Bill Noble Park Groundbreaking

Joining city officials and the kids of Gardendale, Alabama, we broke ground last week for the new Bill Noble Park expected to be finished by spring 2023. The finished complex will feature nine baseball and softball fields, a football and soccer field, all with synthetic turf. The finished complex will also have eight tennis courts, 11 pickleball courts, a beach volleyball court, a playground, a putting green and more.

“"I don’t know if you ever thing about your purpose and what the purpose of your job is, but to me you’re building lives. You’re making small people become adults. What you’re going to build here at this facility is going to have an impact in this community. You’re helping so many families," said Sheldon Haygood of Fox 6 Sports.

"You’re building life-long memories. It makes me excited to think about the impact this will have for generations to come."

Southern Research Groundbreaking

Today we had the honor of being a part of the groundbreaking for the new Southern Research building in downtown Birmingham that will serve as the nexus for biotechnology in the state of Alabama.

“Today we're not just here to celebrate this new facility for Southern Research, but the vision for this project goes beyond a new building. It's about creating a better future for all of us and that's what excites me the most," said Mayor Randall Woodfin.

Spring Social

We had a great time together enjoying a company social at Top Golf! Working together is what we do best.

AIA Alabama Spotlight

Binx Newton

AIA Alabama Spotlight

Binx has grown from Intern to Principal since joining Williams Blackstock Architects over two decades ago, following undergraduate studies at Auburn and graduate studies at Cornell, and demonstrating the firm’s dedication to professional development of its employees.

Binx reflects WBA’s passion for creating highly functional, dynamic design solutions in a collaborative environment, seeking to make the world and our communities a better place. He has led design teams of several WBA major projects and collaborations with international design firms to integrate our clients’ programmatic goals with their unique aspirations.

With interests in leading diverse teams that conceive, develop, and meticulously execute challenging projects, some recently recognized work includes the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and the addition to the School of Nursing at UAB, Hewson Hall and the North Engineering Research Center at The University of Alabama, historic renovations of the Federal Reserve Bank Building and the 2200 Magnolia building, and an expansion of the Barber Motorsports Museum.

He is currently leading multiple healthcare, science and technology projects including the renovation and addition to the UAB LHRB for the Altec Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building, an Advanced Analytical Research Center for The University of Alabama, and a masterplan for Southern Research. Binx’s passion is to balance our economic, social, and environmental impact by leveraging great design and emerging technology

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day, and we're proud to recognize the talent, creativity, leadership of the women of Williams Blackstock Architects. Thank you for the incredible work you do and for all of the ways you contribute to our company and our community.

“Women are always told, 'You're not going to make it, it’s too difficult, you can't do that, don't enter this competition, you'll never win it,' - they need confidence in themselves and people around them to help them to get on.” – Zaha Hadid

AIA Alabama Emerging Professional Spotlight

Asia Burgin

AIA Alabama Emerging Professional Spotlight

Asia is an Alabama native, born in Anniston. As a student at Auburn University, she received both an honor and honorable mention award for student projects in 2017. While studying at Urban Studio in downtown Birmingham, she realized her passion to preserve the precious gems of the past and creating reusable, inviting spaces for the future. After graduating, she began pursuing this passion at Williams Blackstock Architects. She is currently working as Project Manager on Nextec, the historic Edwards Motor Building, which is being renovated into a high-tech office space that will serve for tech companies to land into the upcoming Switch District.

Another project focus for her is the Selma Campsites. Her aspiration is to preserve the historic homes of residents in the area that provided shelter and resources to activists who marched the 54-mile route from Selma to Montgomery during the Civil Rights movement. She was also instrumental in the historic preservation of the Historic Greyhound Depot. Acknowledging the significance of the civil rights history of the site, she pursued a thoughtful restoration and adaptive reuse of the space. Asia wants to continue focusing on architecture, whether new or adaptive reuse, that is socially responsive, reusable, technologically advance, flexible and environmentally aware.

Promotion Announcement: Grace Blackstock

Grace Blackstock

Associate

An experienced interior designer specializing in corporate environments, Grace plays a key role in developing interior design concepts for our clients, in a manner that positively impacts the culture of the companies she works with. She works with our team of designers to ensure the delivery of dramatic and functional interior design for each project, bringing detailed coordination all the way through the design and construction process. Grace earned her Interior Design degree from Savannah College of Art and Design, and previously worked in Washington DC where she played a key role in the interior design of the new Spy Museum.

Promotion Announcement: Ryan Stechmann

Ryan Stechmann

Associate

As a project team member with a range of experience, Ryan brings his technical expertise to seamlessly develop the design and construction drawings. He generously offers his talents and creative abilities to clients and his colleagues in the office. Ryan has a great attitude and is unfailing focused on executing complex projects and is involved in daily design decisions, coordination, and construction administration of corporate, retail, and higher education projects. Ryan is a graduate of University of Southern Mississippi and has a Master of Architecture from the University of Tennessee.

Thanksgiving at WBA →

We took some time today to enjoy our traditional Thanksgiving meal with each other. We are thankful this holiday season for an amazingly talented group to work with!

Promotion Announcement: Suchithra Prabhu

Suchithra Prabhu

Associate

Alongside her delightful demeanor, Suchithra brings a keen modern eye and expertise in sustainable building strategies to her design process.  She demonstrates extraordinary leadership within the office and is a welcome face with each client and project team.  She is a fantastic team member with wonderful initiative - tirelessly tackling complex issues on projects while pushing project design in parallel.  She was recently instrumental in the adaptive re-use of the Hardwick Building, a historic industrial facility to be repurposed into an imaginative modern mixed-use office building in Birmingham’s Design District.  She graduated from Siddanganga Institute of Technology in India with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2008 and has a Master of Architecture from the University of Illinois.