Celebrating Curiosity through Culture and Design

TowerPinkster, a firm of architects and engineers committed to design integrity, quality, and environmental responsibility, is a FIRST & 42 2020 Wonderful Workplaces winner. Its doors opened in 1953 with just six people, and now has over 140 in Michigan serving the industrial, commercial, health care, K-12 education, higher education, and government markets.

TowerPinkster’s corporate culture is a driving force behind the success of the company, earning the company numerous awards over the years, including recognition as one of Zweig White’s top multi-discipline firms to work for in the country for the past 11 years and “West Michigan’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.” These accolades represent a culture of dedication, compassion, and trust, and its clients experience the same approach through project design and delivery.

The company uses imagination, innovation, and integration to create bold, transformative results while providing superior service and project management. President and CEO Bjorn Green said, “I love working with our team! Why? Because of the care, dedication, and passion that each team member brings to their craft every day. The creativity, ingenuity, and ‘solution solving’ that our team brings forth on each project is truly amazing.” He continued, “The clients that we work for are awesome too as they nudge, wonder, inquire, and inspire us to do our best work for their project and the needs of their community. I could go on for hours about the incredible outcomes that I believe are a genuine result of the power of a team!” Read on to learn more from TowerPinkster about what makes it a wonderful place to work:

What was TowerPinkster’s biggest achievement during 2020?

It is not a secret that 2020 has been a challenging year in many ways. Throughout it all, we have remained optimistic and hopeful for our bright and prosperous future because we know we have an incredible team driving us forward. Maintaining our culture and putting our employees first has continued to be our most significant achievement in these aberrant times. Our dedication to the passion and wellbeing of our team recently awarded us the Trifecta Award from AEC consulting agency, Zweig Group, joining an elite group of award-winning firms. The Trifecta Award celebrates high-performance firms winning awards in three areas: successful workplace environments, growth, and excellence in marketing in the same year.

What is unique about the workplace culture at TowerPinkster?

We are a family that cares about each other, both inside and outside of work. And it shows in the long-lasting friendships we have created. We often get asked about what makes working at TowerPinkster so great. The answer is our people: a group of talented, humble people who nurture and encourage each other. We understand it takes all of us to create a great culture. Creating our supportive work environment is a top priority, and through the fun activities we host to create connections, the TowerPinkster family thrives. We collaboratively and inclusively work together, and you can see the magic: the engagement in our work, engagement in our communities, and engagement in our own personal passions. We are encouraged to place high value on our personal growth and development—in and out of the workplace. From attending industry events to supporting local nonprofits and organizations, our outgoing approach to people, culture, and experiences ingrains us in the communities we serve. And as a result, it makes us that more connected to one another.

Why do your employees love going to work each day?

From team members who feel like family to the incredible clients who drive our curiosity, there’s a lot to love about working at TowerPinkster. We recently celebrated 67 things we love about TowerPinkster for our 67th birthday. Check it out here.

How do leaders at TowerPinkster build engagement within their teams?

It starts with care and trust, and our leaders do an amazing job with both. Our leaders care about the personal lives of each team member, and actions prove that family comes first! They create trust through transparency and honesty. Through staying connected with each person, individual and team check-ins, team meetings, and team building activities, they ensure each person stays engaged and feels a part of the big picture. Leaders provide an environment that allows each person to do their best work. Through understanding of each person’s strengths, their development goals, and passions, we can align projects to ensure each person is growing. Leadership works hard to be on the same page and foster that support through communicating our goals and vision, which enables everyone in the firm to be moving forward in the same direction.

How did TowerPinkster take care of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic?

We took a highly proactive strategy to protect our team and their families from the COVID-19 pandemic. In advance of the state-mandated “Stay at Home” order, we began to test the capacity of our systems to support a work-from-home policy. A week before that mandate, our employees began to work from home. During the first weeks of working from home, the leadership team and department teams met consistently to engage with all employees and solve any issues that arose from the new situation. We sent weekly updates via email and initiated weekly virtual staff meetings to support our connectivity and culture.

In the first month of the pandemic, we assembled a Return-to-Work committee to initiate a set of guidelines that provided our employees with a smart, safe, and careful phased solution to return to the office. That team has continued to meet to ensure that we are meeting employees’ needs and expectations while staying on top of the best practices released by the CDC.

What makes TowerPinkster a unique and wonderful place to work?

Our belief in the greatness of our team and the passion and dedication we have to our curiosity-based, culture-first philosophy. Curiosity is the most valuable piece of our design process and our approach to culture. With our approach to design, we encourage project teams to go into every project without predisposed notions about how a space should look and function. While our team brings ideas and best practices to the table, we begin projects with an open mind, ask meaningful questions, and apply expertise to develop appropriate solutions tailored to each client. We are genuinely curious about each new project; we begin with research and ask the right questions to provide authentic results.

With our culture, we encourage our team members to be life-long learners, focusing on how to celebrate and support the lived-experiences of our communities and colleagues. We work to discover and understand the complexities of our communities and to ask how we can support each other, not make assumptions about the needs of those around us.