DENVER — Sink Combs Dethlefs, a Denver-based architecture and design firm that specializes in sports, recreation and entertainment design, will merge with Perkins & Will, a Chicago-based architecture company worth $540 million. Denver will become Perkins+Will’s 24th design studio worldwide.
The merger significantly bolsters Perkins+Will’s position in sports, recreation, and entertainment market in the Rocky Mountain region, part of the firm’s strategy to meet growing global demand for design that promotes holistic human health and well-being.
Founded in 1962, Sink Combs Dethlefs’ projects include the Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse at the UCHealth Training Center, home of the Denver Broncos, in Englewood, and the visitor and conference center at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.
Beyond Sports and Recreation: Converging Disciplines
The merger comes at a critical time in the architecture, design, and construction industry, where historically distinct project typologies, disciplines, and practice areas are now blending in both form and function, and where health and well-being are considered paramount. For example, academic buildings are adopting active workplace design trends; corporate interiors are borrowing design elements from health and wellness centers; healthcare facilities are taking design cues from the hospitality sector; hotels are incorporating aspects of sports and recreation; athletics and entertainment facilities are serving as community anchors in walkable, mixed-use urban developments; and so on.
By combining firms, Perkins+Will and Sink Combs Dethlefs can cross-pollinate services to meet these overlapping market needs.“The biggest driver behind the union of our two firms is the increasing focus on designing for ‘full-circle’ health and well-being—that is, giving people the opportunity to be active, fit, healthy, and happy at every point on the continuum of life experience,” says Perkins+Will CEO Phil Harrison. “Together with Sink Combs Dethlefs, we can deliver creative, research-driven solutions to meet this demand, while providing superior client service—a shared hallmark of our practices.”
Founded in 1962, Sink Combs Dethlefs’ projects include the Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse at the UCHealth Training Center, home of the Denver Broncos, in Englewood, Colorado; the University of Michigan Crisler Arena renovation and William Davidson Player Development Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the Chesapeake Energy Arena renovation in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania; and the visitor and conference center at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.
