HARTFORD COURANT - Kenneth R. Gosselin

Amenta Emma Architects has opened a fourth office in New York City where the firm's roster of clients is increasing.

"We thought we'd be better off being right in the city," Anthony J. Amenta, the firm's president, said Wednesday.

The firm, founded in Hartford in 1985, has about 75 active projects in Connecticut and three other states: New York, Michigan and Massachusetts.

In Hartford, active projects include the $100 million renovation of Weaver High School and the $181 million makeover of the State Office Building on Capitol Avenue.

The firm has a total of 37 employees, including 15 licensed architects and three licensed interior designers.

Amenta Emma recently won three awards from the New England chapter of the International Interior Design Association, including for the conversion of an abandoned electric utility site in Wethersfield into the CREC Discovery Academy. The design included salvaging 48,000 square feet of an existing building and a 19,000-square-foot addition to accommodate learning spaces, labs and multi-purpose space for a gymnasium, theater and cafeteria.