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Maxam Architecture recently completed the Smedley Dental offices in downtown Zeeland. The project involved rehabilitating two buildings to offer retail space facing the street with offices in the back. On the second floor, the design allowed combining two former apartments into one condo for the building owners to live in. “This sort of project is emblematic of what we need right now, to reuse an existing building and revitalize a downtown,” said David Maxam. “It’s a win on all fronts.” PHOTO: Green Frog

By Joe Boomgaard | MiBiz
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GRAND RAPIDS ­— As president of the American Institute of Architects Grand Valley chapter, David Maxam would like to raise the profile of a design profession that has a direct impact on how people across the region live and work.

“In West Michigan, we’re increasingly seeing the value of design. We don’t see it as something we just slap on to make it look nice. It’s an integral part of the process. If it doesn’t have design, it doesn’t have much,” he said. “It’s interesting watching Grand Rapids’ downtown evolve over the last decade and become a destination. We’re not just seeing design thinking at the building level, but as (part of a) systemic shift. That’s made it exciting to be here, too. Things are moving in the right direction. We’re becoming the jewel of Michigan.”

That’s not to say the local industry hasn’t felt the brunt of the recent and prolonged

economic downturn. Across the country, architecture was one of the worst hit professions, Maxam said, but professionals in West Michigan seem to have faired better than their counterparts in other areas of the state. “I don’t want to underestimate how horrible it’s been, but of anywhere in the state, we’re in the best position,” he said. Indeed, AIA’s U.S. architecture billings index for November 2010, believed to be an indicator of construction activity about a year in the future, reached its highest position since December 2007. At the same time, however, new project inquiries dipped. AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said in his report that firms throughout the Midwest “are expecting more favorable conditions in the future, with half of the firms in each of these regions expecting growth.”

Maxam started his own business, Maxam Architecture, about three years ago and thinks his business model could be the direction more architects take versus the large corporate model. His business does design work for the industrial and commercial markets, but he’s picked up some specialized residential work as well.

“I don’t get the huge institutions and I don’t work on one project for four years, but I do work on about six or eight projects at a time, and I see a broader spectrum of what’s going on,” he said.

He came to the profession through a somewhat unconventional route. He broke into the field without a master’s degree, leaning on his CAD training in high school to land a job at a small firm with just a bachelor’s degree in pre-architecture from Aquinas College. That started him on a real-world apprenticeship before he went on to get a graduate degree.

“I liked the pace of things and that I got to work on all aspects of the project. I saw the full scope. Now, I like the challenge of owning a business rather than being a cog in a cubicle,” he said.

Maxam often teams up with contractors on a design-build basis to form an integrated, client-focused team. The process works because clients can deal with one company to answer questions and solve problems as they arise, plus it allows architects like him to maintain their independence. He’s had success in teaming up with contractor First Companies on a handful of projects.

Of late, Maxam has seen some uptick in activity in the industrial sector and with manufacturers. And while many of those structures can start from fairly simple bones, today’s advanced manufacturers are realizing they can benefit from customized design that takes into account the flow of goods and materials, as well as energy usage.

To help ease the process of kicking off those new projects, Maxam has been at work developing an “open source design” portfolio that draws off past projects to solve problems faster for new clients. The process allows clients to start with a basic design and add various features that suit their needs, rather than beginning the whole process from scratch.

“I’m personally retooling to make it easier for people to get these projects started,” he said. “It’s similar to the thinking that goes into open source software.”

Generally, he said West Michigan clients like to work with local architects, but as he surveys the landscape in downtown Grand Rapids, he’d like to see more of the large-scale projects use local design teams.

“We have the home-court advantage and can make the right connections and make a difference, and I’d like to see West Michigan become a place to hone our own internal talent,” he said. “Sometimes, outside firms have an expertise, but the star architect game is largely losing its value. As local designers, we have an intuitive sense of the lay out of the city and what matters. There’s nothing worse than having someone from out of town come in and focus on the name Grand Rapids and see the rapids become a metaphor and the depth of the design is a wavy roof.”

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• american institute of architects
• american institute of architects grand valley chapter
• david maxam
• design build
• grand rapids
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