{"id":698089,"date":"2026-05-27T23:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/698089\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T23:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:01:09","slug":"fusion-a-new-multidisciplinary-architecture-practice-combines-four-smaller-firms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/698089\/","title":{"rendered":"FUSION, a new multidisciplinary architecture practice, combines four smaller firms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fusion-ae.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FUSION<\/a>, a new multidisciplinary architecture practice, <a href=\"https:\/\/fusion-ae.com\/news\/fusion-launches\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">combines<\/a> four firms: ID Studio 4, Sperides Reiners Architects, <a href=\"https:\/\/acistudios.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ACi Architects<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/reztark.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Reztark Design Studio<\/a>. From the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archpaper.com\/tag\/mergers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">merger<\/a>, the practices gain a national footprint and the capabilities and specializations of one another\u2019s expertise\u2014and with that, the power to compete with larger firms offering expanded architecture and engineering services.<\/p>\n<p>FUSION got its start in 2025 when ID Studio 4 and Sperides Reiners Architects <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buildingenclosureonline.com\/articles\/93484-id-studio-4-and-sperides-reiners-architects-merge-into-one-brand-fusion-ae\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">merged<\/a> to form <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/fusion-ae\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FUSION AE<\/a>, a 100-person integrated architecture and engineering practice. Today, with the addition of ACi Architects and Reztark Design Studio, FUSION AE has also dropped the AE from their name. Beyond architecture and engineering services, FUSION is positioning itself in the industry to also offer interiors, graphic design, and brand development work in the restaurant, healthcare, housing, mixed-use, and retail sectors.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the merger, ID Studio 4 was an independent firm based out of Dallas and Sperides Reiners Architects offered architectural and interior services from Minnesota. ACi Architects\u2014a practice out of Winter Park, Florida\u2014performs architecture, planning, and interior design work. Reztark Design Studio, a firm with offices in Ohio and Florida, takes architecture and planning a step further with in-house branding and graphic design services.<\/p>\n<p>Per a press release on the merger, each of the four practices \u201cretains its team, project leads, and studio culture.\u201d FUSION said what changes is the \u201crange of disciplines and depth of expertise\u201d clients can expect to receive. Offices previously maintained and operated by the four practices will stay put, leveraging a national footprint for FUSION, which will have a presence in Cincinnati; Cleveland; Dallas; Minneapolis; and Orlando and Tampa, Florida.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-417583\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FUSION_Fifty_West_Exterior.jpg\" alt=\"fifty west restaurant\" width=\"2048\"  \/>FUSION is positioning itself in the industry to also offer interiors, graphic design, and brand development work. (Courtesy FUSION)<\/p>\n<p>Firm leaders from the practices have taken on new titles under FUSION and will lead in each of the firm\u2019s offices. Eric Reiners of Sperides Reiners Architects is president, Brett Kratzer of Reztark Design Studio will serve as Chief Strategy Officer, and Brian Chandler from ID Studio 4 is Chief Operating Officer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople don\u2019t experience architecture, brand development, engineering, and interiors separately. They experience one environment,\u201d Reiners said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/fusion-ae.com\/news\/fusion-launches\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a>. \u201cThe industry has traditionally delivered those disciplines in pieces. FUSION was built around the belief that the best outcomes happen when those perspectives are integrated from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>FUSION\u2019s concept\u2014to combine smaller and specialized firms under the same roof\u2014responds to a wider industry trend that has seen larger firms swallow up other big practices doing specialized work. Last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archpaper.com\/2025\/06\/populous-acquires-fentress-architects\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Populous merged with Fentress<\/a>, whose transportation and aviation portfolio made it a natural fit for Populous, which had been exploring expansion in the sector. And earlier this month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archpaper.com\/2026\/05\/populous-acquires-ojb-landscape-architecture\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Populous also announced its acquisition of OJB<\/a>, a move that it said will expand its landscape and urban design offerings. Meanwhile, CannonDesign\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archpaper.com\/2026\/04\/cannondesign-acquires-ennead-architects\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">recent acquisition of Ennead<\/a> and strategy and innovation firm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archpaper.com\/2026\/05\/cityfi-cannondesign-shaping-cities-future\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cityfi<\/a> demonstrates a larger firm further bolstering its design portfolio and services.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aia.org\/aia-architect\/article\/latest-insights-2024-firm-survey-report\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Recent data from the AIA<\/a> exhibits the economic challenges faced by smaller and midsize firms. Between 2015 and 2023, billings generated by smaller firms (less than 10 staff) fell by half. At midsize firms (under 50 employees) billings generated fell by 40 percent, while large firms (more than 50 employees) saw a 40 percent increase. The AIA reports that about 75 percent firms in the U.S. have fewer than 10 employees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSmall firms dominate the architecture, design, and engineering industries, which can make it hard for clients to get the depth of services and continuity they need,\u201d said Chandler. \u201cBy uniting four firms, we\u2019re able to build the shared infrastructure that individual practices struggle to fund.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FUSION, a new multidisciplinary architecture practice, combines four firms: ID Studio 4, Sperides Reiners Architects, ACi Architects, and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":698090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":["post-698089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/698090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}