A. Lee Graham
Reporter
The Dallas design firm behind several Texas Christian University projects, as well as Globe Life Park in Arlington and AT&T Stadium, has been acquired by Rvi Planning + Landscape Architecture.
Terms of the Newman, Jackson, Bieberstein Inc. (NJB) acquisition were not disclosed.
The deal represents a homecoming of sorts for RVi, with Austin and Houston offices, and Newman, Jackson, Bieberstein Inc., award-winning designer of the aforementioned North Texas landmarks, among others.
That’s because Bob Richardson, RVi CEO; H. Rowland Jackson, NJB president; and Karl Von Bieberstein, NJB senior vice president, worked together while at MND Partners in the 1970s and 1980s.
Richardson left MND to start his own practice in 1982, while Jackson and Von Bieberstein remained with the firm and eventually reorganized the company under the NJB name in 1990.
Von Bieberstein has served as NJB’s senior vice president of company operations and has led the firm’s long history of work for Texas Christian University. Among its TCU projects are Amon Carter Stadium, for which it provided site and landscape architectural design.
“This is a marvelous opportunity for our two respected companies to learn from one another,” Von Bieberstein said in a news release.
“We each have unique experiences that, when shared, have the potential to improve the practice of landscape architecture and sharpen the focus on important design and development issues,” Von Bieberstein said.
Sharing that sentiment was Richardson.
“After over three decades of practicing independently, it will be a joy to work with Rowland and Karl again,” Richardson said.
“As a result of our shared history, we have a lot of shared values. I am confident that the transition for our employees, clients, and allied firms will be very smooth.”
In addition to his role as president, Jackson has served as director of design at NJB, working with clients such as the Dallas Arboretum and Baylor University Medical Center.
“We believe the combination of the two firms’ talent and resources will ultimately benefit the clients of both organizations,” Jackson said.
RVi Project Director Paul Cozzolino will lead the integration effort in Dallas. He will begin work immediately alongside Jackson and Von Bieberstein, who will retain their leadership roles as officers and principals in the firm.
RVi has offices in Austin, Houston, and now Dallas. It is currently working on several developments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Trinity Falls and Walsh Ranch.
NJB operates mainly in North Texas and has been recognized with more than 50 design awards and citations for projects such as AT&T Stadium (Cowboys Stadium), The Trammel Crow Center, Globe Life Park in Arlington, and multiple projects at Baylor University Medical Center and Texas Christian University. The firm is currently working on the Grandscape Development, a 400-acre mixed use project in The Colony, planned to be anchored by the first Nebraska Furniture Mart in Texas.