{"recordId":"st_tkp29ta983pydp5j","canonicalUrl":"https://sotwire.com/stories/rnd-architects-joins-bwbr-durham-office","jsonUrl":"https://sotwire.com/stories/rnd-architects-joins-bwbr-durham-office/record","slug":"rnd-architects-joins-bwbr-durham-office","headline":"Durham's RND Architects joins BWBR","dek":"The St. Paul design firm acquired RND, which becomes its fourth office and its first in North Carolina.","articleBody":"Durham-based RND Architects has been acquired by BWBR, an architecture and design firm based in St. Paul, Minnesota, the firms announced on Nov. 2, 2026. RND will now be known as BWBR, and the firms began operating together on Nov. 2.\n\nThe Durham office becomes BWBR's fourth, joining offices in St. Paul, Madison, Wisconsin, and Omaha, Nebraska. The combined firm will have about 200 employees, and BWBR says the move gives it a base to grow its science and technology, healthcare, education and public-sector work in the Research Triangle.\n\n\"What made BWBR the right partner was that they share our commitment to our employees,\" said Charles Nickelson, principal at RND. \"This gives our people more opportunities to learn, grow and develop their careers, while allowing us to preserve the personal relationships and commitment to service that have always defined RND.\"\n\n\"We've had our eye on the Triangle for some time because of the tremendous growth here,\" said Terri Ulrick, president and CEO of BWBR. The firms say the deal was not driven by private equity investment and grew out of a search for a partner with compatible values.","category":"other","categoryLabel":"Company news","location":"Durham, NC","company":{"name":"BWBR (formerly RND Architects)","domain":"bwbr.com"},"sample":false,"sampleDisclaimer":null,"publishedAt":"2026-11-03T13:43:41.071Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-03T13:43:41.071Z","badge":"Desk reported","trust":{"level":"desk_reported","doctrine":"Sotwire verifies who at the company stood behind the submission. It does not independently certify every underlying company claim as true.","verifies":"which named Sotwire editor wrote this from the cited sources","doesNotCertify":"independent truth of every claim","badge":"Desk reported","verificationMethod":"Named Sotwire editor, from the cited sources. Not a company attestation, and not an independent fact-check of every sentence.","domainChecked":false},"attestation":{"attested":false},"confirmation":null,"facts":[{"label":"Acquirer","value":"BWBR, St. Paul, Minnesota"},{"label":"BWBR offices","value":"4, including Durham"},{"label":"Combined employees","value":"About 200"},{"label":"Joint operations began","value":"Nov. 2, 2026"}],"keyEvents":[{"date":"2026-11-02","label":"RND Architects and BWBR begin operating together"}],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.bwbr.com/2026/11/02/durham-based-rnd-architects-joins-forces-with-bwbr/","title":"Durham-Based RND Architects Joins Forces with BWBR","publisher":"BWBR"}],"source":{"url":"https://www.bwbr.com/2026/11/02/durham-based-rnd-architects-joins-forces-with-bwbr/","publisher":"BWBR (formerly RND Architects)","publishedAt":"2026-11-02T14:00:00.000Z"},"cover":{"url":"https://sotwire.com/covers/rnd-architects-joins-bwbr-durham-office.webp","alt":"Durham's RND Architects joins BWBR","provenance":"unknown","provenanceLabel":"Unknown origin","credit":null},"images":[{"id":"med_o4685b580lns9rpe","url":"https://pub-ec2c7475154f4c22ba3162ee6eef7802.r2.dev/wire/bwbr.com/obj_7xnzilds45d82d62-MA-Header_Blog-1312x840px2-scaled.png","alt":"Photo: BWBR (formerly RND Architects)","caption":"Photo: BWBR (formerly RND Architects)","credit":null,"lead":true,"provenance":"unknown","filename":"MA-Header_Blog-1312x840px2-scaled.png"}],"provenanceMethod":"EXIF, XMP, and filename heuristic. Not C2PA cryptographic proof, and not a judgment that the depicted event is true.","provenanceDisclaimer":"v1 labels are heuristic (EXIF, XMP, filename), not cryptographic C2PA proof. Treat them as disclosure of observed metadata, not a guarantee that the image is genuine or that the depicted event is true.","citation":"Sotwire Desk, BWBR (formerly RND Architects). \"Durham's RND Architects joins BWBR.\" Sotwire, November 3, 2026, https://sotwire.com/stories/rnd-architects-joins-bwbr-durham-office. Record ID: st_tkp29ta983pydp5j. Desk reported.","sampleLabel":null,"correctionStatus":"No public corrections recorded","integrity":{"algorithm":"sha-256","hex":"e5930d7b721168437880533832aba5b6f919130e19165def96cf19afee123935","contentDigest":"sha-256=:5ZMNe3IRaEN4gFM4MqultvkZEw4ZFl3vls8Zr+4SOTU=:","scope":"Canonical JSON record excluding the integrity object"}}