OUR HISTORY

Joseph J. O’Kelly, one of the architects who came to Puerto Rico, as member of the design team in charge of the Puerto Rico Capitol Building, founded our firm in partnership with Mr. Rafael M. Mendez, Jr., P.E., back in 1946, our Firm then known as O’ Kelly and Mendez Architects & Engineers. When Mr. Carl B. Brunner, Jr., A.I.A., joined as full partner in 1957, the firm then became known as O’ Kelly, Mendez, Brunner & Associates, Architects and Engineers. Mr. Rafael M. Mendez joined the firm as partner in 1975. Finally, in 1991 Mr. Luís V. Badillo, AIA was invited to become a full partner, adding his name to the roster and for 30 years now, our name has beenMéndez, Brunner, Badillo & Associates, Architects and Engineers, (MBBA).

Soon to reach the 75-anniversary milestone in 2021, with a successful professional practice in Puerto Rico and abroad our Firm, is very proud of its extensive and varied list of projects whose costs exceed 500 million dollars, and of its’ select list of loyal clients. We are grateful to all who have trusted their projects and dreams to us, and in the process of making these aspirations a reality also became good friends.

Our work has included the design of Federal and local government jobs, industrial plants, healthcare facilities, housing projects, office buildings, churches, and country clubs, most recently we have been engaged in the design of the demolition by implosion, of many high-rise public housing projects, situation which has opened the way to key urban renewal and low-income family housing projects.

The type, scope of work and costs of projects MBBA has done for over 70 decades now, has included very small jobs, to projects those whose budget has exceeded $30 m. This variety, is a direct result of job/program analysis and an unwavering conviction that cultural and positive social contributions, many times outweigh professional compensation.

All of MBBA’s architectural design is done in-house, including preparation of drawings, technical specifications and detailed project estimates, always in strict collaboration with a team of expert consultants in the fields of mechanical-electrical design, acoustics, audiovisual design, food service, traffic, life-safety and landscape design. MBBA has also ventured beyond the shores of Puerto Rico with projects in U.S.V.I., the BVI, Guantanamo, Cuba and in Panama. McCann Erikson, Puerto Rico Headquarters project, was the reason why MBBA was asked to design their new Panama City Office Headquarter. The success and satisfaction of our client with this job opened the doors to many other projects in Panama. The amount and complexity of these commissions prompted the opening of our Firm’s subsidiary in Panama, in order to better tend to the needs of our Panamanian clients.

Most recently MBBA has been involved in many different Federal Government Projects, for various agencies, many of them of a sensitive nature which bars us from making public images of the completed projects. Among these agencies we can mention the US Marshall, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Drug Enforcement Agency, (DEA), US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern Region of PR, GSA, Job Corps, and the Social Security Office of Disability Adjudication & Review among other.

Lastly much of the work we are currently doing is high end residential design for private clients, projects for the Puerto Rico Public Housing Administration (PRPHA) and Hurricane Repair and Renovation work for the Parish Church, Old Town Hall and Historic Square of the Municipality of Las Piedras. In addition to all the jobs mentioned before, we are also working on many different projects for the Veterans Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS) which include among other; the New Covid Testing Laboratory (currently under design) a New 38 KV Powerline at a cost of $10 m, the Hurricane Recovery Projects Phase I, at a cost of $12 m and lastly a $12 m + interior renovation of the VA Hospital, at San Juan, Emergency Department and Observation Unit, second phase currently under construction.