, and Burn Sears, AIA. Readers are invited to accompany the partners and their colleagues as they take on some of the most challenging building types of our time and make them more user-friendly, intuitive and effective than ever.

Why did Stanley, Beaman and Sears set the bar so high? Many architects dream of launching their careers with more glamorous, photogenic and visible commissions. But as Beaman has stated, “Kim, Burn and I wanted to concentrate on building types that housed civilization’s great institutions. Given our complementary skills, we believed we could make a difference in such demanding fields as healthcare, education and the arts.” The partners’ 30-plus-year friendship and professional association has more than fulfilled their high hopes with work that is equally admired for creative solutions and exciting spaces.

In project after project, the large format book uses concise case studies and superb color photography to bring to life the work of a design firm combining architecture, interior design and environmental graphic design in an open, collaborative and multi-disciplinary practice run by a “family of creative thinkers.” The results include life changing, technically advanced and beautifully crafted hospitals, children’s hospitals, clinics, senior centers, classroom buildings, research laboratories, arts centers and museums. While their architecture is striking and sympathetic to the surroundings, the big surprises unfold inside, where occupants and visitors are greeted by truly innovative and inspiring environments.

At Children’s Hospital of Georgia, located in Augusta, the healing environment is defined by soaring architecture and an innovative interior where video technology educates and entertains children and families. The H.J.C. Bowden Senior Multipurpose Facility, located in suburban Atlanta, uses a bold, contemporary structure to defy the stereotypes of aging. Residents of Adamsville see the Adamsville Regional Health Center as a vital source of healthcare and social services--and an inspiring symbol of community vitality. An angular geometry of glass, metal and masonry at the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art proudly proclaims the arrival of a compellingly original home for art on the Kennesaw State University campus. These and many other outstanding projects make Stanley Beaman & Sears: Twenty-Five Years a colorful, informative and exhilarating exploration of imaginative contemporary architecture and design where we seldom expect to find it.