Pure Architects

Our careers page is officially live! Check out what it's like to work on our team and view all open positions, including the recently added Interior Experience Designer posting, here:

Careers - Pure Architects Join a collaborative, energetic team that celebrates diversity and is committed to the continuous development of an inclusive and equitable workplace.

Our team is growing! We're looking for a Project Lead, a Project Lead Assistant, an Architect, and an Architectural Designer to join our team. We continue to have extraordinary opportunities to impact our region, specifically our West Michigan community, designing spaces that highly impact human beings. We dedicate ourselves to mixed-use, community-rooted, commercial, civic, and educational projects that support our purpose of uplifting and empowering people while fighting to improve our planet.

We are a JUST organization focusing on people, planet, and profit, in that order. We have a collaborative, inclusive, and highly engaged team environment that is accepting and supportive of everyone. We offer above-market salaries and pay attention to gender pay equity. We also offer a parking and phone stipend.

Our purpose is clear and our culture is awesome. To learn more about the openings and apply, please visit purearchitects.applicantpro.com/jobs/

** Hiring Alert! **

We are looking for an Interior Design Emerging Professional/Intern to join our team. We continue to have extraordinary opportunities to impact our region, specifically our West Michigan community, designing spaces that highly impact human beings. We dedicate ourselves to mixed-use, community-rooted, commercial, civic, and educational projects that support our purpose of uplifting and empowering people while fighting to improve our planet.

We are a JUST organization focusing on people, planet, and profit, in that order. We have a collaborative, inclusive, and highly engaged team environment that is accepting and supportive of everyone. We offer above-market salaries and pay attention to gender pay equity. We also offer a parking and phone stipend.

Our purpose is clear and our culture is awesome. Please send inquiries to [email protected] and we'd be happy to share the job description.

“If you’re in some areas of town, there is stuff for you to do during nightlife, there are places for you to live, there are places for you to get your groceries, there are places that pay sustainable wages,” Executive Director Marcel "Fable" Price from The Diatribe Inc said. “And in our neighborhood, we don’t have as many of those things. So this headquarters is a place where you can live, work and play.”

The new headquarters would include administrative and office space for The Diatribe and local creatives, as well as eight affordable housing units starting at $600, an entertainment venue and spaces for youth to connect and learn.

Learn more about The Diatribe and the amazing work they're doing in our community here: https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2022/10/the-diatribe-has-big-plans-for-affordable-housing-in-grand-rapids-southeast-side.html

Our fearless leader is one of Grand Rapids Business Journal's 40 Under 40 award recipients and we're so proud to know him! Read more about Zach here: https://grbj.com/news/human-resources/2022-40-under-40-award-recipient-zachary-verhulst/

Photo credit: 616 Media

Sip Coffee and Cocktails' soft opening is next Wednesday, October 26th! While they don't have their liquor license just yet, they will have Bold & Gritty flowing for brews and espresso drinks, bagels from Bagel Kitchen Grand Rapids, homemade artisanal flatbreads, and spirit-free cocktails to quench your thirst. Their temporary hours will be 7am - 3pm, Monday - Saturday.

The team at Pure is so excited for Sip! Be sure to go out and support them next Wednesday. In the meantime, you can read more about Sip here: https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/sip-coffee-cocktails-closes-in-on-opening-day-in-grand-rapids/

“Black Wallstreet Development is a breath of fresh air, on top of great relationships, it’s a solution, a project and a vision,” Sain told Grand Rapids Business Journal. “It’s an alternative to gentrification, because if we don’t come up with an agenda, someone else will.”

We are so honored to be part of the great work being done in the southeast part of Grand Rapids. Learn more about Black Wallstreet Grand Rapids: https://purearchitects.com/black-wallstreet-gr/

“Academia and architecture have always been passions of mine, and I am incredibly grateful for the support of my education from AIA Grand Rapids, KCAD, and Pure Architects. The Grand Rapids community has opened so many doors for me in this early stage of my career, and I’m thankful for the continuous support from the AIA Grand Rapids Chapter in creating further opportunities for me through this scholarship program.”– Hayden Prillwitz

We are so excited for Hayden to be selected as a 2022 AIA Grand Rapids Scholarship Recipient!



Learn more: https://purearchitects.com/2022/08/19/aia-grand-rapids-names-2022-scholarship-recipients/

“We feel grateful to partner with Special Occasions on this project. Adapting existing building is a great way to reduce our carbon footprint and supporting their desire to provide accessible event space in the Roosevelt Park neighborhood through intentional hiring of local talent to build it aligns deeply with our values” says Zach Verhulst, Pure Architects Principal on the project.

Learn more: https://purearchitects.com/2022/07/13/roosevelt-park-neighborhood-venue/

As part of our commitment to create high performing design outcomes for our clients, we have submitted predicted energy use intensity (EUI) information to the AIA 2030 Commitment Design Data Exchange for our project portfolio for 2021. While we cannot always meet our goal to reduce the EUI Baseline by 80%, we do make a point to highlight the impacts on long term energy use, reducing operating costs, and making a conscious effort to reduce our impact on global Climate Change. We are proud to serve with more than 1,000 firms across the county in tracking and submitting our portfolio of work. Our work throughout the past year has been filled with intention, inspiration, and research working toward healthier and high-performing design outcomes. We are actively improving our design process and decision making everyday with the goal to meet the 2030 Commitment on all of our projects.

The The American Institute of Architects 2030 Commitment is a voluntary goal setting and tracking tool that firms can join to help drive innovation throughout their practice and projects. In addition to goals related to reducing energy use, the Commitment has also added goals to reduce Embodied Carbon across project portfolios. We call on our design colleagues to join us in this work and we thank our clients and consultants for their passion, rigor, and desire to create just and equitable design outcomes.

Please say, "Hi!" to Heather! A rockstar in her own right. As our Interior Experience Designer she dives deep into understanding company culture, environmental strategies, and leveraging furniture to inspire people to love the places they learn, work, and play in.

As Creative Director, Aaron brings a thoughtful, rigorous, and savvy design approach to our work. He provides a national resume in the workplace, education, and planning spaces His deep-rooted values align with Pure's purpose to create compassionate and just design outcomes for all people.

Kirk is a Project Manager and Designer in Detroit. He brings a worldly perspective to us as he returns from a long stint in Puerto Rico. He is fluent in Spanish and leverages his cultural competencies to drive equitable and meaningful design outcomes.

We are really excited to partner with our friends at Construction Simplified and Cloud Cannabis Co as they solidify their presence on the westside. We wish them the best and look forward to seeing this project grow out of the ground over the next several months.
Learn more: https://purearchitects.com/2022/02/07/west-side-development/

Our very own Founder, Zach Verhulst, sat down with Voyage Michigan to share his journey of becoming an architect, opening his own firm, and all the things he’s learned along the way.

He is the epitome of grit and innovating the industry through his intentional and inclusive approach.

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eaC5T_GY

“This building will be a beacon for so much of what The Diatribe stands for, which is pushing against the grain,” Price said. “This is made by us for folks like us and will also hopefully serve as an example that you can do it here — there are not many creatives who can build to this capacity.”

We are excited to work with The Diatribe Inc team on their mixed-use development project. The work they are doing in the south side of the GR community is truly inspiring.

Learn more: https://purearchitects.com/2022/01/05/diatribe-plans-mixed-use-development/

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from our families to yours! We had a great (and safe) time out together to reminisce and tell stories of the past year, of our past lives, and to share our gratitude for each other’s contributions to the great things we get to be involved in. 2022 will be one for the books!
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"We are facing all of the same issues the industry is, including supply chain volatility, fast-tracked work, a shortage of human capital and deepening our understanding of mental and physical burnout related to the pandemic and our workload. For us, we are constantly innovating in our processes and products to better serve human beings and the planet we live on. As part of that innovation, we’ve had to digitize pieces and parts of our workflow that we didn’t before. How we communicate through words, how we collaborate virtually, and how we educate and inspire our clients from a distance are all things that we are continually refining.

True human connection through a screen — especially while iterating through a design problem — is hard to do, but as the world evolves, our people find the freedom to work from wherever, and our clients are further and further away from us. It is something we must master moving into 2022 and beyond." - Zach Verhulst, Founder & Managing Principal

Our very own Zach Verhulst speaks about the hardships in the construction industry and the innovative approaches Pure Architects is implementing to provide the best outcomes and experience for their clients.

MiBiz Article: https://purearchitects.com/2021/12/09/construction-industry-execs/

WIP.
Progress at Harvey Lexus in Grand Rapids. Material selections and construction tactics are key with a volatile market. Visser Brothers and CS Erickson have been great to collaborate with and they’re getting it done!