EXPERT DESIGN AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION FIRM CELEBRATES 35 YEARS IN BUSINESS

February 11, 2010

Farewell Mills Gatsch combines expertise in architectural history and technical innovation to
create award-winning contemporary architecture.

Princeton, NJ – Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects, LLC is proud to celebrate 35 years of award-winning architecture and begin its 36th year of practice. Since the firm’s founding in 1974, FMG has been widely recognized for the design of new buildings and the stewardship of historic structures. Today, that tradition continues with an addition to the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado, and renovation at the Statue of Liberty National Monument, which enabled the National Park Service to reopen the crown of the Statue to visitors in the summer of 2009; it had been closed since September 11, 2001. A formal celebration of FMG’s 35th anniversary will take place early this year.

Partner Michael Farewell, FAIA, said, “This is a wonderful milestone for the firm, and we look forward to continuing our tradition of innovative design and preservation projects in the future, both locally and nationally.” Partner Michael Mills added that, “the combination of our talents has always been the core of our practice, and it also enriches our work as architects.”

Under the firm’s leadership, FMG has built a strong culture that is grounded in the social use of space, architectural history, and sustainable principles. It uses these tools to create contemporary civic spaces that engage the natural environment. Its portfolio also includes diverse projects for cultural, educational, and institutional projects throughout the country.

Firm history
Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects, LLC, founded in 1974, first came to prominence with the restoration and expansion of the New Jersey State House in the 1980s. The firm’s work at the State House initiated a focus on cultural and institutional projects that continues today.

Expert leadership
The firm’s four partners represent the diversity of its practice. Michael Farewell, FAIA, LEED AP is partner in charge of design and oversees a variety of new projects, from large institutional structures to private residences. Michael J. Mills, FAIA is partner in charge of preservation and has restored properties owned by the National Park Service, the National Trust, and many other public entities. Michael Schnoering, AIA, manages staffing and serves as project manager for many of the firm’s theater, educational, and special needs projects. Lorine Murray-Mechini, AIA, LEED AP has expanded the firm’s portfolio of educational and cultural projects.

Recent projects – Design
In addition to expanding the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut and the 19th-century Wheeler Opera House, Farewell Mills Gatsch is currently designing a performing arts center in Rahway and a new library for Fairleigh Dickinson University’s College at Florham in Madison, both in New Jersey. FMG is also completing construction of the Princeton Charter School.

Recent projects – Preservation
Farewell Mills Gatsch’s recent preservation projects include the restoration of Cass Gilbert’s 1905 Essex County Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey; renovation of Princeton University’s Whig Hall, which was reconstructed after a fire in the early 1970s by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates; improvements to the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, NJ, originally designed by the Grad Partnership; and the exterior restoration of the century-old Newark City Hall.

The firm has a particular specialty in the preservation and restoration of mid-20th century structures. Projects completed by the firm or in the process of being completed are: Minoru Yamasaki’s Robertson Hall for the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, Louis Kahn’s Trenton Bath House of 1955, and The Aspen Institute’s Herbert Bayer-designed Paepcke Memorial Auditorium of 1961.

By WeSpeak Easy | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: FMG, member_news, NJArchitect | Comments (0)