Woolpert has acquired Bermello Ajamil & Partners (BA), a full-service architecture, engineering, planning, and landscape architecture firm that specializes in services for the maritime, aviation, health care, commercial, and municipal markets. Among the largest AE firms in South Florida, BA has more than 160 staff members, is headquartered in Miami, has additional offices throughout Florida, and has an office in New York.

BA has grown through a 30-year partnership between Chairman of the Board and Principal in Charge Willy Bermello, a leading architect in South Florida, and President and CEO Luis Ajamil, a planner and professional engineer known for his expertise in the maritime industry. Bermello and Ajamil came together through a shared goal to meet client needs by integrating innovative design and technologies to produce functional, intelligent, and sustainable solutions. This partnership has yielded more than 200 awards for design excellence and project wins across six continents. 

BA is known internationally for the planning and design of cruise line and port terminals. The combination of Woolpert and BA creates an ecosystem of integrated maritime solutions that leverages architecture, marine engineering, modeling, strategic consulting, and geospatial services. These include acquiring topographic, bathymetric, and hydrographic data and imagery along coastlines and the near-shore environment.

Bermello said BA chose to join Woolpert to deepen its AE services and to successfully tap into new and adjacent industries with Woolpert’s geospatial and strategic consulting capabilities.

“Woolpert provides BA with the opportunity to expand and integrate technologies across markets, accelerate our growth in geospatial technologies and artificial intelligence, increase our geographic footprint, and enrich what our talented staff can provide our clients,” Bermello said. “Together with Woolpert, we will be able to develop and deliver comprehensive and potentially trailblazing services to coastal zones worldwide. Additionally, the combination will allow us to accelerate the growth of our aviation, health care, commercial, and municipal markets.”

Woolpert Vice President and Buildings Sector Leader Suzette Stoler said this merger enhances Woolpert’s ability to provide full architecture, engineering, and interior design services with an emphasis on strengthening design capabilities and expertise across a multitude of markets servicing both private industry and public development.

“BA is a progressive and high-performing firm that embodies our core values,” Stoler said. “Gaining bench strength and adding geospatial solutions to their architecture, engineering, and interior design capabilities will expand our collective ability to advance the built environment—whether we’re talking about ports and airports, health care facilities, educational facilities, municipal parks, hotels, etc. This combination makes us all stronger.”

Neil Churman, Woolpert chief corporate development officer, said he looks forward to working with this outstanding new team of architects and engineers.

“Willy and Luis have built BA with the same philosophy as Woolpert: To create a culture that is rooted in deep industry leadership and is continually motivated to drive innovation to benefit each client and the industry as a whole,” Churman said. “We are very excited to welcome BA into our Woolpert family.”