History

Since 1955, SMMA has forged extraordinary relationships with clients, established an enviable record of success, and designed award-winning environments. Like every business startup, our firm began with an idea: approaching design through a dialogue of diverse perspectives and professional expertise.

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    The Launch

    SMMA began with a novel idea: approaching building design as an opportunity to integrate diverse perspectives.

    The original founders understood the value of bridging technical disciplines to achieve better outcomes – a benchmark gained from their MIT education.

    In June of 1955, mechanical engineer Parker Symmes and structural engineer Bill Maini teamed with fellow MIT alum and construction expert Vince Vappi to launch Vappi, Symmes & Maini. It was a familiar group; the trio worked at CCF Engineering Company, a design-build offshoot of a Boston-based developer. 

    Three years later, Parker and Bill bought out Vince Vappi and continued to work with him on commercial design-build projects for his new construction business. In 1958, architect and Rensselaer grad Jon McKee joined Bill and Parker as a partner. They updated the name to Symmes Maini & McKee Architects and Engineers. Design integration was ready for a beta test with the young, ambitious new firm.

    A mechanical engineer and MIT grad, Parker Symmes “had an outstanding gift to communicate complex engineering solutions in simple terms for the rest of us to grasp,” said Ara Krafian, President and CEO of SMMA. “He set the foundations of our client-centric approach and we engage in business relationships.”
    An architect and Rensselaer grad, John McKee joined the firm as a partner in 1958. “Jon created architecture at SMMA,” said Krafian. “He sparked a spirit of curiosity and inspiration in everyone around him.”
    A structural engineer and Symmes' fellow MIT alum, Bill Maini was a natural in client relationships and led SMMA’s early expansion. “Bill excelled at running projects and finding work,” said Symmes.

    Chester Hryniewicz: An Early Partner

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    The Lost Partner

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    Bohdan “Chester” Hryniewicz was hired in the early startup period as a structural engineer. He came from the same MIT fraternity as Bill Maini; they made him a partner, adding him (for a while) to the firm name—Symmes, Maini, Hryniewicz, & McKee. 

    Hryniewicz met Linda Kelly when working together at the firm. They married in 1959. In 1961, the couple moved to Puerto Rico where he led landmark construction projects in San Juan, and later, in Sweden.

    He wrote a bestselling book in 2015 on the Nazi invasion of Poland and the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, which he lived through as a boy.

     

     

    Hryniewicz retired to Sarasota, FL in 1999. He died in April 2023 at the age of 92. 

    The Growth Years

    From the 1960s on, the company grew significantly in workload, people, and project sophistication.

    Co-founder/CEO Bill Maini, a true entrepreneur and a natural in cultivating client relationships, led the firm’s expansion. During these formative years, SMMA developed an expertise in planning and designing complex research, education, and industrial environments. Informed by a collective of planners, architects, and engineers working together under one roof, the firm’s early success drew on an ability to apply a cross-discipline view to better understand and integrate client needs.

    SMMA won a series of science, learning, and research commissions including a laboratory for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Gloucester, MA. Additional blue-chip, repeat clients included commercial property developer Boston Properties and Freeport, Maine-based L.L.Bean.

    The New Boston Food Market at Widett Circle in Boston, built in 1969. “Thirty-four wholesale meat and poultry dealers were relocated from [. . .] around Faneuil Hall to this 300,000 square foot facility.”

    Advert in the Boston Sunday Globe, 1970

    Laboratory at Cabot Corp in Billerica, MA “devoted to new products research for the world's largest manufacturer of carbon black”

    Green Shoe Manufacturing Co. in Newburyport, MA, a facility for the production and distribution of Stride-Rite Shoes

    Production flow at the Green Shoe Manufacturing Co.

    Boston University Concert Hall, 1972. “The reconstruction of this 500-seat concert hall after a major fire included the redesign of all acoustical devices, replanning of the backstage facilities, and the addition of a projection booth and new audio-visual faci­lities.”

    Groundbreaking at Danvers Industrial Park, late 1960s. “A master development plan for a 56-acre in­dustrial park and the design of a new manu­facturing plant for Wood Electric Corpora­tion.”

    Inside the Wood Electric Co. manufacturing building at Danvers Industrial Park, 1969

    Design for the Burlington Mall in Burlington, MA, built in 1968

    Burlington Mall: a happy client

    Site Plan for the New England Telephone Conference Center in Marlborough, MA, built in 1973

    Design Evolution

    A Design distinction emerged as a key criterion for selection during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

    Clients wanted to stand out via places that helped boost brand presence and support recruitment. SMMA responded by expanding its design talent, pursuing higher-profile projects, and establishing an interior design practice.

    Architect Tom Vogel joined the firm in 1978 from Shepley Bullfinch to lead the architecture group. Working with Bill, Jon, and Parker, Tom reshaped the design process by making key hires, mentoring young designers, and celebrating design excellence.  

    It was a well-timed investment. In hyper-traditional New England, public perception of design was changing. “Boston architecture was universally known for brick buildings and understated design,” recalls Vogel. “The city in the seventies and eighties came into its own with modern designs for City Hall, the John Hancock Tower, the Christian Science Center, and the JFK Library.” 

    Early Marketing Leadership

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    Early Marketing Leadership

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    Design firms were late to adopt modern marketing practices. Why? For most of the 20th Century, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) famously barred its members from overt marketing or advertising activities.  

    Bill Maini, an entrepreneur and strategic thinker, saw the opportunity to advance by being among the first in the industry to break this antiquated tradition.

    He retained an advertising firm to produce and distribute a client newsletter. He built a database, hired marketing professionals, and budgeted for print and photographic resources to expand SMMA’s visibility and reputation.

     

    Architect Tom Vogel led the charge in elevating SMMA’s design excellence in the late 1970s and 1980s.

    Design for office and R&D campus for Metropolitan Insurance Companies in Tewksbury, MA, 1983

    New Bedford Gas-Edison Light HQ in Wareham, MA, 1980

    Before there was Apple, there was Digital Equipment Corporation. This 620,000 square foot facility in Salem, NH was home to the manufacture of the company’s famed “microcomputers”.

    L.L.Bean distribution facility in Freeport, ME

    Design and construction schedule for an early L.L.Bean project

    Major expansion and addition to the First National Bank of Boston Data Processing Center in Dorchester, MA, 1979

    “To achieve great consistently across all design disciplines, you need to develop a culture to support it.”

    Tom Vogel, AIA

    Tech, Science, & R+D

    Beginning in the late 1970s, tech companies were rushing to meet the global demand for microelectronics components manufactured in cleanroom environments.

    SMMA’s experience designing clean environments at MIT, including a pioneering new plasma fusion facility, combined with its integrated team model, met the need.  

    “Speed to market was the driving force for companies such as IBM, Cherry Semiconductor, and Analog Devices,” recalls Mike Powers, who led the firm’s Advanced Technology practice at the time.

    Technical sophistication in science, technology, and science facilities led to a decades-long relationship with Waters Corporation, a research and scientific instrument manufacturer. SMMA master planned and designed the majority of Waters’ headquarters campus in Milford, MA, providing spaces to support the company’s growth and success: clean manufacturing, research labs, and office environments. 

    At the center of the high tech and controlled environments practice were Mike Powers, who would later become SMMA’s third CEO, Mario Loiacono, a legendary mechanical engineer who joined SMMA from Digital Equipment Company, and SMMA co-founder Parker Symmes.  

    MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories, the first Class-10 cleanroom for semiconductor research when being planned in 1980

    New England Nuclear/Radiochemical Production Laboratory in Boston. Awarded ‘Laboratory of the Year’ in 1980 by Industrial Research & Development Magazine.

    Digital Equipment Corporation Semiconductor Manufacturing Facility in Hudson, MA

    MIT Lincoln Labs in Lexington, MA, 1988

    “Speed was our strength with all the key disciplines in one company. We could plan, schedule, and execute the work quickly with the precision needed to bring facilities online.”

    Mike Powers

    Succession & Rejuvenation

    SMMA’s founders began a strategic leadership and ownership succession in 1988 and 1989.

    This included appointing Tom Vogel, who was leading the architecture group, as the firm’s second president. Senior VP Michael Powers and Executive VP Mario Loiacono rounded out the new leadership group. 

    Parker stayed on after transitioning out of firm ownership, continuing to follow his passion for mechanical engineering design. He worked for another 16 years at SMMA. 

    Bill retired, while Jon continued a close association with the firm in semi-retirement. He kept an office at 1000 Mass Ave., working on occasional projects and running the travel scholarship program, the Lyceum Fellowship, a nonprofit he founded in 1985. The Lyceum volunteer directors continue to award scholarships to architecture students each year.

    Other developments during the 1980s through the mid-1990s included:  

    • Acquiring a successful K-12 design firm, Pierce, Pierce & Kramer in 1991, and creating a new practice area to meet the growing demand for new K-12 schools
    • Expanding technology, clean room, and mission-critical design expertise nationally with projects in Colorado Springs, CO, Chaska, MN, and Mountaintop, PA 
    • Opening a Minneapolis office and acquiring Winsor/Faricy Architects, a St. Paul-based firm

    Mashpee Middle-High School in Mashpee, MA, 1996

    Promoting the inaugural Lyceum Fellowship in 1986, “a travelling fellowship in Architecture” founded by Jon McKee

    Cleanroom for FSI International in Chaska, MN, 1995

    ViroMED Laboratories corporate HQ in Eden Prairie, MN, 1994, featuring Biosafety Level 3 labs, cleanrooms, and cCMP areas. “The client, an admirer of English architecture, requested [. . .] a building with human scale and refinement.”

    New Tools & Practices

    The adoption of new technologies and the speed-to-market nature of the work required a new look at the potential for process and practice improvements.

    A group of emerging firm leaders came together to continue to advance the benefits of a design collective. The decision to adopt ISO 9001, an internationally recognized set of quality management standards and benchmarking, became a game-changer in improving the design process and reducing risk. 

    An internal team translated the ISO standards to a design firm, and subsequently developed the company’s first internal Quality Plan that would pass the annual rigors of ISO 9001. By adopting ISO protocols for process integrity and quality control practices, SMMA achieved certification in record time in 1998. This commitment to ISO standards continues today, providing a distinctive and measurable advantage to clients and staff. 

    Throughout this reinvention period, the firm also advanced standards and practices for design excellence in interior design, site design, and master planning. These disciplines, while not new to SMMA, were now crucial core services elevating the multidiscipline model for clients. 

    Consequently, the firm in the early 2000s was able to compete for the most desirable clients and projects. New clients selecting SMMA included knowledge-based technology, life science, and manufacturing companies such as Boston Scientific, Wyeth, Bose, Philips Medical Systems, and Draper.

    ISO 9001 Illustrated: SMMA Presentation at KA Connect 2019

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    ISO 9001 Illustrated: SMMA at KA Connect 2019

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    Data center for Philips Medical Systems in Tewksbury, MA, 2002
    Concept design for Draper Labs headquarters in Cambridge, MA, 2004
    Bose Corporation office and R&D facility in Framingham, MA, 2002
    Campus master plan for EMC (now DELL Technologies) in Milford, MA, 2001

    “The way we worked on projects shifted to fully embrace collaborative tools and practices. This was true both internally within design teams and externally with our clients. Cool new modeling and BIM design tools were helping move the dial. But it was the human aspect of people, seizing the possibilities and taking things to a higher level of integration.”

    Brian Lawlor, Executive Vice President

    Learning Environments

    During the 1990s and into the 2000s, SMMA’s education work ascended.

    During the 1990s and into the 2000s, SMMA’s education work ascended. In December of 1993, the firm’s fledgling K-12 practice teamed with a national design firm to jointly design three large public high school projects, including the award-winning Chelsea High School. School designs for Marblehead, Quincy, Andover, and other Massachusetts communities followed. Design integration, with its capacity for collaboration and group problem solving, became a competitive advantage in education design. Educational planning went beyond architecture to encompass all disciplines and the communities served. 

    Higher education expanded simultaneously, with laboratory science buildings for the University of Maine/Orono and the University of Southern Maine, and residence halls at Endicott College and St. Joseph's College. In May of 2001, Hoskins Scott & Partners merged with SMMA. This brought renowned architect John Scott into the firm, adding significant higher education, campus planning, and health science expertise. John and his team developed a multiple-project client relationship with Providence College that continues today. 

    The award-winning Chelsea High School in Chelsea, MA, opened in 1996

    Marblehead High School, opened in 2002. One of SMMA’s first major MSBA school projects designed independently—i.e., not in partnership with another firm.

    Auditorium at Marblehead High School

    Opened in 2010, Quincy High School’s blend of academic and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs served as a forerunner for later SMMA high school projects in Somerville and Waltham.

    An informal learning space at Quincy High School

    The first of several John Scott-led master plans for Providence College, 1993

    Early marketing for health science work after SMMA’s merger with Hoskins Scott & Partners, 2001

    Research labs at the University of Maine/Orono, early 2000s

    Recession Renaissance

    A steep economic recession from 1987 to 1991 devastated the commercial real estate and advanced technology markets.

    The recession caused several lean years for architecture, engineering, and construction firms. New England was hit particularly hard. SMMA reduced its size as the new ownership group fought to keep the company going.  

    From adversity came innovation and recovery. Among the initiatives of the new leadership group was expanding the service mix of SMMA and continuing to adapt the integrated model of project design and delivery to meet changing needs. Three strategic hires in 1988 helped with these objectives. Architects Tom Coffman and Edward Frenette and engineer Michael Holland joined the firm in 1988 and 1989. Other crucial developments followed: 

    • The interior design group expanded to become a creative, sought-after team with award-winning work for Talbots corporate headquarters, Nokia’s east coast headquarters, the Cambridge Savings Bank headquarters and Harvard Square flagship bank, and multiple planning, design, and workplace strategy assignments for EMC Corporation’s headquarters.  
    • Marie Fitzgerald, leader of the firm’s interior design practice and a mentor to rising women designers within and outside SMMA, led the interiors group and later became the first female board member at SMMA. She is currently a firm principal and Senior Vice President. 
    • Michael Powers, who joined SMMA in 1980 and appointed a partner in 1986, was named company president and CEO in 1997. Among his many initiatives as SMMA’s third CEO was expanding the firm’s employee ownership and shareholder group. He and his partners created an ESOP program that was a pivotal development in the firm’s move towards a more participatory management culture, a strategic tool in the recruitment and retention of talent, and another step forward for SMMA’s evolving culture.

     

     

    Nokia House in Burlington, MA, early 2000s

    Cambridge Savings Bank flagship branch in Harvard Square, renovated in the late 1990s

    EMC Corporation (now DELL Technologies) Executive Briefing Center in Santa Clara, CA

    EMC Headquarters in Hopkinton, MA, early 2000s

    Talbots Headquarters in Hingham, MA, 2013

    Culture

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    Life at SMMA

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