GastingerWalker& Chicago Welcomes Samantha McCloud

Director of Community Involvement, Diversity & Inclusion joins Chicago Office

GastingerWalker’s Samantha McCloud, AIA, NCARB, is expanding her role with our company by joining the Chicago office this spring. Samantha brings over ten years of leadership to her new position, where she will focus on continued growth with existing clients in the Chicago market. Additionally, she will focus on GastingerWalker’s relationships in both the public and private sectors of the region.

Samantha holds a Master of Architecture from Kansas State University, was named one of the “30 Under 30” by the Kansas City Star Newspaper, and a “NextGen Leaders” by the Business Journal. Honored with the American Institute of Architect’s “President’s Award” for her community contributions in Kansas City and nationwide, she supports ongoing advocacy within the architectural community.

“My consistent goal is to help GastingerWalker& and our clients gain insight on opportunities that will improve their prosperity through humanizing people’s experiences in the workplace, in the community, and through our projects,” said Samantha. “With the GastingerWalker& Chicago team, I am excited to continue putting trust and integrity at the heart of how we do work.” Samantha will bring her skills to Chicago, delivering meaningful architecture and interiors at GastingerWalker& this spring.

Samantha’s experience encompasses a wide range of project type, scale, and complexity. Her recent work includes design and construction administration of $5.6 million of renovations to the Kansas City Convention Center Grand Ballroom, owner’s representation and construction management services for commercial and public projects, master planning services for capital improvements to county properties, and design for new construction projects serving for-profit and non-profit clients.

With more than 39 years of experience as a firm, GastingerWalker& has 63+ staff including 29 licensed architects, 12 interior designers, and 8 LEED APs working from our Kansas City and Chicago offices. The Firm’s areas of focus are places to work, learn, live, heal, and play. Additional expertise includes interior design, construction management, sustainable practices, historic renovation, government buildings, and consumer environments. Please explore gastingerwalker.com to learn more.

If you would like to learn more information about this topic, please contact Rachel Tucker, Business Development Manager, at RTucker@gastingerwalker.com. 

Welcoming Former Gensler Principal & Kansas City Native, Beth Harmon-Vaughan to Our Firm

GastingerWalker& Welcomes Beth Harmon-Vaughan

Former Gensler Principal and Kansas City Native Brings over 35 Years of Leadership to Firm

“GastingerWalker& is very excited to welcome Beth Harmon-Vaughan to our Firm. With her talent and breadth of experience, we know Beth will be an invaluable asset to the Firm as we continue to evolve our ability to provide great design to our clients.”

— Kevin Harden | Managing Partner, GastingerWalker&

Former Principal and Managing Director of Gensler’s Phoenix office, Beth Harmon-Vaughan PhD, FIIDA, LEED-AP, joins Kansas City Firm, GastingerWalker&. Beth brings over 35 years of leadership experience in the field of Design to the firm. In her new role, she will focus on integrating current research and trends in workplace design and commercial real estate to provide solutions for clients to enhance productivity, brand experience, and flexibility for future needs.

Beth holds a PhD in Sustainability and Workplace Productivity from Arizona State University. She was named one of the “50 Most Influential Women” by Arizona Business, and one of “The Most Influential Women in CRE” by AZ|RE Magazine. 

“Kansas City has evolved into a dynamic market focused on the future,” said Beth. “With the GastingerWalker& team, I am excited to bring thought leadership and experience to our clients.” Beth brings her talent home to Kansas City to deliver meaningful architecture and interiors at GastingerWalker& starting mid-September. 

Beth’s experience encompasses almost every type of commercial and institutional project. She will continue to make an impact as she brings her many talents to GastingerWalker&.

With more than 35 years of experience as a firm, GastingerWalker& has 55+ staff including 29 licensed architects, 12 interior designers and 10 LEED APs working from their Kansas City and Chicago offices. The Firm’s areas of focus are places to work, learn, live, heal and play. Additional expertise includes interior design, construction management, sustainable practices, historic renovation, government buildings and consumer environments. Please explore gastingerwalker.com to learn more.

If you would like to learn more information about this topic, please contact Rachel Tucker, Business Development Manager, at RTucker@gastingerwalker.com. 

Samantha McCloud named as one of KC's 30 under 30

Congratulations to our own architect, Samantha McCloud for being named one of KC’s 30 under 30. Way to go Samantha! 

INK KC

BY NICOLE KUBE

SAMANTHA MCCLOUD, 28

“As an architect, I am passionate about the built environment and its power to affect positive change. Small changes in a neighborhood can have a very big impact on the local culture and social dynamic of a place.”

In their own words
am a 28-year-old licensed architect and Associate at GastingerWalker&. Success is an evolving goal that is personally defined, and I most value the type of success that I can share with others. Architecture is a collaborative field, and through this lens, I choose to see personal achievement as a production of many moving parts. Being an architect isn’t just a vocation, it is a passion, and an ever-unfolding journey.   

In college, to my great surprise, I was offered a scholarship to be a coxswain on the K-State women’s rowing team. As a small, soft-spoken girl, I had never imagined I would be a collegiate student-athlete in highly competitive and aggressive company...read more

National Ampersand Day

Celebrating "National Ampersand Day" comes easy for the GastingerWalker& team! It's kind of our thing.

Red Nose Day - Chicago

The Chicago Team participated in Red Nose Day on May 25th in support of helping end child poverty. Chicago doesn't clown around when it comes to supporting a good cause or getting the job done while doing it.

Celebrating 36 Years

Today we celebrate 36 years as a firm! What a great year it has been. Cheers!

Color + Couture 2016

Last Friday, GastingerWalker& participated in the 11th and FINAL Color+Couture Fashion show. Although no award was received, fun was had by all! GastingerWalker&'s Emily Gale walked the runway in the San Francisco themed outfit created by the team.

Throw that First Pitch!

GastingerWalker&'s own Lisa Cianciolo, Jennifer McFarland Berka and John Kyger participated in Relay the Way yesterday. The ceremonial first pitch crossed Kansas City for the Royals homeopener. Donations from the event will help build The Kansas City Urban Youth. Go Royals!

Congratulate Our 3 New Partners

We Are Excited To Announce That Dan Nenonen, Matt Wild, And Kevin Wineinger Have Been Named Partners At GastingerWalker&.

Dan Nenonen, AIA

Dan knows he’s exceeded his client’s expectations when they walk into a designed space and say it is even better than they imagined. He is the Senior Project Manager for several of our firm’s projects, including the new $72,000,000 Capitol Federal Hall at the University of Kansas opening this May. Dan has a goal to see all 59 National Parks and as many national monuments as possible – so far, he is batting .333! Growing up, Dan always liked to problem solve, play with Legos and create things. Years later, this intertwining of so many different pragmatic and creative avenues of pursuit led him to become an architect. He is an active member of the Downtown Rotary Club (Kansas City), Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation, and Downtown Council of Kansas City.

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Matt Wild, AIA, NCARB

Matt is a passionate leader and designer and has the ability to seamlessly coordinate all the moving parts of a team. He can simplify any problem and provide solutions to clients that are practical and creative. He believes that good design comes from a process of analyzing information and creatively utilizing one’s knowledge and talents to achieve a goal. As a child, Matt tagged along with his mother who worked for an architect. He never forgot about the drafting tables equipped with pencils, pens, templates and ‘oh-so cool’ electronic erasers, leading to his eventual architectural career. He joined the firm in 2004 and he is a member of the the Downtown Council, KC Urban Core Group, Urban Land Institute, 20/20 Leadership, Boys Hope Girls Hope of Kansas City and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (Heart of America Chapter).

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Kevin Wineinger

Prior to moving to Kansas City to join the firm, Kevin worked in internationally renowned Architectural firms in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The projects Kevin undertook in these offices, from designer to manager, are well known for their humanistic approach to modernism and have won numerous national and local awards for their design.  Through his experience in a variety of cities and environments, he is adept at navigating complex locations, project constraints and design problems. Kevin serves as Lead Designer on all education projects the firm undertakes. In addition to Kevin’s professional work, he is a devoted educator and regular visiting critic at Schools of Architecture across the United States.

A Royal Celebration

What an amazing celebration to witness yesterday! GastingerWalker& & their families showed up to cheer on the KC Royals at the World Series Champions parade along with 800,000+ people. What an incredible display to witness. Way to go Royals! ‪#‎RoyalCelebration‬,‪#‎TookTheCrown‬, ‪#‎forveverRoyal‬, ‪#‎crowned‬, ‪#‎royals‬

Two Locations, One Firm

This February, we celebrated our 34th anniversary as a firm. 2015 also marks the 29th anniversary of our Chicago office.

In 1981, our founders Kirk Gastinger and Wade Walker established the firm based on the philosophy of "listening to clients."

If we listen to and take care of our clients, we will build outstanding long-term relationships. In result, our clients will take care of us.

After five years of growth, relationship building and design with insight, we listened very carefully when one of our clients told us something that would significantly change our firm. AT&T had revised its regional control of real estate. Offices that were in several states, previously controlled by a Kansas City office, were now going to be controlled out of Chicago.

“Our firm had established a reputation as a client, budget, and schedule-oriented firm that provided great service at a reasonable cost,” saidRogers Malone, AIA, principal. “However, the Chicago AT&T Real Estate group could not hire Kansas City architects to do work throughout their region. We needed an office in Chicago in order to continue the relationship."

So Rogers packed up moved his family, and on December 28, 1986 opened the doors of our Chicago office.

In 1986, the Sears Tower was only 13 years old, Ronald Reagan was president, and email and cell phones were a distant speck on the horizon. In April, Rogers will celebrate his 32nd anniversary with the firm, and his 29th year in Chicago.

“Our Chicago office has been able to succeed and excel at relationships for so long because of the culture orginially established by Kirk and Wade in Kansas City,” said Rogers. The team now consists of interior designer Lisa Kincaid, principal; architect John Price, AIA & principal; project designer Heather Lichtfuss; project assistant Marlene Wolz and KC/Chicago liaison Kevin Harden, AIA and partner.

“As the partner linking KC and Chicago, I frequently travel between both offices to keep everyone current. I am the cheerleader pushing the team to do better, and make sure top talent is hired when needed. Representing Chicago’s interests in partner’s meetings has gone a long way to make us ONE office in two locations,” said Kevin.

Kansas City and Chicago have successfully worked in tandem, guided by the firm’s original philosophy. There is great strength in two offices working as one and opportunities are frequently realized. In addition to work for AT&T, the Chicago office has built several new relationships over the years throughout the nation. The firm has completed work in nearly every state.

“We are not an ‘island’ in Chicago. Our office is a part of a bigger whole, and combined we are a team of more than 50 architects, interior designers, marketing and administrative staff,” said Lisa.

After 29 years and three expansions later, the Chicago office has grown to specialize in large corporate offices and healthcare spaces.

“The Chicago office was always intended to be an extension of Kansas City’s office and to grow with additional Chicago clients. The goal from the first day was to expand our client base and continue to provide the same great service that the Kansas City office does,” said Lisa. “It’s incredible to say that we have major corporate experience in two significant Midwestern cities. We have won more business because of this asset. We have the ability to cover a large area that makes clients more confident in our capabilities. We have regional (not just local) flexibility and knowledge.”

Our capabilities have attracted real estate developers in Chicago and, from that, partnerships formed. “We expanded our client base not only locally but with companies doing business in both Kansas City, Chicago and throughout the Midwest. Regionally, besides AT&T, we have worked with Lucent Technologies, Avaya, The John Buck Company, CB Richard Ellis, the GSA, Kemper Financial, Sprint, Morgan Stanley, Van Kampen (now Invesco), BKD, and several others. We also work with Donna Buck and the KC office on several regional Brown Mackie College and Allstate projects, and Jana BeeTriplett on healthcare related projects (including SurgCenter Development). Many of these relationships started in Kansas City and were strengthened by a Chicago presence,” John said. “After we gained regional momentum, we started gaining business from within the Chicagoland urban area (The Tom Terry Group, Civic Opera Building, The Rookery, 104 S. Michigan Ave., 111 S Wacker, Triangle Plaza, 208 S. LaSalle and many others) with additional projects in the suburbs (including Banco Popular, Stonecreek Properties, Barrington Broadcasting and others).”

This map shows all of the states where our team has completed projects; including the Cayman Islands and Jamaica:

Most of the projects for the Chicago office have revolved around corporate interior design. When an opportunity for Kansas City-based client, UMB, came about in Milwaukee, Kevin Harden reached out to Lisa Kincaid and the Chicago team. UMB relocated their Fund Services division in Milwaukee to historic Schlitz Park and this involved interior design and interior architecture as part of a historic renovation. Our proximity to Milwaukee, knowledge of the landscape, and ability to handle details with local vendors and subcontractors demonstrated our ability to have two offices working and collaborating as one.

“We were very excited to work with the Kansas City-based banking company,” Lisa said. “Kevin, who has a relationship with UMB, was able to pass along the work and we just jumped at the opportunity.”

A recent win for the Chicago team was becoming the preferred interior architect for the building at 200 S. Michigan Avenue. Future plans are in progress to create a large public fitness center, as well as other marketing and design projects. Further down the road, our team will be asked to do tenant improvements, construction documents, permits and construction administration as a part of the contract.

Our Chicago office has sustained and grown business over the past 29 years and is strengthened by the dual office structure and goals of our firm. GastingerWalker& regional offerings have taken our firm from a local team to an established national presence.