Ballinger is an interdisciplinary design firm, in the United States which merged the disciplines of architecture and engineering into a professional practice. The firm's single office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, houses a staff of over 250 people. Ballinger is one of the architectural firms in the Philadelphia region and known for its work in academic, healthcare, corporate, and research planning and design.
History
Ballinger traces its history to 1878 when Walter Harvey Geissinger established a practice in Philadelphia. In 1885, Geissinger entered into a partnership with Edward M. Hales. In 1889, Walter Francis Ballinger entered the firm of Geissinger and Hales and in 1895, when Ballinger replaced Geissinger as a principal in the firm, it became known as Hales and Ballinger. In 1901, Edward M. Hales retired, and in 1902, the firm was renamed Ballinger & Perrot. Emile G. Perrot was a young architect at the time who gained national recognition for his innovative design work with reinforced concrete. After Ballinger bought out Perrot in 1920, the firm became known as Ballinger Company.
In the 1950s, Robert Ballinger succeeded his father, Walter Ballinger, and along with brothers John D. de Moll and Louis de Moll, introduced the “power pole” to deliver power, chilled water, and laboratory gases in research and health care environments.
In 1983, the deMoll brothers sold the firm to ten Ballinger employees. The transfer of ownership included promising young architects William R. Gustafson and Edward Jakmauh who would continue to lead the firm into the new millennium.
Ballinger's early accomplishments and designs
1900s In the early 1900s, Ballinger was known for its commercial and industrial design firms in the United States, designing a number of landmark projects for the Victor Talking Machine Company (e.g. The Nipper Building), and subsequently RCA, as well as the first facility for the Joseph M. Campbell Company, later known as the Campbell Soup Company and now simply Campbell's. Additionally, Walter Ballinger and Emile Perrot published Inspector's Handbook of Reinforced Concrete in 1909.
1920s Walter F. Ballinger and Clifford H. Shivers filed a patent in 1921 for the Super Span saw-tooth roof truss which reduced the need for columns and opened up manufacturing plant floor space.
In 1923, Ballinger designed the Atwater Kent radio manufacturing plant in Philadelphia, while also designing their first hospital, the Philadelphia Home for Incurables/Inglis House, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge Number 878 in New York City.Unknown
In 1928, Ballinger built the Commodore Theatre, a grand cinema in West Philadelphia that held 1,105 seats. This building is now home of the Masjid Al-Jamia of Philadelphia.
1930s By the mid 1930s, Ballinger had completed 16 new hospitals.
1940s In the 1940s, Ballinger was at the epicenter of the Information Age with the design of one of the first "computer rooms." Utilizing over 17,000 vacuum tubes, the ENIAC was developed by the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Electrical Engineering during World War II.
ENIAC initiated the modern computing industry and the firm went on to design technology-related facilities for IBM and the Rand Corporation (later to become the Sperry Rand Corporation, and now known as Unisys).
1950s Ballinger designs the TWA Maintenance Hangar at Philadelphia International Airport – "an early and unusual example of the use of a cable supported roof structure to provide the clear floor space needed for an airplane hangar." (Constructed 1955–1956)
1970s Architects William Gustafson and Ed Jakmauh joined Ballinger and brought the firm a commission for Wills Eye Hospital in Center City, Philadelphia. The project involved a 230,000-square-foot hospital building and became part of Ballinger's healthcare design work.
1980s Under new leadership, Ballinger wins a national competition to design a new 200-acre world headquarters for Hershey Foods and teams with Pei Cobb Freed on the design of high rise complex Commerce Square. The Wills Eye building is completed in 1981 and becomes the first Ballinger project to be published in Architectural Record.
Notable recent projects Project Location Date ofCompletion Notes Ref.University of Wisconsin, Chemistry Building Madison, WI2022Penn Medicine, Radnor Ambulatory Care CenterRadnor, PA2020AIA, Pennsylvania, Honor Award, 2021 AIA, Philadelphia, Honor Award, 2021
AIA/Academy of Architecture for Health, National Healthcare Design Award, 2021University of Michigan, Kinesiology Building Ann Arbor, MI2020AIA, Pennsylvania, COTE Award of Excellence, 2022 AIA, Pennsylvania, Merit Award, Preservation, 2022
AIA, Pennsylvania, Merit Award, 2022University of Rhode Island, Fascitelli Center for Advanced EngineeringKingston, RI2019AIA, Pennsylvania, Honor Award, Architecture, 2022 AIA, Rhode Island Chapter, Honor Award AIA, Tri-State Design Awards, Merit Award, 2021
Delaware Valley Association of Structural Engineers, Engineering Excellence Award
American Institute of Steel Construction, IDEAS2 Awards, FinalistUniversity of Maryland Baltimore County, Interdisciplinary Life Sciences BuildingCatonsville, MD2019AIA, Philadelphia Chapter, Merit Award ASHRAE, Philadelphia Chapter, Technology Award ASHRAE, Mid-Atlantic, Technology Award
International Interior Design Association, PA/NJ/DE Chapter, Best of Education/Institution
AIA, Maryland Chapter, Institutional Architecture, Jury Citation
Construction Owners Association of America, Project Leadership AwardLinode, Corporate HeadquartersPhiladelphia, PA2018Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, Grand Jury Award, 2019NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, David H. Koch Center for Ambulatory CareNew York, NY2018Healthcare Design Magazine, Award of Merit, 2019 SALUS European Healthcare Design Award, Healthcare Design over 25,000 SM, 2019 SALUS European Healthcare Design Award, Design Innovation for Quality Improvement, 2019
Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Honoree, 2018
Greater New York Construction User Council Outstanding Healthcare Project, 2018
Engineering News-Record New York Health Care Best Project, 2018 University of Maryland College Park, A. James Clark Hall College Park, MD 2018 Washington Building Congress Craftsmanship Award, Concrete, 2017 Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Roberts Center for Pediatric Research Philadelphia, PA 2017 ENR Award of Merit, Higher Education/Research, 2017DVASE Outstanding Project Award, Buildings over $100M, 2017 Adelphi University, Nexus Building Garden City, NY 2016 AIA Silver Award, Unbuilt, Philadelphia Chapter, 2014AIA Merit Award, Unbuilt, Pennsylvania Chapter, 2013 Tower Health, HealthPlex for Advanced Surgical and Patient Care Reading, PA 2016 International Academy for Design and Health, Highly Commended, Sustainable Urban and Built Environment, 2017 University of Rochester Medical Center, Golisano Children's Hospital Rochester, NY 2015 HCD Expo & Conference, 2013 – An EBD Report Card for Pediatrics https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-meilink-jr-aia-acha-ache-8a1baaa George Washington University, Science & Engineering Hall Washington, D.C. 2014 SCUP Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture for a New Building, 2017IIDA Best of Year Award, PA, NJ, and DE Chapter, 2015Concrete Foundation Association, Grand Project of the Year, 2015Delaware Valley Association of Structural Engineers, Merit Award, 2015AIA Pennsylvania Merit Award, Interiors, 2016AIA Philadelphia Merit Award, Interiors, 2016ENR MidAtlantic, Award of Merit, Specialty Contracting, 2014American Concrete Institute, National Capital Chapter, Award of Merit, 2014ABC Metro Washington, Excellence in Construction Award, Specialty Concrete Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health New Brunswick, NJ 2014 AIA Merit Award, New Jersey chapter 2014 University of Florida, Harrell Medical Education Building Gainesville, FL 2014 AIA Orlando Design Award, Built Award Honor, 2016City of Gainesville, City Beautification “Outstanding Institution” Award, 2016 Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital, Lasko Tower Chester County, PA 2014 PDC Summit 2016 – Studying the Past to Build a Better Futurehttp://www.ashe.org/PDC/wednesday.shtml#.V3GVGpMrLUI The Wistar Institute, Facility Master Plan + Robert and Penny Fox Tower Philadelphia, PA 2014 Delaware Valley Association of Structural Engineers, Outstanding Project Award, 2015 NYU Langone Medical Center, Ambulatory Care Center West Side New York, NY 2014 Adaptive Reuse Award, Symposium Distinction Awards, 2015 Johns Hopkins University, Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories Baltimore, MD 2013 ASHRAE Technology Award, First Place, 2017 AIA Honor Award, Philadelphia Chapter, 2014AIA Merit Award, Maryland Chapter, 2014AIA Merit Award, Pennsylvania Chapter, 2015SCUP, Excellence in Architecture, Honor Award, 2016USGBC, Maryland Chapter, Wintergreen Award, 2016 Penn Medicine, Lancaster General Health, Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute Lancaster, PA 2013 International Academy for Design and Health, Winner, Interior Design, 2017International Academy for Design and Health, Highly Commended, Use of Art in Public and Private Spaces, 2017AIA/AAH Healthcare Design Award, 2014Healthcare Design Architectural Showcase, Honorable Mention, 2014IIDA Design Excellence Award, Philadelphia Chapter, 2014Best of the Year Honoree, Interior Design Magazine, 2013 University of Maryland Medical Center, Shock Trauma Critical Care Tower Baltimore, MD 2013 American Concrete Institute, Maryland Chapter, Excellence in Concrete Award, 2013 Shore Medical Center, Surgical Pavilion Somers Point, NJ 2012 IIDA, Design Award, Philadelphia Chapter, 2012 The Boeing Company, H-47 Focused Factory Ridley Park, PA 2012 ENR MidAtlantic, Best Project: Manufacturing, 2014ENR Best of the Best Project: Manufacturing, 2014 University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Madison, WI 2011 Lab of the Year, R&D Magazine, 2012USGBC Innovation in Green Building Award, 2012AIA Merit Award, Wisconsin Chapter, 2011Focus on Energy Award of Excellence, Wisconsin Green Building Alliance, 2011Future Landmark Award, Madison Trust for Historic Preservation, 2011 Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Colket Translational Research Building Philadelphia, PA 2010 Best Green Building Award, General Building Contractors Association, 2011 Temple University School of Medicine, Medical Education + Research Building Philadelphia, PA 2009 School of Medicine's first new building in 40 years Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Anne and Mike Armstrong Medical Education Building Baltimore, MD 2007 School of Medicine's first new building in 25 years Weill Cornell Medicine, Weill Greenberg Center New York, NY 2007 Modern Healthcare Award of Excellence, 2008AIA/AAH National Design Award for Healthcare, 2008IIDA Design Award, Philadelphia Chapter, 2007Interior Design Magazine’s 2007 Best of Year Award: Project Design, Healthcare Brown University, Sidney Frank Hall (Life Sciences Building) Providence, RI 2006 AIA Merit Award, Rhode Island Chapter, 2008AIA Special Recognition Award, Philadelphia Chapter, 2002 Research Rising: Brown Dedicates Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Sciences
Notable recent awards AIA Pennsylvania, COTE Award of Excellence, 2022 – University of Michigan – Kinesiology Building AIA Pennsylvania, Firm of the Year Award, 2020 Healthcare Design Magazine, Award of Merit, 2019 – NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital – David H. Koch Center for Ambulatory Care AIA Pennsylvania, Honor Award, 2018 – University of Maryland, College Park – A. James Clark Hall ENR MidAtlantic, Award of Merit, Higher Education/Research, 2017 – Children's Hospital of Philadelphia – Roberts Center for Pediatric Research SCUP/AIA/CAE Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture for a New Building – George Washington University – Science and Engineering Hall