McMillan Pazdan Smith Acquires Maryland’s Smolen Emr Ilkovitch Architects,

Greenville, SC (October 12, 2026) - McMillan Pazdan Smith (MPS) is announcing its acquisition of Smolen Emr Ilkovitch Architects (SEI) of Rockville, Maryland. This partnership expands MPS’s presence into the U.S. Mid-Atlantic with a new studio and grows the reach of the firm’s K12 architecture, interior design, planning, and advisory practice to clients in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the surrounding region. The addition reinforces the firm’s place among the top 25 K-12 architecture practices in the United States. 

Since its founding in 1959, SEI has embraced complex planning and collaborative design, delivering results that have earned its position as an industry leader in the Maryland Public School design sector. The firm has provided planning and design solutions to over 425 schools in 14 jurisdictions, including: 

• Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ renovation and addition of Meade High School  

• Baltimore City Public Schools’ Forest Park High School modernization (a 2020 AIA Baltimore Good Design=Good Business Award winner, and 2019 ENR Best Project Award) 

• Calvert County Public Schools’ Beach Elementary School replacement (a 2025 A4LE Northeast Region Project of Distinction) 

• Charles County Public Schools’ new Margaret J. Thornton Elementary School 

• Frederick County Public Schools’ Yellow Springs Elementary School replacement and the new Linganore Creek Elementary School 

• Howard County Public Schools’ Hammond High School renovation and addition 

• Montgomery County Public Schools’ new Stonegate Elementary School (2024 MAMA Design Excellence Award in Education) 

Projects underway include Baltimore City Public Schools’ Net Zero replacement project for the City Springs Pre-K to 8 School, the renovation of Charles County Public Schools’ La Plata High School, and Baltimore County Public Schools’ Towson High School renovation and addition. 

“We are excited to welcome SEI to the MPS firm family.  The SEI team shares our commitment to purposeful and expert design and project execution, exceptional client service, and deep community-centered relationships and presence,” says Chad Cousins, CEO, McMillan Pazdan Smith. “Together, we will support the continued growth, vibrancy, and sustainability of the DMV region with long-term community investments, and industry-leading design, planning, and advisory value.”  

MPS is an industry pace-setting design and advisory firm with 2025 revenue in the top 20 among all architecture firms nationally, according to BD+C GIANTS rankings. The firm currently has studios across Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  

The firm was recently named to the PSMJ 2026 Circle of Excellence, a group of the best managed firms in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry based on nine key performance metrics including financial strength, operational discipline, and long-term resilience.  

“By joining MPS, we will be able to expand our impact, service offerings and technical excellence, while remaining the community-based firm that plans and designs places that become the thriving center of our neighborhoods,” says SEI Principal Ran Ilkovitch.  

The acquisition of SEI further enhances an MPS team of architects, planners, and experienced advisors.  The MPS team works collaboratively with clients to assess facilities, plan for enrollment shifts, and design flexible spaces that adapt to the evolving needs of elementary, middle, and high schools, career and technology education (CTEs) and workforce development centers, independent schools, early learning environments, performing arts centers, and athletic facilities.  

While financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, SEI’s leadership and 20+ full-time workforce will become part of MPS.   

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About McMillan Pazdan Smith   

McMillan Pazdan Smith (MPS) is a leading architecture, advisory services, planning, and interior design firm. A community-based presence since 1955, MPS is driven by a collaborative culture, creative and expert client solutions, and design excellence. With over 100 AIA awards since 2000, the firm’s purpose is to reimagine what is possible and create meaningful and lasting impact for the good of all.