February, 2013 – Kideney Architects, P.C., Buffalo’s oldest architectural design firm recently announced a transition of leadership within the firm. Raymond J. Bednarski, AIA, LEED AP, a partner and principal of the firm since 2009, is the new president and CEO. He is joined by fellow principals, Joseph J. Lenahan, AIA, LEED AP; Anthony E. Gorski, AIA, CSI; and Timothy E. Kupinski, AIA, NCARB. The announcement was made by president emeritus, Thomas E. Jaeger, AIA, NCARB.
“This is an exciting time in our company’s history. We are the 5th generation of leadership and for an architecture firm that longevity is very rare,” says Bednarski. “After 86 years in business it is important to position ourselves for the future while remaining true to the principles of service, professionalism and community service that our firm was founded on.”
Bednarski, an experienced architect who has been with Kideney for over 23 years, has served as principal-in-charge on recent multi-million dollar capital projects for the North Tonawanda, Williamsville and Buffalo Public School districts. His recent award-winning work includes BPS #76 Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy and BPS #307 East High School renovations. Bednarski’s extensive educational portfolio is complemented by work in the healthcare, long-term care, municipal and commercial sectors. He is currently a board member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Buffalo.
Lenahan has over 30 years of experience as a project architect and manager, 25 of which have been spent at Kideney. He has worked extensively with state agencies including the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and the State University Construction Fund. His projects include the recently completed Crossroads Culinary Center (Red Jacket Dining Facility) in the Ellicott Complex on SUNY Buffalo’s North Campus; SUNY Fredonia’s University Commons, a mixed-use residential complex; and the Allegany Administration Building for the Seneca Nation of
Indians in Salamanca, NY. He is currently working on improvement projects at Ralph Wilson Stadium for the Buffalo Bills. Lenahan is a former chairperson for the Village of Williamsville Planning Board and Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Gorski has been with Kideney for 23 years and is one of the firm’s most seasoned project managers and architects with a primary focus on correctional and municipal work. His extensive knowledge of state codes, policies and procedures has resulted in multiple projects for the firm including several term contracts commissioned by the New York State Office of General Services. His municipal work is complemented by projects for the Buffalo Public Schools, Shea’s Performing Arts Center and the Buffalo Bills. Mr. Gorski is a member of the Town of Lancaster Planning Board and a former member of the Village of Depew Planning Board.
Kupinski joined Kideney in early 2012 with over 20 years of experience as a project manager and project architect. His expansive portfolio includes multi-million dollar design projects for the State University of New York System, including the Alfiero Student Center within the School of Management on SUNY at Buffalo’s North Campus, as well as projects for the historic Roycroft Campus, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Canisius College, Lackawanna City School District and Elmwood Franklin School. He also worked on several educational projects in Pennsylvania, including Selinsgrove Elementary School, a project honored with a Citation of Excellence from American School & University. Kupinski sits on the boards of the AIA Buffalo/WNY Chapter, King Center Charter School and Child and Family Services. He is a former chair of the “New Group” at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
Kideney Architects, P.C., was first established in 1926 as Harbach & Kideney by founder and first president, James William Kideney, FAIA. Under Kideney’s leadership the firm was poised to take advantage of widespread government funding for a number of public projects following the 1929 stock market crash and ensuing Great Depression. The firm continued to prosper in the post-WWII era when the G.I. Bill resulted in a tremendous need to expand university campuses. The firm’s earliest commissions in Western New York included design of the Amherst High School on Main Street, the State University College at Buffalo’s Butler Library and several projects for New York Telephone. Over the years, the firm continued to expand its portfolio, working on such significant projects as the restoration of Shea’s Performing Arts Center and the Buffalo Electric Tower (formerly the Niagara Mohawk Building).
In recent years, the firm’s commissions have included multiple projects for the Buffalo Public Schools $1B reconstruction program; design of the 93,000 sf University Commons at SUNY Fredonia and the 242-bed New York State Veterans Home at Oxford, NY. Other work includes Erie County Medical Center’s (ECMC) Center of Excellence for Kidney Care & Transplantation, designed in association with IKM, Inc.; and the award-winning Child Care Centers on SUNY Buffalo’s North and South campuses. Kideney is currently working on the Regional Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at ECMC and a new emergency department at Kenmore Mercy Hospital.