The Pulse in August 2023

BKV Group is a 2023 Building Design+Construction Top Architecture & Engineering Firm!

Up from 63rd in 2022 to this year placing at the 45th spot, we are incredibly proud to be named to this industry-leading report which is in its fourty-seventh year of ranking the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for non-residential building and multifamily housing work. 

Cheers to our amazing colleagues, clients, and project partners! Read more.

Multi-Housing News Interviews Kelly Naylor on Student Housing Supporting Mental Health

In a study of 18,168 college students conducted last year by the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition and its research partners, 70% of student respondents often or always felt stressed out, 63% were anxious or worried, and 61% felt overwhelmed. All of these can contribute to a negative experience at school — and in life. In the recent Multi-Housing News feature, "How Student Housing Can Support Mental Health," BKV's Interior Design Practice Leader and Senior Partner, Kelly Naylor, weighed in on the subject, explaining BKV's holistic approach to student health and well-being, weaving together design strategies focused on "the whole student." 

Read more about the design methodologies that relieve stress and enable a sense of community for students.

Seniors Housing Business Gathers Boomer Resident Insights from Mark Harris

With baby boomers now aging into senior housing in staggering numbers, how does the industry best serve the new generation of residents? This question was posed by Seniors Housing Business to BKV's Senior Design Leader and Partner, Mark Harris, who stated that the Boomer resident "views wellness through a holistic lens, including community connection, lifelong learning and social engagement." The key insight being that "location is pivotal to affording boomers an opportunity to stay active, so how a building relates to and connects residents with its surroundings is a major factor in our design approach."

In citing BKV Group examples of this work – including the Newman Lofts and Abiitan senior living communities in Michigan and Minnesota respectively – read more about how lifestyle-oriented amenities and intergenerational communities are what's next in senior living design.

Finance & Commerce Showcases the Net-Zero Howard Lake Library

About the BKV-designed Howard Lake Library, city officials stated that during the front-end phases of design, our team discovered that the 7,000-square-foot building could fully obtain the Net-Zero distinction which the mayor and city council saw as logical in terms of the long-term operational costs of the facility, as well as the right thing to do in terms of sustainability. The Net-Zero process, while complex, was successfully navigated by our Education and Library Practice Leader, Susan Morgan, who created an aesthetically pleasing building that is sustainably packaged to take advantage of renewable energy. 

Read more via Finance & Commerce about this terrific project, including special testimonies from Howard Lake leadership.

Business Journal Covers the Construction Start of The Continental

In San Antonio, BKV has officially begun construction of a major residential development called The Continental with our developer partner, Weston Urban, which renovates three historic buildings and erects a high-rise for housing, retail, and office space. The project entails restoring the circa-1896 Continental Hotel building for housing and retail, the circa-1926 Arana building for retail and office space on a 1.9-acre block, and the historic Melchio de la Garza house (the headquarters of the Texian Army during the Texas Revolution). Additionally, in the area between those structures, BKV is constructing a 16-story building with apartments and parking through a partnership with Bexar County Public Facility Corp., a county nonprofit that provides a full property tax exemption in exchange for renting at least half of the apartments to people earning less than the area’s median income level. 

Read more via the San Antonio Business Journal (subscription may be necessary to access). 

BKV Sponsors Attendance at the 2023 AIA Women’s Leadership Summit

We are excited to announce that Jennifer Beam, AD III in our Dallas practice site, was selected as BKV Group’s 2023 sponsored attendee at the AIA Women’s Leadership Summit (WLS) in Boston. Jennifer was selected as an exemplar of someone leading from where she is: Jennifer works beyond her role and title by taking initiative and responsibility to ensure project quality, progress, and execution. Outside of project work, Jennifer is involved with five internal committees and groups spanning from BKV Culture Committee to the Revit Documentation Group, while also informally mentoring other staff in the Dallas office. The Selection Committee noted that across her two and a half years with BKV, Jennifer has been “outspoken, thoughtful, and reflects on her work and past experience to be even more prepared for the next project.” In her own words: “I strive to grow in my leadership skills…to learn how to help my teammates by being the best leader and supporter I can. I think it is so important that BKV has strong leaders who really support junior staff and help them be strong professionals.”

Ellie Ziaie and Jena Quast Honored at the 2023 AIA Minnesota Awards Celebration

In mid-August, Senior Associate and Project Architect in Minneapolis, Ellie Ziaie, was officially honored at the AIA Minnesota Awards Celebration with the 2023 Next Gen Award. This award is given to recent graduates of an accredited NAAB architecture program who have demonstrated early leadership potential or exceptional service to the AIA, the architecture profession, or the community at large. Ellie fully exemplifies these qualities, with a jury member commenting, "Over the years, I have seen many excel in various ways as students and as professionals, but I can think of very few who have done as much as Ellie Ziaie to volunteer in so many academic, professional, and community efforts and to participate in so many local and national leadership and mentoring programs.” 

In addition, Architectural Designer in Minneapolis, Jena Quast, was the recipient of the Minnesota Architectural Foundation’s (MAF) Beverly Hauschild-Baron Leadership Fund AIA Women’s Leadership Summit Scholarship. Its purpose is to help develop ongoing leadership for AIA Minnesota by providing financial support for AIA Minnesota members and AIA Minnesota staff pursuing leadership training.

Cheers and a hearty congratulations to both Ellie and Jena!