The Principals at BNIM take an active leadership role on projects, particularly in the areas of project design and client communication. The Principals’ influence on our workplace culture and attitude toward restorative design has helped to shape BNIM into the design firm of the future.

Bob Berkebile committed his life to sustainable design even before the term “sustainable” became a buzzword within the design and construction industry. For the past 30 years, he has committed his life to restoring social, economic and environmental vitality to our communities. He thinks like people used to, with concern for the generations to follow. Any list of accomplished, influential environmentalists and preservationists includes Bob Berkebile. Bob was the founding Chairman of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) and served on the board of the U.S. Green Building Council. Highly regarded by fellow professionals and recipient of numerous awards, Bob focuses on improving the quality of life in our society through the integrity and spirit of his firm’s work. He is a founding Principal of BNIM.

Tom Nelson is a founding principal of BNIM Architects. Tom has continuously been involved in civic affairs, particularly those affecting the physical shape of the city. Tom’s commitment to the city is validated by the wide variety of professional and civic activities he has led and continues to promote among peers and urban planners. He was the founder of the AIA KC Chapter Urban Design Committee, the former Chairman of the Kansas City Plan Commission, the past Chairman of the Downtown Council Land Use Committee, the MARC Urban Core Growth Strategies Committee and the Chamber of Commerce Light Rail Committee. He has been widely recognized and honored for his design skill and is regarded for his judgment in urban issues and urban design.

David Immenschuh brings years of experience, community involvement and design leadership to his position as Principal in charge of Architectural Interiors. He has led the BNIM Interiors team on the space-planning, programming and design of many recognized projects such as State Street Bank, H&R Block Service Center, and Century Business Services (CBIZ). He has come to be known for skilled and thoughtful design throughout the community. He is a consummate designer—passionate and knowledgeable about culture and art—and acknowledged for his contributions to arts organizations throughout the city.

Steve McDowell is an innovator, and his workplace is a laboratory for exploring ideas related to site, environment and technical investigation. He begins with the “idea” as a cornerstone of process and believes in a lively exchange of thoughts to stimulate exploration and sustain innovation. These thoughts become a vehicle for discovery, and the result is research, such as the Packard Matrix, the first tool that measures the market costs associated with each level of LEED. Steve maintains that good design is about people–their health, productivity and lifting the human spirit through design. His work is setting new standards in high performance design with three projects at the University of Texas-HSC at Houston and ground-breaking work in Kansas City, including the Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center (in collaboration with Moshe Safdie).

Casey Cassias practices Project Management as an art form and is instilling his values and skills into the next generation of leaders who are following in his footsteps. He possesses a wide diversity of project type experience—most involving complex consulting and owner teams—utilizing his strength as a facilitator and his ability to synthesize group input into a cohesive whole. He was Project Manager on the University of Missouri-Columbia Life Sciences Center, which came in with the tightest bid spread in MU History. Under Casey’s direction, Value is not just about budget successes, but also about achieving a client’s vision in every way. Some of Casey’s other current projects include the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas, City (with Steven Holl) and the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Houston, TX.

Kathy Achelpohl has extensive experience leading complex projects and multi-disciplinary teams on high profile projects in both Kansas City and beyond. Her contributions to projects such as the Montana State University EPICenter have impacted the sustainable design and construction industry. A skilled communicator, Kathy possesses ability to improve communication both on her project teams and within the firm. She is an active community member with a passion for restoring the vitality of Downtown Kansas City and the surrounding community. She is currently serving as a team leader on the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Expansion.

Kimberly manages BNIM’s Houston Office, which provides architectural services to the firm’s current and future institutional research, laboratory, office, education and residential projects. She is currently working on the School of Nursing and Student Community Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center that is nearing completion. Kimberly’s commitment to the “green” built environment is the result of a personal, as well as professional commitment to making a difference in the practice of architecture. She has worked on some of BNIM’s most sustainable projects including the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Lewis and Clark State Office Building in Jefferson City, MO.

Laura combines a rare blend of attributes that encourage a spirit of collaboration and stewardship of our community and natural resources. She looks towards careful stewardship of our community and natural resources, and enjoys the exploration and discovery of the unique characteristics of each project. Laura led the design team efforts on the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Urban Conservation Campus in Kansas City, a prime example of a public/private partnership that features the first Living Machine™ in the State of Missouri. She is serving as Project Leader on several of the firm’s sustainable projects and is the Project Manager for the Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center.

Rod Kruse has built a reputation as one of the Central States Region’s strongest design talents. Rod’s body of work includes a diverse variety of project types for clients within both the private and public sectors. His portfolio includes a significant number of higher education clients and projects that include more than 110 projects and studies on 14 campuses ranging in student population from 1,200 to 35,000. Well established as a leader in design, Rod’s work has been included in several traveling exhibitions, and he has lectured widely. Rod’s work and writings have also been featured in numerous national and regional periodicals including Architecture, Architectural Record, I.D. Magazine and Iowa Architect. Prior to joining BNIM in 2005, Rod spent 18 years as an award-winning Principal of Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck Architecture in Des Moines, Iowa.

Mark Shapiro brings a wealth of experience earned through his professional and academic career. He has been recognized with many honors and awards for his work, has exhibited his designs and concepts across the world, and has been published extensively. He was previously a Professor at the Department of Architecture at Kansas State University where he served as Director of the Kansas City Academic Program. Throughout his career, he has participated in many design competitions, produced a variety of studies, solved urban planning issues and analyzed issues of historic preservation; academic institutions and organizations seek his advice and expertise. Mark is the Project Designer for the Institute of Molecular Medicine under construction in Houston, TX.

Doug Stevens brings many advanced skills to the field of architecture, including pre-design planning, design development, project delivery, and construction technology. He leads challenging projects with unwavering enthusiasm for excellence and client services. Doug ensures that quality and organization are followed through, even down to the finest details. His noted involvement includes many corporate and mixed-use projects such as One Kansas City Place, Twelve Wyandotte Plaza, H&R Block’s World Headquarters, Plaza Colonnade, and the Internal Revenue Service Kansas City Service Center.