Woo-hoo— five cheers for five years! This past week, the D2 studio celebrated the five-year anniversary of our in-house MEP engineering team!

Way-back-when in 2018, advocating for a better managed and simplified design process, D2 decided it was time to make an addition to the firm and start an MEP group from the ground-up. Managing Member, John Schwartz, shares where it all began, “We started Engineering in response to a need for a more streamlined, responsive, and comprehensive approach to our projects. We knew that having a team in-house would allow for better communication, collaboration and control of the process and timing – therefore, allowing us to provide a better service to our clients.”

D2 sought a team of engineers that enhanced D2’s collaborative culture. Steve Spellman was hired to launch the MEP Engineering discipline in 2018 and is now leading a rapidly growing team of eight engineers! “Steve was the perfect fit for the D2 team. He came to us with a similar personality and mindset toward customer service and internal culture building.”, says John.

Recognizing a unique opportunity, Steve shares why he originally came to the firm, “I wanted to reimagine the way engineering teams are led—with collaboration at the forefront. D2 was the perfect place to establish a team that works not just with one another, but for one another.” A natural born leader, Steve oversees the engineering team with a philosophy heavily focused on the guidance and consultation to his team and clients alike. “It’s important that we’re not only being responsive to our clients, but just as quickly responsive and helpful to one another.”

There is truly no “I” in team, especially within our studio. “A feeling that you are never on your own,” describes the work environment from D2 engineer, Kane O’Conner, “anyone will drop what they’re doing to help a teammate. It’s a special group, and a testament to the team culture D2 has been able to maintain.”

And the teamwork doesn’t stop with the engineering team—it extends through all disciplines: interior design, architecture, environmental branding and brand identity. “We work as a collective,” Steve says, “project coordination in house not only makes for a faster, much more streamlined process but it allows the designers and engineers to know each other personally. We know how one another work and what our strongest traits are—working with the designers in our studio quickens the process but mostly, we enjoy doing it.”

With designers and engineers working side-by-side, our studio fosters a thriving, always-learning environment. First year D2 Engineer, Andrea Toscana Rodriguez says, “a great part of working in a studio like D2 is that we have almost all disciplines in house.  Being exposed to the other disciplines has also allowed me to form good relationships with people in branding, interior design, and architecture which has both expanded my knowledge and made work a lot more fun.”

Managing Member, John Schwartz expresses how the addition of engineering has helped the studio feel more cohesive, “The engineering team makes our studio more well-rounded. It is inspiring to see all of our disciplines communicating frequently and seamlessly as they work on a project.”—effective collaboration at its finest.

The success of our engineers exhibits more everyday both with fully integrated D2 projects combined with all disciplines, as well as progressive, independent engineering projects. And when asked how the engineering team has been so successful over the years, Steve says the answer is simple: “it’s the people I’ve hired. It’s truly due to the group effort of a dynamic team.”

So, what’s next for our D2 engineers? Steve says, “Three years ago, we just wanted to establish ourselves as a presence in the industry. Now, in our fifth year, we’ve already seen our work gain significant traction in the healthcare and life sciences markets. We are also on the brink of a major, and very exciting, personnel expansion. I’m excited to continue to watch the expansion of our engineering team in the future.”

And to that, we say—cheers! To five years of D2 Engineering!