Long Beach, NY – May 15, 2018 - GWB Architect, P.C. founder George Bella, AIA has been awarded the Henry Hobson Richardson Award for contribution to the quality of public architecture in the NY community. 

This marks the first time a Long Island NY architect has received the Henry Hobson Richardson Award, which recognizes AIA members licensed in NY State and practicing in the private sector who have made a significant contribution to the quality of NYS public architecture and who have established a portfolio of accomplishments to that end. 

George Bella is a Long Beach, NY local who gained a great deal of experience from learning, streamlining and managing his family masonry & construction business from a young age. Architecture school was a natural progression, earning him a B.S. in Architectural Technology from NYIT in 1992. After completing school he worked as a Project Manager for JRS Architecture in NY for several years, became a registered architect and worked with WASA/Studio A in NY for a few more years. It was at that time Mr. Bella decided to launch his own firm, which he opened in Long Beach in 2001. Now, 17 years later he operates GWB Architect, taking on projects from Long Beach out to the Hamptons across Long Island.

George’s experience includes designing, managing and consulting on projects across residential, workspace and commercial projects. He has acute knowledge in local zoning, sustainable building (having a LEED Advanced Professional in-house), seaside design and coastal material consideration, which integrates longevity and a high quality product across all projects. He is an expert in the industry on Home Elevations and new FEMA compliant construction. George is also active in the Architecture community as a local Chamber of Commerce Member and a professional mentor with organizations such as the Long Island Architecture & Design Group; his advice and guidance is highly respected among clients, friends and colleagues. 

GWB Architect P.C. is located at 120 W. Park Ave, Suite 304, Long Beach, NY, 11561. Visitors are encouraged to explore the newly updated website online at www.gwbarchitect.com and sign up for direct emails and/or a no-obligation session with the Company at http://www.gwbarchitect.com/contacts or on 516-432-3406. 

The Long Island Architecture & Design Group is a club focused on engaging discussions and raising awareness and appreciation of innovative ideas, technology and approaches to architecture and design. They promote architecture and design in local competitions to include enthusiasts & students, connect mentors with students and young professionals and become active in the architectural landscapes of our local communities. They can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/liadg/ 

Founded in 1857, The American Institute of Architects consistently works to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through more than 200 international, state and local chapters, AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public wellbeing. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. Engaging a licensed Architect is the ONLY way to ensure that your project is handled correctly and professionally. For more: https://www.aiany.org/about/message-from-the-director/

The new and completely redesigned website offers visitors richer insight into the Company's innovative, hands-on approach to Residential, Commercial and Workplace architecture, construction management and interior design in the Greater NYC area. 

Long Beach, NY, Mar. 1, 2018 

GWB Architect P.C., which specializes in Residential, Commercial and Workplace architecture, construction management and interior design services, announced today the launch of its newly revamped website. “Our goal with this newly redesigned website was to have it offer dynamic visuals, quick, easy access to essential information, and features that offer a more comprehensive understanding of GWB Architect's deeply-rooted strength in the construction experience along with their innovative approach to spaces conducive to the use of their dwellers,” said David Watts of Cloudworks Consulting LLC, which was contracted for the new design. 

The new website has a clean uncluttered look, improved functionality and enhanced rich content focused toward educating existing and potential clients, along with rich visuals and media reflecting extensive experience in projects across home and business projects. The new website officially goes live today, March 1, 2018 and is located at the same address: www.gwbarchitect.com. 

“We are excited about our new website launch and the robust information it provides for clients, industry partners and potential customers to better understand our niche experience building close to the sea, managing disaster-mitigated elevations and purpose-built design, thinking out-of-the-box’,” said George Bella, AIA, GWB Architect founder and principal architect. “We believe that this new site will allow our visitors to have a very informative experience as we continue to take on projects from the NYC area to the Hamptons.” 

The updated site was strategically coordinated in parallel with the company’s social media presence, expanding across all relevant platforms for more dynamic content to link back to the static information of the website: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gwbarchitect/ 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/gwbarchitect 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gwbarchitect/ 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/gwbarchitect/ 

Tumblr: http://gwbarchitect.tumblr.com/ 

Houzz: https://www.houzz.com/pro/gwbarchitectpc/gwb-architect-p-c 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2855953 

GWB Architect P.C.'s new website will be updated on a regular basis with news of notable projects, business milestones, events, and community information. Visitors are encouraged to explore the website and sign up for direct emails and/or a no-obligation session with the Company at http://www.gwbarchitect.com/contacts or on 516-432-3406. 

Cloudworks Consulting LLC specializes in services specific to securely running Small to Mid-Sized organizations across all functions, including productivity such as email, calendar, file sharing; collaboration such as telecommunications, video, business messaging; and digital marketing such as website design, social media marketing, email marketing and sales and growth consulting. Cloudworks can be reached at info@cloudworks.consulting or on 917-727-2731.

Having grown up in the City of Long Beach, NY with an office in the center of town and the majority of a large family in Long Beach and Island Park, Hurricane Sandy was a life impacting event. The towns were devastated. More so, with family, friends, business associates on the barrier islands there was not only concern with how to survive in the aftermath of the storm, but what it was all going to mean for the future of our great town. Now 5+ years later, the towns are on the mend. New homes are being built, existing homes are being elevated, and for most, life has gotten back on track. 

Its funny what a natural disaster can do to your perspective. In the days, weeks, months after the storm, I had visited hundreds of homes to assess the damage caused by wind, surging waters and in some occasions, violent wave action. It was not uncommon to walk into a storm damaged home and know that in the end, the most cost-effective way to approach this project, was to tear it down and start over. But who wants to be the guy to tell a family that their home is beyond saving. On many occasions, I tried to soften the blow. Racking my brain to come up with an out of the box solution to try and make a terrible situation better. Too many times I did this, wasting too many valuable hours. Hours that could have been spent helping people. After a while, most responsible professionals came to realize that out of the box solutions to try and salvage something that has lost its integrity is a shortsighted approach. It was time to build better and stronger. 

With that, along came NY Rising. My office received non-stop phone calls from homeowners that were either in the program or interested in the program. Looking back, this was an exciting time. With a cynical eye, we began educating ourselves about what NY Rising was offering. After all, too many people had checks for tens of thousands of dollars issued to them but were not being told what they could use it for. Well, it took about 6 months of phone calls, seminars, after hours meetings, and what seems like about a few thousand e-mails, to finally get to the point of “expert”. Even still, so many potential clients were turned away for fear of not being able to meet deadlines. Deadlines, that ultimately became extended. My cynical side had lost, and we began to realize that the program really was going to make a difference for so many impacted by the storm. Yes, there would be some headaches, some frustration, some administrative hurdles to overcome but in the end, it was worth it. 

I am proud of the way that my office has navigated NY Rising. Both Jennifer Watts, the Project Manager for GWB Architect P.C., and myself approached “Sandy” related projects with a different mindset. We never looked at these projects as an opportunity for some quick government funded fees. We looked at them as an opportunity to assist local families get back on track and stay there. I cannot think of a single NY Rising project that GWB Architect worked on in which we did not take on a significant amount of work beyond what was required and without the need for an increased budget. 

Much has been accomplished and the work continues. The landscape of our town has been changed. Most, but not all, agree that it is for the best. Yes, some charm has been sacrificed, homes and even businesses are taller, some projects area obtrusive, and almost all are more expensive. But they are certainly stronger and built to withstand the next “big one”. Hopefully, in our lifetime, we will not need to find out how well these new FEMA compliant home perform. But I think it is fair to say that we can no longer assume that the “big one” is not going to happen. But if it does……We will be ready.

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images

"To be effective, architecture must be approached as an exceptionally potent agent of social and individual change. Architecture must be something more powerful and transformative than the budgeted construction of shelter. However, architecture as an art form and societal instigator has largely lost its way in our society today. Though often overlooked and rarely achieved, it is a fundamental truism that in order to maintain their relevance, and more importantly to improve their world, architects must resign their complacency and actively labor to create spaces and communities that are as socially and personally transformative as they are functional and beautiful." -Anonymous Architect