February 2000 EPSTEIN RANKED TOPS BY WORLD ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE A. Epstein and Sons International, Inc., the Chicago-based architecture and engineering firm, has been ranked as one of the world's leading architectural design firms by World Architecture magazine in its 2000 WA300 survey announced Mickey Kupperman, Epstein president and CEO. The WA300 survey is World Architecture magazine's annual listing of the top 300 architecture and design firms in the world today based upon the number of fee-earning architects within the firm. The survey further ranks these firms in various geographic and market sectors based upon their fee income for that particular category. Epstein ranked as the number one earning architectural firm in central and Eastern Europe. Epstein led several US-based firms in this category along with firms from Germany, France, Japan and Italy. "While Epstein is known for its work here in Chicago, the firm also maintains a very strong presence in central and eastern Europe, especially Poland, and has done so for nearly three decades," noted Kupperman. "It is very exciting to know that we are leading the way with modern facilities such as the Warsaw Financial Center and providing major companies such as 3M and Motorola with state-of-the-art designs in this region of Europe." Epstein further ranked high among firms in its own geographic region. The firm was listed 17th among the top-earning firms in North America. Epstein's leadership in architecture and design for specific industries further was confirmed by its ranking in several of the market sector breakouts. Traditionally a leader in industrial design and development, Epstein ranked 2nd on the listing of top-earning firms for industrial facilities, outranking again a number of US, German and Japanese firms. The firm further was ranked 8th for government facilities, 14th for hotel design and was among the top 25 firms for cultural facilities. The firm served as architects and engineers for the recently completed $100 million Warsaw Financial Center, the most modern office building currently found in central and Eastern Europe today. The firm also served as architect/engineer of record for the 3M Regional Headquarters facility located in Nadarzyn, Poland. Epstein currently is developing the design and engineering for the Motorola software development center in Krakow, Poland. Epstein's myriad design accomplishments, many of them award winning, further illustrate the various categories in which the firm was ranked. The firm served as the architect/engineer of record for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the United Airlines Terminal at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, the McCormick Place Convention Center Expansion, and the Harold Washington Library Center. Epstein currently serves as the lead firm for the design team (along with HNTB and McDonough) developing the new passenger terminal at Chicago Midway Airport. Epstein's designs have garnered wide recognition within the industry. Most recently, the firm along with Interior Space International (ISI), Epstein's interior design unit, received a 1999 Chicago AIA Design Award for the design of the underground parking structure and Great Hall at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. The firm received two 1999 SARA (Society of American Registered Architects) National Design Awards for the Bernard Weinger Jewish Community Center of Northbrook, Illinois and the Village of Glenview Vehicle Storage Facility located in Glenview, Illinois. Epstein also was honored last year with two 1998 SARA National Design Awards for the design of the Food & Drug Administration's National Forensic Chemistry Center and District Office located in Cincinnati, Ohio and for Quest International's North American Headquarters located in Hoffman, Estates, Illinois. A. Epstein and Sons International, Inc. is a 79-year-old architecture, engineering, planning, construction and interior design firm. Established in 1921 primarily as an engineering firm, Epstein has over the years evolved into a multi-disciplined consultant able to meet the comprehensive design needs of many different industries. In addition to its Chicago headquarters, the firm maintains offices in Los Angeles, California; Warsaw, Poland; Tokyo, Japan; and Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beer Sheba in Israel. Epstein currently has projects-in-progress valued at approximately $1 billion.