Issuu

Brand Book Designing Tomorrow, Today!

ENRICHING LIVES AND STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES

Fueled by passion and curiosity, and constantly inspired by collaboration, we strive to enhance the way people live, work, and relax.

table of contents

who we are (pg 8)

what we do (pg 12)

our history (pg 22)

our culture (pg 26)

our team (pg 46)

our purpose (pg 52)

our brand (pg 58)

social media (pg 62)

who we are ... Founded in Minneapolis in 1978, BKV Group has grown into a highly collaborative design practice with offices in Chicago, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Vietnam. Our team of talented professionals has worked in 48 states and counting, sharing knowledge across practice groups and geographies to deliver meaningful solutions that support our clients’ missions. With offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang, we not only provide design services for many U.S. projects and gain access to Asian markets, but also create unique cross-practice training opportunities. By leveraging the 12-hour time difference, our nearly 24-hour design studio accelerates project delivery without sacrificing quality or creativity. This collaborative nature transcends BKV Group’s office walls as we strive for innovative design and problem-solving while working hand-in-hand with our clients. Our practice groups – which include multi-family housing (market-rate, senior, student, affordable, adaptive reuse, and highrise), government (municipal, county and state including police, fire, city hall, library, jails, public works, and courts), education, corporate, and interiors – help our clients’ dreams become a reality. BKV Group’s branded design approach to our clients’ needs provides unique, efficient, sustainable, and practical spaces. Our in-house engineering, landscape architecture, and construction administration professionals facilitate a seamless, high-quality, and creative solution. When asked why our clients work with us, they tell us “It’s because you really care – about us, the project, and our community. It’s the passion you bring to your work every day!”

WHO WE ARE

We build enduring communities that will serve neighborhoods and cities for many years to come

what we do ... BKV Group combines the talents of each member of the design team, resulting in streamlined communication between disciplines. By working together, our team finds the best design solutions under budget and timing constraints, while removing redundancies and enhancing the final product.

WHAT WE DO

Holistic Design with Multidisciplinary Project Teams

OUR SERVICES

+ Architecture + Interior Design + Urban Design & Landscape Architecture + Engineering + Construction Administration + Branded Environments + Sustainable Design + Furniture Procurement

HOUSING Intelligent residential design for building healthy, connected, and fulfilling lives.

WHAT WE DO

INTERIORS Creative, memorable, and environmentally progressive environments.

GOVERNMENT Enduring facilities that define and influence the image of their communities, while addressing short and long-term needs.

WHAT WE DO

HOSPITALITY Personally designed spaces that reinforce a client’s brand and provides long-term value by creating exceptional experiences for guests.

CORPORATE/COMMERCIAL Convergent buildings and spaces that provide comfort, flexibility, and connection to a sense of place, while helping to enrich lives and enhance productivity.

WHAT WE DO

EDUCATION Intellectual environments founded upon evidence-based design strategies that support whole-student development and engagement.

LIBRARY Creating community anchors that span a variety of scales, and delivering on a vision that will serve the users and surrounding area for years to come.

BRANDED ENVIRONMENTS Shaping brand identities from project inception, and ensuring every space reflects a consistent narrative that resonates with users and strengthens the client’s presence.

FURNITURE LINK Delivering turnkey FF&E solutions nationally, and managing every step from procurement to installation to ensure design vision, quality, and budget are realized seamlessly.

our history ... In 1986 the company was renamed Boarman and Associates and moved to 206 N. 1st Street. In August 1989 the office relocated to its current Minneapolis location at 222 N 2nd St. In 1993 David Kroos, Peter Pfister, and Jeff Rudin became partners to create Boarman Kroos Pfister Rudin & Associates, the first of several iterations that eventually became Boarman Kroos Vogel Group, Inc. dba BKV Group in 2001. The Chicago location launched in 2007, followed shortly by Washington, DC in 2010, Dallas in 2018, and Hanoi, Vietnam in 2019. Today, BKV Group delivers community-enhancing and award-winning projects across the country from these five practice sites.

OUR HISTORY

1985

Boarman Architects

1978

Boarman Architects founded in Minneapolis

1992 BKPR formded

2001 BKV Group formed

2026 BKV Group

2007 Chicago office opens

2010 DC office opens

2018 Dallas office opens

2019 Vietnam offices open

our culture ... We provide our clients with superior customer service by adopting the clients’ goals as our own, enabling transparent and data-driven decision-making, committing to responsible stewardship of our clients’ money, and being passionate about the success of the communities in which we work.

OUR CULTURE

We develop much more than buildings. We’re here to create connections & communities

DESIGN FORUM

BKV-U

CULTURE COMMITTEE

DESIGN COUNCIL

BKV ELEVATE

CODE COMMITTEE

COMMITTEES

BKV WORKSHOP

MENTORING PROGRAM COMMUNITY & EXTERNAL INVOLVEMENT

BRAND COMMITTEE

EMERGING PROFESSIONALS COMMITTEE

Design

Culture

Initiatives BKV TOGETHER

SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP STUDENT RECRUITMENT

ARTIFICIAL INTELLEGENCE COMMITTEE

MERCHANDISE & APPAREL

DRAWING STANDARDS COMMITTEE

REVIT DOCUMENTATION COMMITTEE

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

DESIGN CHARRETTES

OUR CULTURE

Passionate BKV Group understands that the products of our work deeply affect human beings, whether they are a full-time occupant or a passerby on the street. As designers, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to address the issues facing our society, and we address them every day in the buildings and spaces we imagine. Our designers engage passionately with issues of equality, safety, community, sustainability, wellness, and many more - always working to make our projects part of the solution. We believe in a friendly, upbeat, hopeful, and fun approach to our work and we are dedicated to a neverending quest to strengthen our communities.

BKV-U BKV-U is a gathering that allows employees to showcase their passions, educate the office on any given topic in an entertaining, engaging, and informative way, while cultivating company culture through the exchange of new ideas.

BKV Workshop A design outreach effort whose primary focus lies in the unbridled research and exploration of all areas of design. The BKV Workshop seeks to examine issues and opportunities encountered within our local, national, and global communities that benefit the greater good of the public while simultaneously broadening our firm’s knowledge base, skill sets, and areas of expertise, while also expanding our market potential.

BKV Together BKV Together is committed to planning and hosting philanthropic events outside of the office to provide support to the local community. Our team of volunteers contributes creativity, “elbow grease,” and passion to benefit the communities where we work and live.

OUR CULTURE

Creative BKV Group has a 45+ year history of design excellence, winning both regional and national awards for our projects. The nature of architecture is that every site, every client, and every point in time is different, so, by definition, every project requires a unique and customized solution. These continually changing parameters that drive our design solutions inspire us to generate new ideas and new approaches every day. We continually critique, advise, debate, and celebrate finding meaningful, dynamic, elegant, and beautiful solutions. Our creativity is a critical resource that BKV Group takes seriously and cultivates intentionally, to ensure our clients’ buildings are perfectly suited to their time, place, and function.

Design Forum BKV Group’s Design Forum was established to create an inclusive space where all disciplines come together to explore the many dimensions of design. Through presentations, activities, and media discussions, we spark meaningful dialogue, encourage open exchange of ideas, and foster growth through curiosity, collaboration, and creativity. From sketch outings over the lunch hour to design charrettes, presentations, and mini documentaries, the Design Forum fuels inspiration, broadens perspectives, and strengthens our collective design culture.

OUR CULTURE

Innovative BKV Group believes in the power of design to bring about a better future. Our experience is extensive, but it is our focus on innovation that drives our designers past the status quo. All of our market sectors and disciplines are led by designers who are nationally recognized thought leaders in their industry, educating our clients and our peers through seminars, articles, and interviews. We task our leaders with continual research into the ways our clients interact with the built environment, and how the future will impact those interactions. Through this careful study and collaboration with our clients, BKV Group creates innovative buildings that drive positive change in our communities.

Sustainability Committee The Sustainability Committee establishes goals and processes for integrating innovative sustainable principles into BKV Group projects. We encourage and provide ongoing education and dialogue so that both our internal staff and clients continue to develop their appreciation for sustainability and the innovations and cost-savings it provides clients.

Artificial Intellegence Committee Our goal is for BKV to continuously evolve in a rapidly changing tech world. To guide AI and emerging tools into our work with clear intent and only when It supports design excellence. To use AI to support our people – not replace them – with tools that streamline tasks and eliminate busy work – not creativity. To choose tools openly and together without losing sight of the values and quality that define BKV.

OUR CULTURE

Collaborative BKV Group’s project management approach allows our staff to engage clients from programming through project closeout, delivering projects on-time and on-budget through open communication, in-depth team workshops, and data-driven decision-making. For us, a successful project is defined by a happy and successful client, and to achieve a true collaborative relationship with shared purpose, we intentionally adopt our clients’ goals as our own and work collaboratively to streamline processes, accelerate key metrics, solve design challenges, improve a client’s bottom line, and increase their brand visibility.

Design Council The purpose of our monthly design charrettes is two-fold: first, to utilize our multi-disciplinary staff to creatively solve design challenges for our clients. Second, the charrettes offer every BKV Group employee the chance to provide design input on our projects. This results in a more robust and thoughtful design for our clients, and enhances the creative culture within BKV Group.

Professional Development Committee The Professional Development Committee empowers each member of BKV Group to be the best they can be. The committee serves the broader firm by identifying opportunities for growth and improving the accessibility of self-improvement. Initiatives spearheaded by the Professional Development committee include the launch of BKV Mentors – our mentorship program spanning geographies and areas of expertise – in addition to the Leadership Forum, BKV Dine, Shout-Out Cards, and public speaking and client interview training.

OUR CULTURE

Curious We often describe ourselves as curious people wanting to do great work on challenging projects. We have a collective drive to learn and push ourselves to new levels of innovation because we want to consistently contribute the most beneficial services and information to our clients. At BKV Group, we dedicate ourselves to the work of exploring topics that shape how we design and construct spaces for living, working, playing, healing, and learning.inually motivate oneself is difficult, but the drive to be thought leaders within our field in order to better serve our clients is what propels us forward as an innately curious company.

Mentoring Program BKV’s Mentor Program fosters supportive mentor–mentee relationships designed to provide guidance, leadership, and fresh perspective at any stage of your career journey. Participants across each practice site and discipline engage in meaningful one-on-one conversations for a span of 6 months. The Mentor Program offers a structured yet flexible space where employees can learn, grow, and build meaningful professional connections.

Emerging Professionals BKV’s Emerging Professionals Committee is organized across our various practice sites, each led by a dedicated site lead who helps shape local engagement and opportunities. As individual practice sites, we meet at least once each quarter to build our skills and expand our networks through construction site visits, installation demonstrations, local and national competitions, happy hours, building tours, social events, and discussions related to licensure and testing. We define an emerging professional as someone in the early stages of their career—whether they recently completed their education or recently licensed, or simply bringing fresh perspectives, enthusiasm, and a willingness to have fun. Our group is open to all, and we aim to support one another as we refine our skills, strengthen our professional connections, and establish ourselves within our respective disciplines.

OUR CULTURE

Authentic Being authentic, from the BKV Group perspective, is dependent on the level of success a brand has in capturing the attention of our audiences – whether it is telling engaging stories that resonate, or being memorable through a strategic series of brand impressions. We build our firm’s version of authenticity – or, in other words, our brand – by ensuring that all of the platforms we participate in are consistently aligned to reinforce our brand image to lift us out of the “sea of sameness” amongst our competitors, and the marketplace at-large.

BKV Elevate BKV Elevate was founded on a mission to advocate for all employees by providing recommendations and resources on how to expand opportunities, develop areas for collaboration across all of BKV’s committees, and foster a respectful workplace culture. Through these efforts and more, we are committed to supporting an equitable and inclusive environment for each and every team member.

OUR CULTURE

Holistic BKV Group has developed an integrated design approach that effectively leverages our wide array of in-house design disciplines and our diverse market sectors. This stretches our thinking outside of conventional silos and allows our designers to cross-pollinate ideas, applying strategies and tactics developed for a specific building type to other building types not traditionally understood as related. We engage early in projects, helping to define and validate the project’s reason for being and involving a broad conceptualization of project stakeholders. We purposefully expand our design thinking beyond the site constraints to explore impacts and opportunities within the community, and beyond the closeout phase by using lifecycle analysis to plan for the long-term. By widening our vision and giving our designers freedom to think holistically about our projects, our clients receive a solution more deeply rooted in context and more thoroughly prepared for the future.

Our Teams +

Architecture

+ Branding

Interiors

+ Sustainability

Urban Design

+ Construction Administration

Landscape

+ Furniture Link

Engineering

OUR CULTURE

Impactful Volunteering is integral to what we do and furthers our collective goal of enriching lives and strengthening communities.

BKV Workshop A design outreach effort whose primary focus lies in the unbridled research and exploration of all areas of design. The BKV Workshop seeks to examine issues and opportunities encountered within our local, national, and global communities that benefit the greater good of the public while simultaneously broadening our firm’s knowledge base, skill sets, and areas of capability, while also expanding our market potential.

our team ... BKV Group cultivates a “One Firm” culture with well-established committees, consistent communication, robust training, and engaging activities to bring us together in a consolidated movement to better ourselves, our colleagues, and our clients.

Chicago

Dallas

Minneapolis

Washington DC

our purpose ... We have a legacy of supporting non-profit and mission-driven groups to positively impact their respective communities.

OUR PURPOSE

Enriching Lives And Strengthening Communities Has Been Our Hallmark Since 1978

OUR PURPOSE

We Believe Passion Is An Output, And We Volunteer And Donate To National Humanitarian Organizations Throughout The Year

ACE Mentor Program of America

Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

BKV Together is committed to planning and hosting

Largest U.S. organization dedicated to championing

philanthropic events outside of the office to provide

civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community.

support to the local community. Our team of volunteers contributes creativity, “elbow grease,” and passion to benefit the communities where we work and live.

National Organization For Minority Architects Fostering justice and equity in communities of color

Habitat for Humanity National program building homes, community, and hope so everyone has a decent place to live.

through advocacy, professional development, and design excellence.

our brand ... Our brand is our identity, consisting of our name, logo and other visusal designs, mission, and tone of voice that help us distinguish ourselves from others.

OUR BRAND

Typeface BKV Group’s primary typefaces are Lora and Lato. Our secondary typeface is Arial – to be used when a system doesn’t include Lora and Lato, and in e-communications if a recipient does not have Lora and Lato installed. BKV Group also uses Gellatio script for an added graphic touch.

Lato

Lora

Gellatio

AaBaCc

AaBbCc

AaBaCc

Italic

Moderline

AaBaCc

Bold italic

AaBaCc

Light

AaBaCc 60

AaBbCc

Color Palette BKV Group uses a strong, vivid red in contrasts with black, white, and shades of gray. Colors in the secondary palette complement our primary colors. When used with the primary palette, they add energy and suggest movement. Utilized conservatively, the secondary colors accent and highlight significant or specific information.

red

yellow

blush

indigo chocolate indigo

chocolate

mint

blue

sage

poppy

charcoal

orange

lavender

sand

yellow

blush

BKV Group BKV Mark

mint

charcoal

blue

orange

sage

lavender

poppy

sand

social media ... Connect and interact with BKV Group on our social media pages to help promote and follow along with our people, projects, awards, and events.

www.x.com/bkvgroup

www.linkedin.com/company/bkv-group

www.instagram.com/bkv_group

www.facebook.com/BkvGroup

CHICAGO

DALLAS

MINNEAPOLIS

WASHINGTON, DC

209 South LaSalle Street The Rookery, Suite 920 Chicago, IL 60604 P 312.279.0470

1412 Main Street Adolphus Tower, Suite 700 Dallas, TX 75202 P 469.405.1196

222 North Second Street Long & Kees Building, Suite 101 Minneapolis, MN 55401 P 612.339.3752

1054 31st Street NW Canal Square, Suite 410 Washington, DC 20007 P 202.595.3173