The Celli-Flynn Brennan team has presented two options for the exterior renovation of the original Ford Motor Company building located on Baum Boulevard and Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh to the Baum/Centre Planning Initiative committee. Celli-Flynn Brennan has been retained by UPMC, the building’s owner, to restore the structure’s brick terra cotta façade, which was originally constructed in the early 20^th century.



The team is happy to have Melanie Panutsos join us for the summer! Melanie has a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Kent State University, where she will be returning this fall for her joint Master of Architecture and Master of Business Administration degrees. During her time as an undergraduate, Melanie was a finalist in the 2011 Integrated Design Competition which charged students to design a 250,000 SF mixed used (office and retail) building in the Yards Waterfront historic district of Washington, D.C. She also studied abroad in Florence, Italy. In her spare time, Melanie helps her parents with both design and construction of a new residence, which is tucked away in the woods just up the hill from downtown Ambridge, PA. The design reuses all of the lumber and nails from their former residence.

As the team at Celli-Flynn Brennan finishes up design of the renovation of Classic Hall at Central Methodist, we are looking forward to our next project with the University – a Campus Master Plan. The planning process will begin on August 4th when our team travels to Fayette, Missouri, for the kick-off meeting.

The University of Mary just hired Celli-Flynn Brennan to complete a Master Plan for their campus in Bismarck, North Dakota. Famous architect Marcel Breuer, who is considered to be one of the masters of Modernism, designed the original campus whose buildings evoke Breuer’s aesthetic with their modular construction and simple forms. Celli-Flynn Brennan’s challenge will be to preserve and respect Breuer’s tradition while meeting the contemporary needs of today’s students.

Today’s annual Build Pittsburgh conference hosted by The American Institute of Architects featured Drew Weinheimer, one of CFB’s graduate architects, as a Young Master of Digital Design. Drew spoke on a panel with fellow young architects on a number of digital tools that, in his opinion, are underutilized amongst architectural professionals today including geometry capture, stereo graphics and remote computing. Check out his Prezi presentation at http://prezi.com/6jfmicdpzxsl/tools-on-the-fringe/.

Principals Tom Celli and Bill Brennan were interviewed today for an upcoming feature article in Green Building + Design. CFB will be profiled in the magazine’s October 2011 issue. The New Business School at Robert Morris University and the Addition/Renovation to Mt. Lebanon High School will be featured, as both projects are on-target to achieve LEED Silver certification, along with the New Natural Sciences Building and The DiSepio Institute for Rural Health and Wellness at Saint Francis University.

The First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg just hired CFB to record the status of their current building designed by prolific and influential American architect Ralph Adams Cram. The project is the second of two projects that CFB is currently working on in downtown Greensburg (we are also conducting the historic restoration of Blessed Sacrament Cathedral). We expect to complete subsequent studies for the renovation of the Church once its condition is documented.

After three years of being hard at work designing this $97 million dollar addition and renovation, Mt. Lebanon High School is out to bid! Contractors will have six weeks to get their bids in. We expect to break ground in May!

During two gorgeous winter days on the prairie Tom Celli and Kevin Scott, a dedicated and outdoorsy team, conducted their latest Walkabout at the University of Mary, an institution founded by the Benedictine Sisters, located in Bismarck, ND. Much of the original campus was designed by on the masters of modern architecture, Marcel Breuer. To learn more about our Walkabout service, click here.

After the completion of The DiSepio Institute for Rural Health and Wellness in 2009, Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA, is chugging along with their next project – the new Natural Sciences Building. Bill Brennan is heading up the project as Principal-in-Charge and Drew and Nate are hard at work modeling concepts in Revit. The team is meeting with the academic, facilities and finance staff on a bi-weekly basis to hash out the design. The 85,000 SF project is expected to break ground this spring.