Michael Brady, left, with Vance Travis.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 2/5/15. Vance Travis, president of TWH Architects Inc, speaks about buildings in downtown Chattanooga that he considers an architectural wonder. For the past three decades, Vance Travis has put his imprint on his hometown as head of TWH Architects, which has designed more than $500 million of commercial, educational and multi-use buildings.
Now the company he founded in 1986 with architects Phil Whitfield and the late John Hancock has a new business design under the ownership of the Knoxville-based Michael Brady Inc. (TBI). Combined, the expanded TBI and TWH comprise one of East Tennessee's biggest architect and design companies, with nearly 100 employees, including about 15 in Chattanooga. The firm provides architecture, engineering, interiors and building information modeling services in most states.
"We've had our eye on the Chattanooga market for a number of years because of its growth potential and, in a lot instances, you need to be present to win," says Eddie Jett, the chief executive for MBI who negotiated the purchase with Travis this summer. "This will expand our service capabilities in the greater Chattanooga area and help to better service our clients while keeping the TWH name. I think the two firms really complement one another."
Michael Brady Inc., which began in Knoxville in 1990 and expanded to Orlando more than a decade ago, opened an office in Bradley County a few years ago and then moved its Southeast Tennessee office to a new location near Hamilton Place Mall a couple of years ago.
MBI's founder and namesake, Michael Brady, retired last fall and has moved to Chattanooga. Brady pushed the firm to expand into Southeast Tennessee.
Travis said the sale of his business will allow for an orderly transition for the 30-year-old company and ensure its continuity long after he and Whitfield retire, which neither has no immediate plans to do.
"Phil and I are both getting up there in tenure and we don't have any children involved in the firm, so we were looking for an opportunity to give the firm a new and fresh life going forward," Travis says. "We were approached by MBI with an attractive offer so they can expand their presence here, so it seems to make a lot of sense."
TWH designed the award-winning Ocoee Whitewater Center in Polk County and such Chattanooga signature buildings as Battle Academy, UTC's College of Business Administration building, Chattanooga State's Health Sciences building and the renovation of Chattanooga's City Hall. The Chattanooga architectural firm, which is now licensed and has done projects from the Carolinas to Texas, was the major architectural firm more than two decades ago when Bob Corker, now a U.S. senator in Tennessee, was building commercial projects across the country for Bencor Construction Co.
TWH also designed the University Tower building near the Roundhouse, which Travis is part owner of and which is currently up for sale. Travis joined with accountant Dan Johnson and engineer John Germ in the 1980s to build the 44,477-square-foot office, which the owners are now trying to sell. The building is listed for $5.95 million.
MBI has designed more than $6 billion in construction projects over the last 26 years, including its recent work in the local area as the designer of the Sale Creek Fire Department.