The Architecture and Design Firm
Perkins+Will
Perkins+Will is an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm founded in 1935 on the belief that design has the power to transform lives. Guided by its core values—design excellence, diversity and inclusion, living design, research, resilience, social purpose, sustainability, and well-being—the firm is committed to designing a better, more beautiful world.
The firm’s North Carolina practice has a portfolio of cultural work that spans the globe, shaping experiences that connect people to the built and natural environments, cultural context, and to one another. By turning design opportunities into meaningful stories, Perkins+Will has created socially impactful places that include the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta and Sycamore Hill Gateway Plaza at Greenville Town Common in Greenville, North Carolina.
The firm is currently working on Destination Crenshaw, a first-of-its-kind outdoor arts and culture experience in Los Angeles and the Davidson College’s Commemorative Site for Enslaved and Exploited People, in collaboration with the artist Hank Willis Thomas, in Davidson, North Carolina.
Architizer named Perkins+Will the world’s “Best Sustainable Firm” in 2023 and Metropolis named it “Firm of the Year” in 2022 for its industry leadership in advancing climate action and social justice. Fast Company named Perkins+Will one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in Architecture three times, and in 2021, it added the firm to its list of Brands That Matter—making Perkins+Will the only architecture practice in the world to earn the distinction.
Zena Howard, FAIA
Zena’s career has been defined by visionary, complex, and culturally significant projects – like the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., Destination Crenshaw in Los Angeles, and The Durham County Human Services Complex in Durham, North Carolina – that navigate social issues of dignity, equity, and justice in cultural and civic places. She is considered a citizen architect for shaping architecture through Remembrance Design, a design process that responds to inequity and injustice by restoring lost cultural connections and honoring collective memory and history.
Zena recognizes both the shared and individual sense of experience in the built environment – the emotional connection between people and spaces. This guides her role as Global Cultural and Civic Practice Chair and a body of work that unifies communities, strengthening public well-being and advancement.
Allen Pratt, PLA
Allen’s design approach is one of true collaboration and interdisciplinary engagement. His dual training in landscape architecture and architecture inform a unique ability to collaborate across disciplines and consider design solutions from multiple perspectives.
Allen’s cultural and civic work is shaped by an emphasis on research, community engagement, and design rigor. His belief that all communities and sites have stories translates to a design ethos rooted in meaning, remembrance, and equity. His projects include museums, cultural parks, remembrance spaces, urban districts, and public realm designs throughout the United States. In addition to North Carolina Freedom Park, Allen has worked closely with Zena on cultural landscape projects including Destination Crenshaw in Los Angeles, Sycamore Hill Gateway Plaza in Greenville, North Carolina, and Motown Museum expansion in Detroit.
The Construction Firm
Holt Brothers
Holt Brothers Construction was founded in 2007 by NC State and NFL football stars Terrence and Torry Holt. Since then, the firm has grown its experience by partnering with larger firms on key construction management at-risk projects and pursuing projects independently in the $500,000 to $25 million range. Starting with five employees, Holt Brothers Construction has grown exponentially — adding experienced senior leaders and industry newcomers, providing depth and knowledge to pre-construction and construction. The firm is a certified HUB with the State of North Carolina and a certified minority-owned business.
Holt Brothers Construction is committed to teamwork, discipline, focus and determination. With youthful energy, they bring integrity, passion and innovation to each project. The team also brings years of experience and lessons learned. Together, they share this mission — providing the best customer service and ensuring the successful completion of each project we undertake. “We don’t want our legacy to be just what we accomplished on the football field,” says Terrence, who serves as president. “Our goal and ambition is to create a competitive, growing company with the community’s best interests at heart.”
Holt Brothers Construction Projects
Holt Brothers Construction is proud to have worked on projects that have made a significant impact on communities. Here are just a few:
- NC Freedom Park
- Southeast Raleigh YMCA + WCPSS Elementary School
- Market + Exchange Plazas, City of Raleigh
- UNC Rex Cancer Center
- Lilly RTP Buildings 1, 2, 5, 7
- NC State, Bureau of Mines
- Raleigh Union Station
- Student Union at North Carolina Central University
- Durham County Main Library