Fall 2017
Design Fuel Doing Business at The Speed of Trust By Brad Thomas, President and CEO At Progressive AE, we have a passion for driving organizational performance – we believe spaces can be, and should be, strategic contributors to a businesses’ goals and objectives. Whether performance is measured through the lens of people, processes, infrastructure and/or finances, we help clients achieve their goals eachand-every day. In fact, their goals become our goals. In effort to do that, we ask a lot of our clients. We ask them to share information, to answer questions, unveil their greatest challenges, admit failures, and dream about the future. When we fully understand your organization’s business drivers and performance measures, we can then create targeted design solutions to advance aspirations and create the highest value. Trust is the key ingredient to making this work. We are a relationship-based firm and we couldn’t do what we do without the loyalty and trust of our employees, clients, vendors and community partners. But building these relationships doesn’t happen overnight – they take effort
and intentionality. Trust is something that needs to be worked on continuously. To that end, Progressive AE implemented Stephen M.R. Covey’s The Speed of Trust program in 2011. The Speed of Trust is founded on the 4 Cores of Credibility – integrity, intent, capabilities and results. It also hones-in on 13 behaviors of high-trust people which have proven to be actionable and universal. Upon hiring, each Progressive AE employee is issued The Speed of Trust book and goes through a facilitated workshop. This ensures we’re all working from the same playbook. Trust allows us to do what we do. I’ve found it to be a powerful tool as we advance the goals and objectives of our own firm. If you have already read this book and would like to share your thoughts or discuss the material, I’d be happy to connect. And if you haven’t, you may want to put it on your “wish list” this holiday season! Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season!
ai Design Group Adopts Progressive AE Name Following the merger in 2016, ai Design Group officially adopted the Progressive AE name on November 1, 2017! Together, we’ve created a stronger, more diverse full-service architectural and design firm. Our two firms are aligned, both culturally and strategically, which allows us to accelerate our momentum together.
Charlotte leadership team (L-R) Wes Jones, AIA, Kim Marks, AIA, and Ryan Doherty, AIA
Over the past year we’ve combined knowledge and experience, increased our diversity of thought, grew our geographic reach, and deepened our talent pool while sharing best practices to enhance the delivery of services to clients nationwide. Progressive AE currently enjoys active work in 48 states, a team of 200 professionals and over 65 years history as leaders in architecture and design. We look forward to serving our clients in the Carolinas, Michigan, and beyond!
PROJECT PROFILE: Holland Energy Park The Holland Board of Public Works recently held its official groundbreaking for the new, state-of-the-art Holland Energy Park. This reimagined combined cycle natural gas plant will serve as both a resource and destination for the Holland community. Led by HDR, the project involved a variety of professional partners from around the country to ensure the best in design, engineering and site planning. The building sits in a natural, park-like setting complete with paths, a waterfall and extensive natural greenery and wildflowers. With an eye on sustainability, the Holland Energy Plant is the first Envision Platinum Verified power plant. As a nod to a community that’s so invested, the design also includes a public gallery to see and learn about power generation.
2 Photos courtesy of HDR © 2017 Dan Schwalm
The new plant also supports an expansion of Holland’s downtown snowmelt system. Below the streets and sidewalks of Holland are miles of evenly spaced plastic tubes. Warm water from the new plant, which would otherwise go to waste, is pushed through the pipes to heat the sidewalks. The system will melt roughly one inch of snow each hour - making it one of the largest systems of its kind in the United States. The benefits of the system are obvious: safer walking and driving for residents and visitors, extended pavement life and more activity to support Holland’s vibrant downtown. To learn more, visit progressiveae.com/portfolio/ hollandenergypark
Progressive AE Takes Home Local and National Awards
Firm Achievement Award
Hanson Technology Center
Brightmoor Christian Church
Progressive AE received the 2017 Firm Achievement Award from AIA Grand Rapids. The award is presented to a firm that has demonstrated continued leadership and contributions to the architectural profession or community. We’re proud of our work to support the architecture profession through continued educational support, local school outreach programs, and community involvement.
This technology center, located on the campus of Lake Michigan College, took home a Building Award from AIA Grand Rapids. Through innovative design, flexible space, and vibrant colors, the center is changing the way people think about technical education and providing hands-on learning opportunities to students and the community.
Brightmoor Christian Church in Novi, MI, received a national Solomon Award for Best Church Building Design from WFX. The Solomon Awards are well-known and respected honors in the worship market. This marks our third Solomon Award for church design in the past four years.
United Bank The corporate offices and branch location of United Bank in Grand Rapids received an interior design award from IIDA Michigan. The space features warm, home-like furnishings and finishes with wood textures and clean lines.
Congratulations to all our clients for their commitment to innovative design!
On The Boards Here’s a sneak peek at some of the projects our teams are working on right now:
Kerry Group
Frederik Meijer Gardens & SculpturePark
We’re currently in the middle of a three-
Ferris State University Student Recreation Center
phase project with Kerry Group, an Irish
Responding to student’s feedback, FSU has
relationship with Meijer Gardens and are
food ingredients company. Phase one is
undertaken a large renovation and addition
thrilled to be part of a team helping execute
under construction. Phase two will include
to their existing student recreation center.
their new $115 million capital campaign
extensive site work and an addition and
Improvements will include a new entrance,
project. The expansion will allow the Gardens
renovation to an existing facility.
social spaces, and updated fitness and
to expand exhibition space and parking,
weight areas.
allow for additional guest areas, and develop
We are proud of our more than 20-year
additional LEED-certified spaces. Design was led by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners. Other Noteable Projects: Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce Offices, Western Michigan University Kohrman Hall, Smithfield Foods
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1811 4 Mile Road NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525 phone 616.361.2664 progressiveae.com
FROM THE BLOG 5 Signs Your Building is Limiting Productivity By David Shull, Industrial Practice Leader Working within a single production facility is the best way to limit costs and manage resources. However, as your business grows there will come a point when your production floor can no longer sustain your growing demand. So, how do you decide when the time is right? 1. You can’t see across the plant floor to monitor production status. Visibility is the key to dynamic management. Difficulty seeing across a plant floor may indicate a lack of available floor space. Visibility problems often lead to safety challenges, lost time searching for information, and can keep other complications hidden. 2. You move things around to do equipment service or change production setup. Productivity depends on staying operational. When equipment is placed too close together, supporting resources overlap into equipment-clear floor space. Equipment change over and maintenance require obstructions first be moved out of the way. This extra work takes time, slows production, and often creates new obstacles for other activities. To read the full article, please visit our blog at progressiveae.com/strategic-insights.
CONNECT WITH US! Our website, blog and social media channels are full of great information regarding projects and general insight about the industry. We’d love to connect with you and hear your thoughts!
progressiveae.com
Role of Recruiting in Company Culture Everyday, we work to bring value and expertise to our clients and their projects around the country. We’re able to do this through the talent and experience of our professionals – and place a lot of effort into hiring the brightest and the best. Progressive AE’s Corporate Recruiter, Ryan StruckVanderHaak, answers questions about the value of new hires and what it means for clients. How does recruitment support and create a strong company? “Finding great talent helps us grow by adding new skillsets, perspectives, and approaches that ultimately help our clients. We already have an incredible diversity of talent, from architecture and engineering to construction services and water resources, but it’s still exciting to bring in talented new employees who want to grow with us.” Why is recruitment important for company culture? “It’s great to find people who are skilled in their field, but from a growth philosophy, we value the whole person. This means we’re also looking at how employees will work across disciplines in integrated teams, and how they’ll serve and support our clients.” How will recruitment support our clients and projects? “Each employee brings unique skills to our team, and the more range of skills we have, the better we’re able to serve clients. For instance, we’ve recently hired engineers experienced with energy modeling, architects at the forefront of universal design, and project managers with incredible portfolios of far-ranging work. This additional knowledge will help our clients achieve success through performance.” Why is broadening our search (geographically) important for local clients? “Charlotte and Grand Rapids are awesome “hubs” for attracting talent as both are known as great places to work and raise families. Having two offices allows us to partner on projects throughout the country while adding new employees from all over. And bringing in employees allows us to serve our clients in 48 states.”
For more information, visit progressiveae.com/careers