9 min read
October 6 marks World Architecture Day, dedicated to recognizing the impact of design, the evolution of the industry and the people whose visions shape our environments.
At Hoefer Welker, we believe our team is our greatest asset, and we’re celebrating by recognizing the impact of all of our employees — the architects, interior designers, engineers, Clinical Technology Solutions team and support staff — whose collective talents and dedication fuel our mission. Together, they help define, execute and expand our goal to design resilient spaces that empower people, prioritize inclusion and promote efficiencies.
Join us as we explore the career paths of a few of our tenured architects. Discover the significant projects they’ve shaped, learn how the industry has evolved through their eyes and absorb the wisdom they've gathered throughout their journeys.
I graduated from college in 2000, making this my 25th year in the industry. I’ve spent the last 18 years at Hoefer Welker, and have been fortunate enough to have opportunities across all sectors of the firm. While the majority of my larger projects have been in healthcare, I’ve touched every building type throughout my career.
I started by assisting the Civic department on police and fire stations before transitioning to our Healthcare teams, which allowed me to work on military medical and government projects. I’ve always supported office and tenant finish work as well, and have designed over 1 million square feet of office space.
In 2017, I expanded into hotels, completing one renovation and two new builds and I’m currently working on my third new build hotel project.
Receiving my ARE license was a major career milestone. Since I’m not a great test taker, I decided to gain as much experience as possible before taking the exam. While gaining that experience and finishing the process, I found out I was pregnant. The path to the ARE may have been long, but having my daughter at my license ceremony made it even more special to accomplish this goal.
Mitch Hoefer, co-CEO and founder of our firm, came to my desk one day and asked if I would be interested in working on a new VA medical clinic project in Lubbock, Texas, home of my alma mater, Texas Tech. Being personally asked by him was a special moment because he knew the significance the project had for me. Of course, I was thrilled to accept!
Every aspect of the project felt exceptionally meaningful. It came about after five 5-star generals wrote to Congress advocating for full medical services in the area. Four of those five generals made it to our grand opening, which was incredibly impactful to see.
As I began working on the project, I discovered the clinic was actually located on the campus. This gave me the unique opportunity to work with Texas Tech’s building construction and design team to bring the campus’s well-known Spanish Renaissance style to life. Designing an on-campus building in one of my favorite architectural styles was extremely exciting. Coincidentally, our Kansas City headquarters in the Plaza echoes this architectural style that I’ve always loved.
The people we worked with on the project made the work even more fun. Both the VA resident senior engineer and the chief engineer were Texas Tech graduates, and we connected instantly. While working on the project, the three of us were able to attend the university’s homecoming, football and basketball games, walk through the museum and even see the campus lit up for Christmas together.
I went to Texas Tech because my grandfather was from Texas. He paid for classes by raising chickens at the university’s dairy barn and selling the eggs. While I was working on the project, the university renovated the old dairy barn, and I was able to take our contractor partners through it, which was a special connection to my past.
The most significant shift I’ve witnessed has been the slow but crucial increase in gender diversity and inclusion. Architecture is a challenging profession. This was evident early on, as only one of nine students from my freshman class ultimately made it to graduation. Post-graduation, I soon learned that being a female architect in the year 2000 provided additional hurdles. During my job search, I noticed that most firms didn’t have many or any females in them.
Fortunately, I secured my first role on the East Coast, which provided invaluable experience and kick-started my career. While we see significantly more women in the architecture field today, leadership positions still lack substantial female representation. Nevertheless, we are actively working and striving to close this gap.
Having been with the firm for a significant period, I've had the privilege of cultivating strong client relationships. What makes the work truly meaningful is when those clients specifically request my involvement in their projects, a clear sign of their trust, and consistently generate new opportunities for the firm. This is an incredibly rewarding aspect of my work.
I’m consistently inspired by working with clients who genuinely respect what I do and value the effort put into projects. These clients understand and appreciate the dedication we have, making it all worthwhile.
I would remind my younger self to always be proactive, be willing to ask questions, and to be mindful that it's okay not to know every answer.
I graduated in 1996, bringing with me a wealth of experience gained through various construction roles. Throughout high school and during college summers, I actively worked in both residential and commercial construction. During my college years, I also completed a two-year internship with constructors at a small company. I then spent a few years working in New Mexico after college before joining Hoefer Welker, where I've now been for over 25 years.
Hoefer Welker partnered with JE Dunn for our MATOC program. This project changed a lot of people's lives by creating spaces that made their work easier. We collectively worked on this for more than five years and actually officed with the JE Dunn team. This gave us valuable exposure and insight into their work and allowed them to understand the differences in our approaches. This was an extremely interesting process and ultimately created a strong working relationship with their team.
One project that stood out to me was designing the Rec Yard at the New Mexico penitentiary, it was known as Jurassic Park. This is an enclosed space within a fenced-in space where the inmates are allowed to work out during their allotted time each day. It is made up of 8x8 I-beams and posts, 2x2 angles and 8-gauge wire mesh.
The most significant transformation I've witnessed is the industry's sustained shift toward design-build projects. Success in today's environment relies heavily on early, effective collaboration with construction partners.
Hoefer Welker's strength is our existing ability to not only deliver excellent designs for our clients but also to effectively communicate and work alongside our project contractors from the earliest stages, which is essential for design-build projects. We are adept at bridging the gap between design and construction, explaining differences in our processes along the way.
Because our firm has utilized the design-build approach for years, we possess the institutional knowledge necessary to work strategically with contractors. This expertise accelerates communication, quickly establishes trust with our partners, and ultimately helps us maintain the owner's confidence, ensuring all parties maximize the value and success of the project.
We get to design major, complex projects that transform people’s daily lives. We’ve designed critical access care hospitals, some of which were 50 years old, that had undergone multiple renovations and additions but ultimately became inefficient with mazes of walkways due to the various additions. We had the opportunity to replace these with new facilities that were functionally superior. Our designs optimized efficiency, streamlined processes and incorporated new technology and finishes, ultimately making the staff’s jobs better.
I saw this to be evident when we designed several VA Clinics, like the Sergeant Ernest I. “Boots” Thomas VA Clinic and Grand Rapids Outpatient Clinic. I now see larger hospitals like CommonSpirit Health Memorial in Georgia also benefit from the new capabilities and technology our designs allow, like cath labs and neuro techniques of patient care.
What inspires me now is the opportunity to evolve how we work. I've become increasingly involved in establishing and integrating new beneficial processes and technologies across the firm. This includes exploring AI's capabilities, not as a replacement for our architects and designers but as a strategic tool to free us from mundane tasks and allow us to dedicate more time to what we are truly passionate about, which is design.
I recommend that any aspiring architect get hands-on experience in construction during their early high school and college years. Understanding how things are built is key to effective design. I grew up doing construction with my family and later took a paying job to learn how to best communicate with contractors.
Working at Hoefer Welker, I’ve been able to utilize my knowledge of how things are built to clearly explain complex design intentions to project partners. No matter the capacity of your role in construction, you can still learn a lot.
Eighteen years ago I joined Hoefer Welker right after graduating from Kansas State University in 2007. I've been with the firm ever since.
One of my favorite projects I’ve worked on is the building our firm’s headquarters is in, 46 Penn Centre. The building was originally a hotel, but after completing a decade of work on the design, we saw the building finally come to life. Moving our offices here was an incredibly rewarding experience. We were able to witness our designs transform into a tangible space, and now we have the privilege of working in the very building we envisioned.
I also enjoy the civic work our team conducts. This is largely thanks to the down-to-earth clients we work with. You can see how clients truly appreciate the design, especially when their previous facilities were subpar. One of my favorite projects, the North Little Rock Justice Center, won Officer Magazine’s station design award in 2022. I was involved with this project from its inception, and I remember Captain Jay Kovach in one of our initial meetings stating, “I want this project to be on the cover of Officer Magazine one day.” We designed the building so well that we made that vision a reality.
I had the opportunity to work on the Leawood Justice Center. As a current Leawood resident, it's rewarding to frequently drive by the building, and tell my kids that Dad designed that.
Technology has changed drastically over the past several years. This affects everyone, possibly even the way architecture students are taught. During my time at K-State, we didn’t utilize many online programs until our third year. We learned hand drafting in our first two years and integrated technology afterward. Following college, we mostly used 2D AutoCAD and some 3D visualizations, and it would take numerous days to render a project.
We now utilize real-time video renderings, enabling clients to experience spaces as if walking through a video game or with a VR headset. This significant transformation makes our job easier. As changes need to be implemented, technology shows people the space in early phases of the design process, when it's better to make decisions about where they want things like light switches, furniture, etc. Seeing their reaction to the spaces we designed is very meaningful and priceless.
I've also been fortunate to collaborate with a strong core group of architects at Hoefer Welker for many years, like Ken Henton, Nick Lawler and Katherine Waldrop. Working with the same few people and watching how our careers have grown has been fun to see. In our industry, turnover can be a common challenge, so having the same core team and seeing the way we work together has been really neat.
I couldn’t imagine doing the jobs my civic clients do, as they put their lives in danger every day. It’s truly meaningful to help them do aspects of their job more efficiently or to create spaces that make their day a little better. Even just making them smile because they no longer have to walk through a leaky or dreary building is incredibly rewarding.
Younger people have always inspired me, and at Hoefer Welker, we typically have an influx of new graduates working at the firm. They’re eager to learn and design and seeing their passion is reinvigorating.
I remember one of my K-State professors was fairly young after working in the field for a few years. He came back to be a professor because he loved high energy and thrived off of it. He was one of my favorite professors in school because he had new ideas and was refreshing to learn from.
In my day-to-day work, it’s inspiring to design spaces that help communities and cities become more efficient and increase the quality of work-life people have within the spaces we help create.
Be a sponge! Ask questions, absorb it all and get as many experiences as you can.
With over 20 years of experience managing healthcare projects, including various U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, known for their stringent process, protocols and success metrics, Cristine brings a robust process-driven approach to Hoefer Welker's projects. Combining her passion for process and efficiency with her love of design, she delivers high-performing healthcare facilities, achieving the client's mission and goals.
Chad brings experience managing institutional, commercial, industrial and healthcare projects for both private and public clients. He is familiar with the stringent government codes, criteria, standards and Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection disciplines. His experience in government healthcare projects allows Chad to provide lessons learned for infection control, environments of care and Joint Commission during construction.
Chris Krumrei’s comprehensive project experience includes roles within all areas of planning, design, and construction documentation. He is talented in creating virtual 3D representations of the design, which aids in early conceptual analysis and design development options. This imaging also provides the opportunity to do a site/building fly-through to gain a realistic project perspective. Chris also understands the importance of adapting the project design to the client’s needs, both functionally and aesthetically.
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