When Mary Tolan, founder and managing partner of Chicago Pacific Founders of Chicago, Illinois, looked to expand the firm’s existing square footage at their headquarters along Michigan Avenue, the investment leader tapped the creative expertise of long-time design partner Yvette Cusack of BJC Designs LLC to bring the dynamic, full floor workplace to life. Located at 980 North Michigan Avenue,…
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Zachary Verhulst, AIA, NCARB, NOMA
Founder, CEO Pure Architects | Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan When Zachary Verhulst, AIA, NCARB, NOMA, founded Pure Architects in 2020, it was with a powerful purpose to create spaces and places that uplift communities, positively impact the environment, and inspire people through inclusive and healthy design. To Verhulst, architecture is a vehicle and a platform in which to…
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In celebration
Lauren Svenstrup, founding principal of Studio Sven in Chicago, Illinois, is self-admittedly not a “yes person” when it comes to her clientele and her passion for design. Instead, it is about finding that rich, creative balance in a pursuit of curiosity over conformity, dedicated to a process of discovery, of exploration, and of the powerful potential of why. Her work,…
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More than architecture
For Jennifer Park, AIA, NCARB, founding principal of ParkFowler Plus in Chicago, Illinois, architecture is as much an abstract exploration of the philosophies and theories that have shaped its long history, as it is a practical delivery in which iteration, collaboration, and inclusive practices can inform the built landscape for the future. To Park, design is a way of thinking…
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Pine Bluff
Built high above the coastal waters of southern Lake Michigan, this Pine Bluff Residence is set deep into its lakefront site in a region known for its rugged coastlines, towering dunes, wooded bluffs, and often-brutal marine climate. Realized by the long-time collaborative team of Lucid Architecture of Zeeland, Michigan and Zahn Builders Inc. of Holland, Michigan, this home is a…
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Into the Woods
Designing modern architecture wasn’t always on the agenda for Celeste Robbins, principal architect of the award-winning, Winnetka, Illinois architecture firm of Robbins Architecture Inc. There could be a historical misconception about modern architecture—that it is cold or even clinical. Its resurgence in the early 2000s was partially motivated by a society appreciative of decluttered, clean forms and minimalism. Robbins was…
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Visual-tactile design
In 2010, Hansel Bauman, award-winning architect, and pioneer in multi-sensory design methodologies, shared a vision for a building informed by visual-tactile design principles with Jeff Luker, AIA, LEED AP, principal at Quinn Evans in Washington, D.C. It was a vision that challenged standard architectural practices at the time, and arguably to this day, addressing major points of intersection between the…
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Dan Iacovoni, RA
Associate Partner, Project Architect Cornerstone Architects Inc. | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Traverse City, Michigan Dan Iacovoni, RA, has an affinity for the technical side of architecture, where cantilevered steel designed in a specific manner can redefine what is possible and individual foundations integrated into floors and walls can mitigate sound vibration for performance spaces. It is in the…
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Ben Franceschi, AIA
Principal Mathison | Mathison Architects | Grand Rapids, Michigan To Ben Franceschi, AIA, architecture is a fundamental tool for making decisions that can impact the lives of those who inhabit designed spaces. It is in the details, the poetic moments, and appreciation of site that can lead to thoughtful solutions that inspire—and it is the social architectural element, or…
