The Architectural Team’s New
Managing Principal: Thomas Schultz

Reflecting a longstanding commitment to design innovation, the renowned architecture, interior design, and planning firm The Architectural Team (TAT) has announced the elevation of principal and longtime leadership team member Thomas Schultz, AIA, NCARB, CPHC, to the role of managing principal.

This evolution in leadership underscores TAT’s focus on long-range planning and its consistent approach to nurturing successive generations of design leaders. An important milestone in the firm’s ongoing strategic growth initiative, it comes as TAT takes on significant new project work and as senior partner and current managing principal, Michael D. Binette, AIA, NCARB, steps back from day-to-day leadership in his new role as chairman and shifts his focus to special initiatives and strategic partnerships.

For TAT and its 100-plus-person staff, the elevation of Schultz as managing principal builds on a track record of success and positive impact across more than half a century. During his 23 years at TAT, Schultz has developed a reputation as both an influential designer and an adept leader who exemplifies the firm’s mission of creating more vibrant, livable cities and neighborhoods. As he steps into this new role, the firm’s focus on design excellence and committed leadership will progress with the continued guidance of firm principals Jay Szymanski AIA, NACRB, LEED AP, Ed R. Bradford, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, and Gary M. Kane, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, AIA, as stewards of the firm’s growth and trajectory into the next generation. 

With a combined 130-plus years of experience at TAT, this group of principals also takes on expanded management, client relations, strategic advisory, and mentorship roles as Schultz assumes the position of managing principal.

“Tom’s expertise, overall sense of commitment, and innate problem-solving skills ensure a seamless transition of the firm’s leadership and the continued growth of TAT’s award-winning, client-centric national practice,” says Binette.  “Tom has a tremendous ability to not only quickly assess and understand the innumerable issues surrounding what we as architects do to create livable, equitable, and sustainable communities, but most importantly in his leadership he is able to inspire and effectuate collaborative, thoughtful solutions.” 

“I am excited and honored to assume this role as managing principal,” says Schultz. “For more than half a century, through projects and advocacy TAT has helped drive national design and policy conversations around urgent issues ranging from housing shortages to strategies for accommodating climate change and for encouraging adaptive reuse. With the support of our growing 100-plus-person studio of creative, diverse, and dedicated professionals, I look forward to continuing this legacy of impactful work and taking our practice to the next level.”

Among the high-profile projects Schultz has led are the global headquarters for apparel brand Converse at Lovejoy Wharf in Boston, and numerous creative residential conversions such as the 100 Shawmut condominium project. He has also worked on transformative large-scale affordable housing works including Flat 9 at Whittier, in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood.

Equally important, Schultz has helped accelerate the firm’s focus on identifying, elevating and retaining top talent as the core of a long-term business strategy. Alongside the top ranks of TAT leadership, Schultz and the firm’s experienced principals are now supported by a talented array of senior leaders, including associates Phil Renzi, Andrew Stebbins, Elizabeth Peabody, Anthony Vivirito, Venket Holi, Matthew Duggan, and Meghann Van Dorn, IIDA, LEED AP ID+C—who also serves as director of interior design—as well as by director of sustainability Nate Thomas, AIA, CPHC.

TAT’s skilled and growing leadership team also oversees an impressive portfolio of new and ongoing work. Highlights include the recent completion of Stone Mill Lofts, a historic adaptive reuse project in Lawrence, Mass.; the redevelopment of Boston’s Mary Ellen McCormack public housing complex; the upcoming West End Library, designed in collaboration with MASS Design Group and integrating 119 units of affordable housing with vital civic uses in Boston; Sturgeon Place in Scarborough, Maine, an innovative apartment community for adults with mobility impairments and physical disabilities; and major new multifamily and mixed-use initiatives in the 28 states where TAT’s architects are registered, including North Carolina, New York, Texas, and other key markets across the United States.