A Conversation With ... Jennifer Wilson

Company: Jennifer Wilson Architect LLC

Education: Bachelor of Architecture, University of Arkansas

Professional roots: Wilson’s grandfather, Richard Stahl, was a well-known Springfield architect whose designs included Kings Way United Methodist Church and the Breech School of Business at Drury University.

Tell us about your company.

I worked at Butler, Rosenbury & Partners for 12 and a half years, and then I left in January to start my own practice. I’m the only employee right now. At (BRP), I did work for local governments.

Now that I’m on my own, the two biggest projects that I’ve done are (infill) for Wilhoit Plaza. I did a series of infills for The Matt Miller Co., with Jeff Wells of Wells and Scaletty LLC, and I’ve also been working on a (storage building) for North Star Properties LLC. I hope that my practice grows to 10 or 15 people … and I’d like to get back into … civic projects, probably for local governments.

Why did you strike out on your own?

I’ve always wanted to run my own practice. My grandfather was Richard Stahl. He’s (one of two fellows) in the (American Institute of Architects) in the city of Springfield. … They only give (fellowship) to about 60 people a year, internationally. He was a prominent architect in town, and I was hoping with my own firm, I could contribute to the community (like he did). He was exceptional. He passed away in 2001, but he was the architect for the old Parkview (High School), Kings Way United Methodist Church, and several buildings over at Drury.

He’s why I went into this field. I’m very proud of him.

Does knowing who your grandfather was affect people’s expectations of you?

It does. He has a very good reputation. It helps me, but because of his reputation, I think people expect me to aspire to do the same things.

But I’m not there yet. By the time he was a fellow in the AIA, he was 86 years old, and right now, I’m 36, so I have many years to accomplish what he accomplished. I have a long way to go, but hopefully, I will follow in his footsteps.

What advice did your grandfather have for working as an architect?

There are several things that he told me, but one that I reflect on a lot is that every project has different levels of potential, but you do the best with every single project you have. He truly believed – and this is part of the mission statement for my company – that (architects) really have the ability to improve the environment they’re in … and as architects, we are obligated to do the best we can to do that. He did an exceptional job of (designing) buildings that improved the city of Springfield … and I’m hoping I can help my clients improve their communities also.

You are moving your company to Wilhoit Plaza. What attracted you to that spot?

It’s an exciting building in downtown Springfield. There are a lot of good reasons. The building itself is just a very nice building, with big, large windows. It’s actually a very functional location, close to a local print shop (and) the permitting offices. … I think they have done a really good job of leasing that building out, because there is a wide variety of good tenants.

I’ll be moving in mid-July. I would hope that by the end of this year, I’ve started adding people. Ten to 15 people (is) probably a long-term goal that’ll take me about five or six years.

Do you think there’s fierce competition in the local design industry?

Actually, what’s been interesting for me … is that the architects in this community are the ones who gave me the greatest support (to start my own firm).

I was really proud of being an architect in the city of Springfield when I started my own practice. I have been pleasantly surprised at how supportive (they) have been. I don’t know if those architects just respected (my grandfather), but in the beginning, when I started, there were architects in town who gave me work to get me started.

What do you enjoy in your free time?

I love to travel. My last trip was to Tibet in 2006, not counting work trips. I went with my extended family, and we traveled around China. I had always wanted to go to Tibet. It was just a completely different culture, and I think eventually, it’s not going to be there anymore. I think the Chinese government is making it more Chinese and less Tibetan, and we wanted to see it before (that happens).

Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover. You can e-mail her with suggestions for future installments of this feature at mhoover@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]