Cooper Carry today unveiled "Connection by Design," a new brand positioning that reflects the firm's longstanding multidisciplinary approach and the continued expansion of its design capabilities. An evolution of its previous positioning, "The Center for Connective Architecture," Connection by Design is accompanied by a new visual identity, the firm's first update in nearly 25 years.

 

The new positioning reflects the continued expansion of Cooper Carry’s design capabilities. With a broad range of design expertise in-house, teams can draw from specialists across the firm, bringing together the right disciplines and perspectives to respond to each project’s unique needs.

 

In total, Cooper Carry brings together nine specialized studios and 12 design services, spanning markets from civic and education to hospitality, residential, retail, science + technology and office workplace. The firm is continuing to publicly launch its Hospitality Interiors practice through The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry, building on its nationally recognized hospitality architecture practice. The firm is also expanding its procurement service offering across more markets, enhancing Cooper Carry's ability to support clients beyond design through FF&E sourcing, purchasing and coordination.

 

"Connection has always been fundamental to who we are as a firm," said Kyle Reis, president and CEO of Cooper Carry. "For more than six decades, Cooper Carry has shown that design has the power to connect people to one another through place. Connection by Design reflects both our history and where we are headed in our ability to design for the total environment."

 

Connection by Design has four pillars: People, Place, Process and Performance. People encompasses the feelings one experiences in intentionally designed spaces; Reis said a sense of belonging and community matters more now in an increasingly lonely and isolated world. Place goes beyond four walls to the spaces between buildings, embracing both placemaking and placekeeping. Process brings intention to the firm's approach, from master planning and visioning to community engagement and all the way through to post-occupancy evaluation. Performance centers on having an informed understanding of what drives a client's business so a project performs once it's built

 

The rebrand also features a custom font in co-founder Jerry Cooper's handwriting, named "The Founder’s Hand." At 96 years old, Cooper still visits the office regularly and meets with young talent.

 

The rebrand lands as Reis marks five years as CEO and 20 years at the firm. Reis joined Cooper Carry in 2006 as a young urban designer, became a principal in 2019, and was named president and CEO in 2021.

 

Cooper Carry has expanded its services roster since 2019, adding branding, programming + predesign, hospitality interior design and procurement, and deepened its bench through its 2023 acquisition of 505Design, which also brought offices in Colorado and North Carolina. Cooper Carry now employs more than 300 people across offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Charlotte and Denver

 

Reis said the firm is actively exploring new opportunities to grow in an evolving market. He also pointed to artificial intelligence as a major factor reshaping the industry. Cooper Carry is one of nine firms in an AI and Data accelerator program that developed from the firm’s membership in the Innovation Design Consortium (IDC), covering AI policy, data governance and data literacy as it applies to the architecture and design industry.

 

"We are at a place of fundamental change, and it's important to be willing to challenge the way we have always done things so we can stay at the cutting edge of our industry," Reis said.

 

Recently completed projects in Cooper Carry's portfolio include the mixed-use surf park Atlantic Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia; the 231-unit multifamily tower The Wendy and the 423-unit multifamily high-rise The Commodore in Arlington, Virginia; the office-to-residential conversion of CityHouse Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia; The Bowl at Ballantyne in Charlotte, North Carolina; the historic Palm House Hotel renovation in Palm Beach, Florida; experiential graphic design for Greater Nevada Credit Union Field at the ballpark in Reno, Nevada; two convention centers in Cincinnati, Ohio and Savannah, GA; and the affordable housing developments Front Porch and Bowen Homes in Atlanta, Georgia.

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