Incite Design Studio hires leadership team for new Overland Park office

Incite Design Studio, LLC (iDS), a client-focused architectural design firm, has hired a new leadership team to open its third office.

The recent office addition, located in downtown Overland Park, Kan. at 7930 Santa Fe Drive, will join the firm’s two other offices in Kansas City, Mo. at 110 West 18th Street and in St. Louis, Mo. at 1800 Lafayette Avenue.                                                 

Brian Foxworthy, president of iDS, also recently announced his team for the new Overland Park office. Architect, Duane Cash will lead the team as office director to manage and grow the firm’s efforts in Kansas. Project manager, Mike Brown and job captain, Ariel Peisen Burow will join Cash.  

Foxworthy, who has built the firm from the grassroots into one of the largest education-focused firms based in Kansas City, says he is happy to have found someone with the same core values as himself (in Cash).

“Cash believes in forming relationships and building a practice based on quality service. When the opportunity presented itself to bring him and his team into the iDS family, I jumped at it. It’s not often you meet a group of like-minded folks that understand your vision of success and share your dedication to designing inspiring spaces for our future learners. We couldn’t be more excited to see what the future holds for our firm” Foxworthy said.

Following the firm’s tagline of “architects building relationships,” iDS has developed lasting relationships with school districts across the state of Missouri. The opening of incite Design Studio Kansas shows the commitment to forming relationships with districts throughout Kansas as well.

Cash says their goal is to better serve the Kansas education clients with a studio comprised of a few dedicated teams that can be focused on service.

“Our belief is that when firms get too big, they start to lose the agility, responsiveness, and dedication that our clients deserve. With this approach of three studio offices, we provide the muscle of a big firm, but with the individual guidance, creativity, and empathy of a smaller firm,” said Cash. 

“I’m exhilarated by iDS’s dedication to client service, progressive design, student focused learning, and the use of pioneering technology,” said Cash.

The firm is growing in all three offices. Besides opening the Kansas office, they recently hired Aaron Ledesma as a project manager and Connor Privett as an architectural designer in the KC office.  Marena Modica was hired to head up the interior design efforts in the St. Louis office.

Design group keeps the Pulse on positivity during uncertain times

Pulse Design Group employees occasionally work from home, so the transition was somewhat seamless from a technology standpoint.

“The hard part is the human connection disruption, and we are only one week into the stay at home ordinance. Our team relies so heavily on one another for collaboration and social interaction. The Pulse family is just that – a family,” said Rick Embers, Pulse Design Group managing partner.

“Design is a collaborative process, and our open office environment supports and fosters that need. This pandemic changed the normal business landscape, so we changed with it,” said Embers.

“Communication and employee engagement are so important, especially in these uncertain times, so we quickly implemented various platforms for employees to stay in touch and connect, and the outcome has been awesome,” said Mary Moore, associate principal.

“Weekly all-company ‘Pulse Peeps’ meetings are occurring through Microsoft Teams, employees are sharing pictures of their home offices, communicating through group chats and having virtual happy hours,” said Moore.

Pulse leadership is sharing additional resources including remote workouts, free financial consulting services, and work from home tips and tricks to keep everyone engaged.

“Staying upbeat and positive is extremely critical” said Embers, while wearing a frizzy wig and colored sunglasses during an internal video conference call.

“Healthcare design is our sole focus and the industry is always evolving. We are used to adapting quickly, just not in this manner, but we are making the best of it.

Our workload remains steady, projects are on schedule, and new work has resulted as our clients respond to this pandemic.

We recently helped The University of Kansas Health System convert an ambulance garage and modify the existing specialty chemistry lab at Bell Hospital into a COVID-19 testing facility. We are doing our part to help the cause,” said Embers.

“This is an interesting and scary time, but there are so many silver linings. Hospitals are responding quickly to treat patients, labs are preparing test kits and vaccinations, community partners are coming together to offer support, people are volunteering, companies are offering goods and services at reduced rates, and people are smiling and genuinely happy to see one another (from a safe distance of course).

Hardship makes you see the world through a different lens. The smallest kind gestures mean so much. You really appreciate the importance of leadership, friendship, camaraderie, family, coworkers and develop a strong sense of community” said Dennis Burns, president of Pulse Design Group.

"Pulse Design Group is proud to support our healthcare clients and community as we navigate this new norm. Thank you to all doctors, nurses, and staff for your continued efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic," Moore said.

BRR Architecture unites with Dallas firm, RHA Architects

BRR Architecture (BRR) announced today RHA Architects (RHA), a Dallas-based design and architecture firm, will be joining BRR, effective immediately.

The RHA office in Dallas becomes BRR’s twelfth office location and adds more than 15 talented employees to BRR’s current talent roster. 

Operational since 1983, RHA has extensive experience supporting national retail, regional grocery and restaurant clients. The two firms have enjoyed a relationship which extends back several decades; both BRR and RHA have supported national retail clients across the United States and often collaborated on larger prototype programs.

“Our two teams really fit well together due to our collective histories supporting large national retailers. It is the right fit for both firms to move in this direction. By combining our strengths, we are even better suited to support our clients’ needs and provide exceptional architecture services," said James Hailey, president and CEO of BRR Architecture.

As part of this agreement, BRR adds two additional principal owners and two associates to its leadership team. Ty Holcomb, former president and CEO of RHA and Patrick Burke, former vice president and COO, have been named principals and manage the Dallas office. Additionally, Jim Sims and Maurice Musy have joined BRR’s associates’ team.

“The RHA team is excited to join forces with BRR. The merger opens up new opportunities for our Dallas-based team and also gives BRR a new market in which to grow its business. We believe both cultures will integrate well and continue to produce strong projects for our clients,” Holcomb said.

BRR now employs approximately 285 employees across the country, providing full-scope architecture services to retail, grocery, hospitality, industrial and corporate environment clients.

The financial details of the agreement will not be disclosed.

Pulse Design Group announces new president, new office location

Pulse Design Group, an Overland Park, Ks-based architecture firm focused solely on healthcare design, has a lot to celebrate this week - including plans to move into a new office building, a 40-year firm anniversary and a new, incoming president.

Pulse plans to move to 46 Penn Centre, a high-profile Class A office building on the Country Club Plaza located north of 47th Street and east of Pennsylvania Avenue. The facility offers expansive, unobstructed views of the Plaza and will feature 220,000 +/- RSF of office space, approximately 11,000 +/- RSF of retail space and secure and covered parking.

Pulse will occupy approximately 10,000 SF on the 10th floor of the Block Real Estate Services, LLC development, which is slated to be complete by July 2020.

Pulse Design Group’s office relocation coincides with the firm’s celebration of 40 years in business. The firm's steady projections in the healthcare sector and anticipated continued growth steered the decision to land at 46 Penn Centre.

“The move to Missouri makes sense for positioning, provides a central location for our employees as well as proximity to clients and industry partners. The additional amenities that the Plaza offers will be an added benefit to our employees and prospective employees,” said Pulse managing partner, Rick Embers.

In preparation for future growth and increased visibility, the firm has restructured and added strong talent to the leadership team - namely Dennis Burns - who will join Pulse as president in January 2020.

Burns, whose previous positions include president of general contractor StructSure Projects and a business development role at Crossland Construction, understands the built and healthcare environments. He has spent 15+ years in the construction industry and has also gained integral knowledge of the healthcare market sector - two big plus marks for Pulse.

As Pulse president, Burns plans to increase brand visibility, provide strategy and vision, interface with clients and industry partners and be integrally involved in day-to-day firm operations.

“I look forward to enhancing an existing powerful brand and expanding the firm’s geographic reach and client base," Burns said.

Burns is active in several industry organizations, including past president of the Design Build Institute of America’s Mid-America Region (DBIA-MAR), past chair of the Southwest Johnson County Economic Development Council, a KCAHE board member and volunteers for various organizations within the region.

"On behalf of everyone at Pulse Design Group, there is immense excitement about the leadership, vision and positioning that Dennis brings to the firm,” Embers said.