(“Text as submitted by Architect”)
Practice Ideology
Wheeler Kearns is a collective practice of architects. We work with people who seek to enrich their lives in a space that embodies their purpose, energy, and vision.
Since our founding in 1987, we have been a diverse group of thinkers and designers who choose to work together instead of on our own. This model creates well-rounded experts who equally share the roles of designer, technician and manager. And it guarantees that your project architect is fully immersed in your project, from the very first conversation to evaluating the success of your building after it’s occupied.
In its current form, our team is made up of 20 full-time employees, including an Office Manager and a Studio Coordinator. Leadership is currently provided by six owners and includes: founding partners Dan Wheeler and Larry Kearns, Mark Weber who joined in 2001, Jon Heinert and Joy Meek who both joined in 2006, and Chris-Annmarie Spencer who joined in 2019.
As a practice that focuses on an empathy-filled process more than a specific project type, style, or scale, our portfolio is diverse and richly varied. We have over thirty years of experience with visioning/master-planning, renovation, adaptive reuse, and new construction projects, working for residential, institutional, commercial and community-driven organizations. Spanning from alternative affordable housing to multi-family midrise structures, from a food pantry to an innovative visual and performing arts venue; we are drawn to complex design problems and constraints that challenge us to push the envelope.
