ABOUT PWWG FIRM PROFILE

We are a design firm practicing architecture, planning, and urban design. We were founded in 1975 by Leonard Perfido, now Emeritus. Today we are led by three Principals; Alan Weiskopf, AIA, Sheldon Goettel, AIA, and Kevin Wagstaff, AIA. The full staff includes 9 Registered Architects, 8 Graduate Intern Architects, and 5 business support professionals.

In more than 30 years of practice we have developed a reputation for creative, thoughtful solutions to complex problems, most often involving college buildings, housing of various types, and historic structures. Accordingly we are focused on three main areas of specialization - facilities for higher education, multi-family residential design (including affordable and market rate housing, student housing, senior housing, and luxury condominiums), and the rehabilitation and preservation of historic architecture. We also design hotels, theatres, galleries, stores, and parking structures. Repeat clients include private businesses, institutions, public/private partnerships, and government.

Our work is guided by 3 principles.

Form-making - We begin with the owner's needs and goals, the project and building type, and the surrounding context. Within these variables we find compelling reasons for some buildings to be contemporary, others traditional, and we work in many styles. What we find constant is the need to bring great usefulness, durability, and architectural clarity to each design. We therefore emphasize the 'craft' of architecture, and believe this approach yields results that are more authentic than work defined by allegiance to any one style.

Interaction - We pay great attention to the connections between buildings and their surroundings, and find that each commission presents unique opportunities. It might be the prospect of a new building forming a court with existing structures, or a chance for a dialogue between new and historic buildings, or an alignment of paths that could connect to a larger setting. It is always our goal that our buildings have an uplifting effect on their surroundings.

Integrated Design - We work in teams that follow projects from the first stages of planning through the completion of construction. The teams include all the necessary disciplines in a design process that is collaborative and highly interactive. Each team member understands the effect of their contributions on the design and the coordination of their work with others. The results are durable high performance buildings that are constructed on budget, with low operating and environmental costs, and that provide memorable settings for their occupants.

Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel is located in downtown Pittsburgh in a former City firehouse that dates from the 1890's. The high-ceilinged engine and crew rooms serve as our studios where we work together in an open office environment. We are equipped with state-of-the-art technology, utilizing networked PC's, and we are continually improving that technology in synchrony with new innovations in hardware and software. Depending on client need, the firm can use 'Building Information Modeling' (BIM) design tools, via Revit software, or the more traditional AutoCad software. In either case we use 3-dimensional modeling as a design tool, and we prepare photo-realistic images and virtual tours of design proposals.