At Arch Nexus we are committed to being the change we want to see in the world. Since 2016 we have adopted the JUST label, a third party transparency platform that discloses social justice and equality metrics. The mission of JUST has inspired Arch Nexus to maintain a number of policies and programs that foster ethnic, racial, and gender diversity, as well as equitable wages and benefits, paid family leave, and a philanthropy program that gives employees paid volunteer time.

We recognize that we have a responsibility to increase our efforts to support those who are suffering as a result of social injustices. To promote further diversity and equality, Arch Nexus is creating additional training, hosting discussion forums, and taking architectural education to under-served demographics and communities. To manage these efforts, we have created a new management role: Director of Social Equity.

Arch Nexus is committed to making meaningful experiences for all people; people in our business, people in our profession, and people in the communities we serve.

About Us:

Architectural Nexus is a people driven, architectural design firm focused on stewardship, inspiration, and regeneration. We have offices in two locations: Salt Lake City, Utah and Sacramento, California. Our Sacramento office building is the first and only Living Building in California and our Salt Lake City office building is double LEED Platinum. As an employee owned firm (ESOP) we value and reward the contributions of all employees. 

Position Description:

We are looking for an experienced architect and project manager to join our progressive firm. Come and enjoy the up and coming city of Sacramento. Now is the time to embrace this opportunity to direct your career. This position is for a licensed architect with a minimum of 10 years of experience designing K-12 education facilities. This position requires experience and confidence managing teams of staff and consultants and the successful candidate can expect to interface regularly with clients. A strong understanding of contact negotiation and fee establishment is also required.

The successful candidate will work in our Sacramento office with an integrative team through all phases of design including programming and planning, to develop and document holistic designs for a variety of project types with an emphasis on K-12 projects. Applicants should be prepared to collaborate across disciplines to create regenerative places that enrich people’s lives through connection to the natural environment. Applicants should also enjoy working in a collaborative environment, demonstrate strong communication and design skills, be inter-personal, a self-starter, and a problem solver.

Benefits:

• We are an Employee Owned Firm (ESOP)
• Large-firm opportunities in a small-firm culture
• Excellent medical and dental benefits
• Matching 401(k) and/or Roth 401(k) plan
• Twice yearly incentive and accountability bonus program
• Holiday and vacation benefits
• Philanthropy program including paid volunteer time
• 6 weeks paid parental leave
• Pay commensurate with abilities and experience
• Six weeks of paid leave following the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Licensed Architect in the State of California
• Proficient with Autodesk Revit
• 10 years of K-12 architecture design
• Ability to work quickly and be deadline oriented
• DSA experience

Preferred Skills and Qualifications:

• LEED accredited
• Understanding of CDE and OPSC
• Understanding of project management software 

Email resumes and references to:

Brian Cassil
Principal | Director of Communications
bcassil@archnexus.com

Thanks for sending your resume; we look forward to getting to know you.

In the four corners region, a panorama of iconic mountain silhouettes set the backdrop of Bluff, Utah. The native community has been the location of an academic design build program through The University of Utah, where grad students venture out on a semester-long cultural exchange to design and build new construction. Since the programs onset, dozens of employees from Arch Nexus have participated in Design Build Bluff.

PBS Utah recently aired a documentary on the 2019 experience which included two students from Arch Nexus; Rachel Sittler and Aimee Kyed. Watch their experience here.

Since the programs onset, dozens from Arch Nexus have participated in Design Build Bluff. Nexus Architect, Stephanie Kooyman was among the first group to participate in the program. She says of the experience: It was the first time I had ever designed something and then built it. It changed how I looked at design, construction and even how I viewed the other students at school. We became a group working together and solving problems as a team. The collaboration with everyone in the studio and seeing something we all built with our hands were the best parts.

GC Magazine has published a list naming Arch Nexus among the top church Architects in the nation. From the website generalcontractors.org:

Architectural Nexus is known for connecting with its clients, new technology, creative design ideas, and better ways of speeding up the design and construction process, living up to its name. The Nexus portfolio includes projects like the Payson LDS Temple. Located in a valley setting, it has landscaped walks and water features leading up to the structure made of precast concrete exterior and an interior adorned with marble and intricate finishes.

Over the years, the firm has received numerous awards, such as the AIA Utah Honor Award, the AIA Utah Merit Award and the Utah Design and Sustainability Award. Alongside such honors, the firm has also been featured in ENR, New York Business Journal, Architect Magazine, Los Angeles Times and Deseret News.

Click here to read the full list of top church architects.

Construction Management Association of America NorCal has recognized two recent projects involving Architectural Nexus, with the “2020 Project Achievement Award.” El Dorado County Public Safety Facility was the $20 to $50 million award winner and Memorial Auditorium was the under $20 million award recipient.

The El Dorado Public Safety project consisted of 5 buildings; the main public safety building (pictured) housing the sheriff’s office, 911 call center and emergency operations center; an evidence facility, a morgue, a special operations training location and a shooting range.

Arch Nexus provided programming, master planning, schematic design and owner representation as executive architect for the entire project. Design build entity was Clark and Sullivan, Broward Construction, with Arrington Watkins as architect of record. Construction management was Vanir.

In the latest publication of Utah Construction & Design, Seeing Green explores how Landscape Architects are showing their value to clients by creating beautiful designs that serve a functional purpose while saving both water and money. Arch Nexus designers Robb Harrop and Jennifer Styduhar were interviewed for the piece.

Styduhar shares an example of how traditional grass turf often needs much more water than it gets from the local rainfall and that people are beginning to catch on to new options that are both beautiful and sustainable. Harrop discusses the meaning of “re-wilding” in planning for native plantings.

The article highlights many new sustainable landscape designs around the state of Utah, including some areas needing improvement. The Nexus designed Daybreak Library, currently under construction, combines indoor and outdoor spaces.

The library works with the natural topography of the site. We’re creating something that is more than a place to store books, but an active space in that community, where you can walk right onto the roof without going up stairs to this great view of the valley and a new learning environment. It’s essentially a park right on top of the building. –Robb Harrop

Congratulations to Arch Nexus’ Zhe Ying Ng, on becoming Living Future Accredited. Living Future Accreditation is designed to acknowledge the most advanced and progressive thinking professionals that are working towards a living future. Regarding this achievement, Zhe says:

“What does good look like? Adopting from the metaphor of a flower, LBC creates a sustainable design framework that visualizes our ideal built environment. The three pillars of sustainability, in fact, are interdependent, overlapping and can be mutually reinforcing; our goal is to think about the system as a whole, balancing the needs and the environment-designing something that is functional, aesthetically pleasing, socially conscious and environmentally responsible. As for a designer, lessons and experience can be valuable. LBC creates a great tool and guidance for each project dealing with different challenges; helping to maximize opportunities in each limitation.”

To learn more about becoming Living Future accredited, visit the Living Future accreditation webpage and check out this postcard from the ILFI.

The February 2020 edition of Utah Construction and Design Magazine features a grand look into the newly completed Hardware Apartments in Downtown Salt Lake City. What was once a gas station, hardware store and the rubble of demolished buildings, has transformed into a village.

Design began with an early morning trip to the location in 2014. Doug Thimm, senior Principal at Arch Nexus, recalls watching people exit the frontrunner train and observing the eclectic mix of individuals it brought in. That’s where the idea for a village – Hardware Apartments – was born.

The east and west buildings together equate to 500,000 square feet of immaculate and unique space. “People are moving away from a suburban existence. They’re embracing the apartment life, the density, the connectedness. But how does that happen? It’s the amenities, it’s the changing attitudes.” – Doug Thimm.

When it comes to amenities, Hardware Village has no shortage. Start with the tranquil, passive spaces like the courtyards with tiered fountains, the library with historically inspired leather chairs, the rooftop spaces with fire pits and views of the city and Wasatch Mountains. The workout space is state-of-the-art too, with a rotating climbing wall, sauna, foosball and ping-pong wall. There’s a kitchen for group entertainment as well.

The design of Hardware Village conserves a precious resource for metro areas – space. Single family housing units place 5-10 homes per acre, where 100 units per acre exist at Hardware. The development met National Green Building Standards and includes proximity to transportation hubs.  Developers and designers were focused on all aspects of a sustainable community.

Find a copy of the latest Utah Construction & Design Magazine to learn more design details and see other stunning images.

A recent publication of American Libraries Magazine highlights inclusive, strategic building design. The article, Human-Centered Spaces explores the history and future of library planning. Architecture isn’t about buildings, it’s about people, says Jeffery Davis, Principal at Arch Nexus.

At the Public Library Association 2020 Conference held in Nashville, Tennessee, Nexus’ Jeff Davis presented in the session Inclusionary Tactics that Flip the Script for Library Facility Planning. The course emphasized that library design’s new direction is embracing inclusion, strategic plans, and specific neighborhood needs.

Architectural Nexus recently completed designing the Northeast Stockton Library and Recreation Center in Stockton, California. Davis implemented inclusive design in the project when he and his team went out to community events, rather than simply inviting the community to come to their meetings. The space will overlap with different program elements such as a café library and a recreation center to create a true community center with both indoor and outdoor spaces.

The Merit Award in Facility Design from the United States Air Force was recently given to the Fire Crash and Rescue Station at Hill Air Force Base. The design team for this extensive and complex project included Arch Nexus’ Mark Davis, Stephen Springer, Sean Bennett and Shane Stephenson.

This facility was requested to be architecturally significant to Hill Air Force Base. The design team responded by having the building’s massing and shape evoke a sense of sheltering and embracing, as would be desired during times of emergency.  The facility’s form creates an outreach entrance to help guide passers-by and visitors into the building’s entry.  Massing also opens up to the public, in a sense, by creating a span of glass and a rising roofline on the south area where occupants would be seen exercising in the training room.

Due to the nature of this 24-hour facility, attaining the federally mandated level of LEED Silver certification imposed great challenges on the project. Compounded by the fact that the building required heat recovery systems within the apparatus bays made it particularly challenging to meet the minimum energy performance requirement. Designers developed a highly efficient building envelope, LED lighting, and optimized heating and cooling systems. The building has also been designed to allow for future solar panels.