Designed by IKM’s founders Ingham and Boyd in the 1930s, Chatham Village is Pittsburgh’s living example of the utopian Garden City Movement. Originally envisioned as affordable housing for the working class, its quality and aesthetic quickly developed a broad appeal to a much wider segment of society. That appeal continues today, and is a testament to the continuing validity of a vision that included preservation of the natural environment, quality, affordability and a strong sense of community.

Pittsburgh-based IKM Incorporated architects’ design solution for the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens provides a 34-foot high glass dome that crowns the new Welcome Center. The new entrance includes 11,000 square feet of lobby, ticketing, gift shop and café spaces. The Welcome Center is situated in front of a 7,600 square foot, historic landmark glass house built in 1893.

With the Fall 2006 opening of the Tropical Forest featuring a Thailand exhibit, the 12,000-square-foot addition represents completion of Phase II of the most ambitious expansion project undertaken at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens since 1893.

IKM was commissioned by Hillman Properties as the lead architect to design a winter ice skating rink and choreographed fountain on the outdoor plaza of PPG Place. The ice rink and fountain are the first steps in transforming the cool, crisp plaza into a people-friendly place. Elegant but underutilized, the plaza will come alive in the winter months with a diamond-shaped rink surrounding the existing, distinctive rose-granite obelisk at its center. With dimensions of 104 by 104 feet, the rink will be larger than (and has already been compared to) the rink at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Animal Friends challenged IKM Architects to redefine the concept of animal shelter. Innovation and revolutionary attitudes toward animal care were developed through a collaborative approach to create a new “community resource center” – not just a shelter or adoption site – as the home for this non-profit organization. The new 30,000 square foot facility nearly triples the amount of space the ‘no-kill’ shelter had in its Strip District location. 

The 13.5-wooded acre property in Pittsburgh’s North Hills provides the ideal site. A new weathering-steel bridge to accommodate the flood plain greets visitors and announces the arrival to a truly unique location. More than 1.5 miles of walking trails, outdoor play yards and re-use of an existing gazebo capitalize on the beauty of the well-groomed site. Ample parking adjacent to the facility is a small luxury only the long-time staff can genuinely appreciate.

IKM Incorporated was commissioned by Allegheny County to design the conversion of the National Historic Landmark Allegheny County Jail into a facility for the Family Division of the Court of Common Pleas.

With these monuments we pause as we seek the memories of all those who gave their lives in the just cause for freedom against fear – in our war against terror which strives to take away our freedoms and liberties as Americans.

IKM Architects used participatory workshops to lead a multi-step planning and schematic design process for the new Frick Environmental Center. The workshops engaged more than 100 citizens, educators and public officials in creating a new vision for the proposed 20,000 square foot environmental education center in Frick Park, one of Pittsburgh’s large wooded parks.