PURE GOLD VALLEY

Designs on the future:Montgomery architects build on people-first philosophy

The architects at longtime Montgomery firm Seay, Seay & Litchfield, which recently won a River Region Ethics in Business and Public Service Award, drew from a lot of experience when opening their new Dothan office.

Fueled by state and military projects, and with a new business ethics award in hand, the firm expanded for the first time in its 35-year history Oct. 1. But for many of those at the firm, it was like going home.

Jim Seay Jr. has family in Dothan, as well as a lot of clients. It was a practical decision, he said.

?When you spend all of your time on the road, eventually you think it would make some sense if we got an office down there,? Seay said.

?We had a good base of work to get us down there and get started,? said Dothan native Raleigh Price, who is leading the new office when he?s not on the road to meet with clients in Florida and Georgia. ?There?s still plenty of travel, it?s just not back to Montgomery.?

But as the firm?s physical footprint spreads, its influence remains a major presence in the Capital City. The late Jim Seay Sr. designed the downtown Montgomery YMCA in the 1960s before going into business with his son and Frank Litchfield, and in the years since then the firm has worked on projects ranging from the Montgomery Cancer Center to Metro Fitness.

Much of its business, though, comes from federal and state government, the military and other institutions.

Those projects have led them to shape some of the most iconic structures in Montgomery. The firm planned and designed the Air Force?s Senior NCO Academy at Maxwell Air Force Base, restored the original fa?ade at Troy University?s Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts and masterminded Auburn Montgomery?s state-of-the-art Residence Hall.

Its state government projects include work on the Alabama Capitol, the governor?s mansion and the state Archives and History building, which Seay said has been a ?labor of love? for the firm since 1991 and included a 65,000-square-foot expansion in 2006.

?That was a very interesting project, and it was neat working for those guys up there,? said Seay, who praised the recently retired director of the department, Ed Bridges. ?It?s pretty neat to have the opportunity to serve the people who are like that. They?re really good people.?

Elsewhere the firm has worked on Ross Hall at Auburn University, Hawkins Hall and the dining facility at Troy University, the Soldier Service Center at Fort Rucker, and many other projects across the region.

They?ve also done much smaller projects, but the approach to those is the same, Price said.

?This afternoon I?m going to go and do a small renovation project at somebody?s house,? Price said. ?That?s probably the only project they?ll ever do in their life on their house, but the way we work and the things we believe still apply: You go to them and find out what their needs are, and you figure out the best way to come up with creative solutions for them.

?It keeps it fun when you?re mixing it up like that, when you go back and forth between something so small and personal and something so grand and public.?

On the other end of the scale, the firm currently is working on a glass-enclosed Corps of Engineers field office overlooking the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa.

?The common denominator is that you?re still working with people,? Seay said. ?We have a service that if we do well, we have the potential to make the quality of their life a lot better.?

That philosophy helped attract Price, a 2008 Auburn University graduate who had served internships at several other firms. Speaking from SS&L?s office inside a period South Court Street house, Price said he was drawn to the firm because of its family atmosphere.

?It?s just what we are,? Price said. ?We?re in an old house, you know? It?s just good people that you enjoy.?

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This post was written by: Franklin Manuel

Franklin Manuel is a professional blogger, web designer and front end web developer. Follow him on Twitter