Global architecture and design firm Perkins&Will has opened a studio in San Antonio in response to growing demand from clients in the U.S. Southwest. This addition augments the firm’s presence in Texas—joining studios in Dallas, Austin, and Houston—and strengthens the regional network that includes studios in Denver and Monterrey, Mexico.
The firm’s newest studio will be led by Adrianna Swindle, who heads cultural and civic as well as corporate and commercial practices; and health practice leader, Omar Cantu. The studio will also deliver local services in urban design, workplace, and higher education.
“We couldn’t be more excited to officially put down roots in San Antonio,” says Tom Reisenbichler, Southwest region director. “With many projects here over the years, this studio has been a long time coming, and we have significant new work already in progress. Perkins&Will and San Antonio are a great fit. We see a strong appetite here for placemaking—for the kind of design-driven, sustainable, human-centric spaces that our firm is known for.”
Why San Antonio?
“This is a vibrant, multi-faceted economic center with a rich cultural heritage and a growing economy,” says Swindle, a life-long San Antonian. “We each have personal ties to San Antonio. It's a joy to use our design excellence, technical expertise, research, and global resources in service of this community. This studio is an opportunity to contribute beautiful, sustainable spaces that help our clients and the community thrive.”
Already the seventh most populous city in the United States—and the country’s largest Hispanic-majority city—San Antonio is among the nation’s top ten metro areas for growth. With a strong and increasingly diversified economy, it also landed for the first time among the top 10 U.S. real estate markets to watch in a 2024 report by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Its proximity to the Austin and Houston studios also makes the city a strategic location, supporting nimble coordination throughout the state and deepening on-the-ground expertise in Central Texas. This also strengthens the regional network including the largest Perkins&Will studio, Dallas, and the studio in Monterrey, Mexico—San Antonio’s recently minted collaborator in economic development.
Building on a Legacy
Perkins&Will has worked on a number of projects in the city over the years, historically focusing on healthcare and education sectors. The local portfolio includes the University of Texas at San Antonio Student Center, Methodist Texsan and Methodist Westover Hills hospitals, a renovation and expansion of the historic Thomas Jefferson High School, and the award-winning University Hospital Sky Tower, one of the largest hospitals in the country to earn LEED Gold.
Building on the firm’s presence in San Antonio’s design landscape, the studio is well-positioned to contribute to the city’s growth across several markets, offering comprehensive design services with a focus on sustainability and community well-being. With a full-time, dedicated presence, studio leadership is also keen to invest in the area’s design community.
“The civic-minded nature of this city is evident, and the focus on people and community resonates with our values,” says Cantu. “Nurturing local talent is part of our work promoting design excellence.”
Swindle, a Distinguished Alumna of the University of Texas at San Antonio and co-founder of the AIA San Antonio Chapter Latinos in Architecture (LiA) Committee, is herself a long-time advocate for the development and visibility of local designers, also having served as the San Antonio AIA board president in 2021.
The new studio is located in the heart of San Antonio’s Historic Pearl neighborhood, just north of downtown at 303 Pearl Parkway.
