McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture is proud to announce they have been named Engineering News-Record Southeast’s Design Firm of the Year.

ENR has been a benchmark publication for the design and construction industry for more than 100 years. Winners are chosen for a combination of their company growth, design portfolio, community engagement, and innovation.

ENR lauded McMillan Pazdan Smith’s “low-ego” and relationship-focused approach. Specific praise was reserved for McMillan Pazdan Smith’s community engagement efforts, including the successful ideaXchange program done in partnership with the Urban Land Institute. Also highlighted was the firm’s commitment to diversity, with women comprising 45 percent of staff, and programs like Leadership MPS, an internal initiative dedicated to identifying and developing future company leaders.

“This award is a testament to our staff’s hard work across all six of our offices,” said Chad Cousins, the firm’s CEO. “Our team strives each day to bring value and creative design solutions to our clients and community, so to be honored by a publication like ENR is a truly special achievement. We are particularly proud of the recognition paid to our ideaXchange program, a collaboration with Urban Land Institute, to engage civic and business leaders on issues like affordable housing that are important to our community.”

McMillan Pazdan Smith is a planning, architectural, and interior design firm whose mission is to help clients create environments that embody their personalities, enrich their lives, and enhance the quality of their community. In practice since 1955, McMillan Pazdan Smith has offices in Charleston, Greenville and Spartanburg, SC; Asheville and Charlotte, NC; and Atlanta, GA. The firm’s portfolio includes educational, municipal, office, healthcare, multi-family housing, and commercial projects across the Southeast.

McMillan Pazdan Smith has become a local leader in K-12, healthcare, corporate, hospitality, and higher education design since opening their Charleston office in 2001. Recent projects in the Lowcountry include the new Lucy Beckham High School in Charleston County and Philip Simmons High School in Berkeley County; MUSC’s new Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in partnership with Perkins+Will; and the Belvidere, a new office building on Meeting Street.