The mantra of the firm is "a problem well defined is a building well designed." In our projects, we have worked exhaustively to thoroughly define the major parameters of the design problem: budget, program, schedule, and design context. By achieving a realistic understanding of these constraints, we have been able to craft memorable design images appropriate to their context. This has been done across a wide spectrum of building types and budgets in urban and suburban locations. We do not force a preconceived "design look" on our projects. Each project is approached with a fresh slate responding to the constraints and context of the design situation.

Our guiding business philosophy has been to have a strong design orientation with a service mentality. We have been open to collaborations with developers, builders, other architects, and engineers.

Preiss Breismeister P.C. Architects (P/B) began its architectural practice in Greenwich, CT in 1977 by joining the independent firms of Frederick Preiss and Donald Breismeister. After two years in Greenwich, the office relocated to fast growing Stamford, CT. Preiss and Breismeister are both alumni of the rigorous Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture.

Work With Real Estate Developers

For the first ten to fifteen years, we primarily did our work collaboratively with real estate developers. Prominent among these developers were Peter Pattison, John Lese, Lowell Schulman, F.D. Rich and Arthur Collins.

Working with Peter Pattison in 1979, we designed the office building located at 591 West Putnam Avenue. We worked with Pattison again in 1981 to design Franklin Town Plaza Philadelphia, PA. We developed designs for Harvard Place in Stamford in the early 1980s, however funding for construction was never achieved.

P/B worked with real estate developer John Lese to convert the Roselle School in Pleasantville, NY into 20 market rate condominiums. In 1981, we worked together to develop the Horton School located at 222 Grace Church Road in Port Chester, NY into a 60,000 square foot office building.

Lowell Schulman approached P/B in the early 1980's to develop 7 acres on the Stamford waterfront. Located at the end of Canal Street in South Stamford, this land was occupied by a chemical factory in a heavily industrialized zone. The project, which came to be known as Stamford Harbor Park includes 400,000 square feet of office space in two eight-story buildings, serviced by a 900-car garage, set in a parklike environment.

P/B has had a long involvement with the F.D. Rich Company. Together, we developed Greyrock Plaza which includes 197,000 square feet of mixed-use retail, residential, and office space in two towers. We provided CA services for Six Stamford Forum office building and Atrium, as well as design services for the preservation and renovation of the historic former Stamford Advocate office building.

P/B provided architectural services to Arthur Collins for ten years, designing and building housing, including Harbor House on the Narrows in Stamford; and in Greenwich: the Victoria Houses, Winthrop House, and Old Greenwich Gables condominiums. P/B also worked with Mr. Collins to design our corporate headquarters at 53 Forest Avenue.

Non-Profit Clients

The Greenwich Housing Authority was one of our first non-profit developer clients, for whom we converted the former Greenwich Town Hall Annex into moderate-income housing. Since then, P/B has worked with non-profit developers such as the Neighborhood Preservation Foundation and New Neighborhoods Inc. to produce a total of five school conversions into housing or offices. We worked with New Neighborhoods in Stamford to convert the Willard and Belltown Elementary Schools into elderly housing.

The Windsor Court project began when P/B successfully gained control of five contiguous properties in downtown Greenwich. Functioned as a real estate developer, P/B obtained all of the required permits for thirteen condominiums. We sold the property and designs to a builder, who then proceeded with construction. After this, P/B went on to design and develop Portside Condominiums in Buffalo, NY, and the Gimbel Estate in Greenwich.

Late 1980's

Closing out the 1980's, P/B occupied the historic former Stamford Advocate Building. By this time Stamford had become overbuilt in terms of office space and condominiums. Favorable condominium tax laws were changed and interest rates shot up into the teens. Our developer-clients ultimately lost buildings and/or took on partners to help them weather the change in the real estate climate. Since the 1980's, P/B's municipal services have expanded into such projects as school facilities, firehouses, municipal centers and health care related projects.

1990's

P/B started to move away from our developer-client relationships and gravitated toward government and corporate clients. Most significantly we teamed up with Architect Ezra Ehrenkrantz in a joint venture to provide architectural services to the State of Connecticut for the new Connecticut State Superior Courthouse in Stamford. The completed 10-story, ninety million-dollar courthouse houses 22 courtrooms. Soon after, P/B began working in Carmel NY, to develop the new Putnam County Courthouse.

Collaborative Work

During the last thirty years, P/B has enjoyed several collaborations with other architects. In 1980, we worked with Geddes Qualls and Cunningham to complete the Franklin Town Plaza in Philadelphia. In 1985, we collaborated with Kohn, Pederson and Fox to design Harvard Square in Stamford. In 1989, we became the architects of record to complete the construction documents of Stamford Forum Six, which Arthur Ericson had designed. During our involvement with Arthur Collins we developed construction documents for Planning and Zoning review based on the schematic design by DoChung. We prepared the designs and construction documents as architect of record for 167 condominiums called "The Colonade", an office building and 24 freestanding residences.

Our Advantage

We have designed 1,687,350 square feet of office space and 1,352 residential units. Our firm has progressed technologically from hand drafting and typewriters to CAD, e-mail and websites. Our firm has been blessed with clients who challenge us, widely diverse projects and a highly educated, loyal and motivated group of associates and staff. We are the solid foundation for your project.