Join us in celebrating 14 years in business at Ci, an award-winning architecture firm that grew from two offices in Baltimore and Boston to a thriving company with six office locations and over 100 employees across multiple disciplines.
“We are thrilled to be part of shaping the way people live, work and play across the Southeast, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and internationally,” said President and CEO John Larsen. “Over the years we broadened our expertise to align with the needs of our clients and keep pace with the world around us. With six practices and nine in-house services, our team touches nearly every aspect of a project.”
Ci works in several thriving markets with practices in science and technology, commercial and mixed-use, residential, mission critical, workplace and industrial manufacturing. Within each of these practices, our team provides exceptional services in architecture, planning, landscape architecture, experiential graphics and branding, lab and manufacturing planning, interior design, procurement, strategy and change management.
Recognized by Boston Business Journal’s Fast50 Award for the second consecutive year in 2023, Ci places No. 15 amongst the top 50 fastest-growing private companies in Massachusetts based on revenue growth over the past three years. The firm also ranks No. 5 in the Baltimore Business Journal’s listing for the Largest Architecture Firms in Greater Baltimore.
As we continue to grow Ci into 2024, we’d like to look back on this year’s successes.
Expanding Our Offices
In 2023, Ci strategically opened a Greenville, South Carolina office with the acquisition of Compounding Workflow, a laboratory design firm with expertise in compounding pharmacy consulting. These targeted moves bolstered our team and diversified our portfolio. In addition to our Baltimore, Boston and Greenville locations, Ci also has offices in Raleigh and DC Metro.
Our firm was thrilled to welcome influential leaders in all offices this year, including Principal Brian DiLuiso; Chief Marketing Officer Sarah E. Hernandez; Principal and Interior Design Director Iramis Luz Audet; Principal and Strategy, Interior Design Director Amee Dhoria; and Principal and Interior Design, Procurement Director Tim Schelfe.
Ci also promoted Principal Raffe Khazadian to Science & Technology Practice Leader; Principal Brian DiLuiso to Director of Life Science; Anna Evangelista and Wendy Oberer to Associate Principals; and Joe Buglino and Sujit Mishra to Associates. Co-Founder Christopher M. Ladd previously served as Director of Science & Technology. He will continue to serve as Vice President and COO.
Shaping Transformative Projects Across Practices
Within our science and technology practice, Ci has delivered several successful projects in life sciences, manufacturing and physical sciences. This year we worked with BW Kennedy & Co. to transform an existing 59,000-square-foot retail building into an industrial manufacturing facility housing cutting-edge electrification solutions for Aspen Aerogels’ Advanced Thermal Barrier Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
Our firm also celebrated the opening of Outshine Properties’ 60,000-square-foot renovated life science facility with two floors of offices and lab-ready space in Framingham, Massachusetts, and Factorial Energy’s 67,000-square-foot solid-battery plant to house the largest solid-state battery assembly line in the country for electric vehicles.
Ci started construction and completed exciting commercial projects this year, from mixed-use districts to retail storefronts and shopping centers. In Raleigh, North Carolina, the 2-million-square-foot expansion of North Hills District is underway. Once completed in 2024, the mixed-use development will feature offices, apartments, structured parking, ground-floor retail, several outdoor gathering spaces and an active central plaza.
Kneads Bakeshop & Café opened earlier this year as a vivid example of a successful adaptive reuse project in Baltimore, Maryland. The new H&S Family of Bakeries’ location transforms a 17,000-square-foot dormant, vacant structure into a bustling and vibrant experience featuring a market showcasing local brands and goods, an upscale restaurant, an industrial bakery, a bakelab and future event space for the community.
Ci’s residential experience in multi-family developments, including garden apartments, wrap buildings, podium structures, highrise towers, townhomes and single-family homes, gave way to a new practice this year. Notably, the Toll Brothers’ first multi-family development in North Carolina, Barbee Chapel Road, was featured in the News & Observer. The Chapel Hill project will bring 318 multifamily units (23 of which will be sold at an affordable price), 24 townhomes, a clubhouse, pool deck, central greenspace, wider sidewalks and pedestrian connections to the NC-54 greenway.
Over 2 gigawatts of data centers are either under construction, completed or planned for the new year within Ci’s new mission critical practice.
Our interior design service is expanding for residential, office, hospitality and science and technology clients. We introduced Ci Procurement as a new service to work closely with trusted suppliers and source high-quality materials, furniture and decor that complement the client’s design concepts. Our new strategy and change management services implement data-driven methodologies to develop tailored frameworks for clients who want to right-size their spaces, increase efficiency and adapt successfully to changes.
Lastly, our industrial manufacturing practice recently completed three industrial buildings totaling more than 1 million square feet alongside FCL Builders for the First State Logistics Park in Newark, Delaware. Ci also completed a 93,000-square-foot speculative warehouse and urban infill facility for DHPH in Malden, Massachusetts.
Looking Forward
“As we celebrate 14 years in business and a successful 2023, we look forward to continuing innovation across our diverse team, developing new partnerships and expanding Ci’s global influence,” said Vice President and COO Christopher Ladd.
Ci’s offices in Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; DC Metro; Greenville, South Carolina; and Raleigh, North Carolina work collaboratively as an international design firm to provide exceptional services and shape industry-leading developments for our clients. Contact us to learn more!