It Takes A Ville.

The story of Somerville Architects and Engineers begins with a call to war, World War II, where John E. Somerville was put to task on war plant design and construction. His facility experience in both engineering and architectural disciplines spanned the United States. This and his pre-war experience with another local architectural firm led to the opening of his own practice at 230 E. Walnut St., Green Bay, Wisconsin in May of 1946. As Frankie Carle and his Orchestra played "Oh! What It Seemed to Be," the new focus seemed to be on industry. And with that, Somerville started its project log with the Great Lakes Shoe Company of Oconto, Wisconsin.

Through the 1950s Somerville gained a foothold in the industrial market and was commissioned to design the Green Bay Box Company's plant on Doblin St. and Paper Converting's initial office and plant on South Ashland St.  In 1955, Somerville was retained by the City of Green Bay to design City Stadium, now Lambeau Field.  And by 1959 the Veteran's Memorial Arena was added to their portfolio.

The '60s started off with Elvis Presley and "It's Now or Never" atop the billboard charts.  Post World War II, the nation saw an increased need for domestic production capacity.  This trend attributed to the firm's share of industrial projects, at nearly 75% of the total workload.  Some notable clients of the time were UW Oshkosh, Green Bay Tissue Mills, Bellin Memorial Hospital, and Green Bay Schools.  This decade also saw the addition of John Somerville's son, Jack, to the firm.

During the '70s the client base doubled with the addition of new clients and continued loyalty from existing clients.  January 1, 1973, the firm moved into the 2020 Riverside Drive building, which was one of Somerville's own real estate developments.  Twenty-two days later, US President Richard Nixon announced "peace with honour" in Vietnam.  This decade also saw the introduction of a very noisy computer console in Somerville’s office which had a room of its own. 

The early 1980s brought about a significant organizational change. Dick Griese became president and John E. Somerville became Chairman of the Board. The '80s also saw the formation of the Mill Division which was established to serve Somerville’s growing list of industrial clients. The number of commissions in this decade was over 1,200 – compared to that of 355 in the '60s and 725 in the '70s. Overall Somerville’s practice had now become very broad, having a diverse portfolio designing many kinds of buildings.  It was also during this time that Somerville adapted CADD and virtually all working drawings were CADD printouts by the end of the '80s.

As Guns n’ “Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine” topped the charts entering the '90s, it was then that John E. Somerville entered into retirement and his son, John “Jack” Somerville became president of the firm. The 1990s brought the sharpest growth in both commissions and staff in the firm’s history. This growth compelled Somerville’s leadership to seek larger quarters, and so the firm moved just a few hundred feet south of the 2020 location to our current office at 2100 Riverside Drive.  Work through the '90s remained strong in healthcare facilities and industrial design.

The events on September 11, 2001 shook our nation and the 2007/2008 recession brought difficult times for much of our industry. However, Somerville’s strong client relationships remained whole and the firm’s workload continued to grow. Our list of education clients and projects grew rapidly with a focus on public K-12 schools and technical college systems.  Michael Kadow, an architect employed with the firm since 1985 became president of Somerville and Jack was appointed Chairman of the Board. In 2008, Somerville’s employees purchased the last remaining privately held shares of stock and became a 100% employee-owned firm. 

In 2010, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) was gaining ground nationally and Somerville designed the Nation’s first primary school to achieve LEED Gold Certification. Somerville’s diverse portfolio of projects continued, designing a new private high school in Miami, Florida, a world-class Automobile Gallery in downtown Green Bay, as well as a full renovation of the stadium suites and pre-function spaces at Lambeau Field. Today, Somerville continues to work on many high-profile projects in our community. We pride ourselves on having a 94% repeat client rate and attribute that to our firm’s rich history and commitment to helping our clients achieve success in their business.