ah, my friend...you are speaking to a man born and raised in grand rapids. i also worked there for a year for a small architectural firm. grand rapids has a surprising array of good architecture for such a small city; unfortuneatly all of it was either built a hundred years ago or else by some starchitect who's office is a thousand miles away. i think progressive ae is the best firm, though. they designed the new civic center, which is actually a pretty amazing building. i also believe, and don't quote me on this, that they worked with rafeal vinoly on the van andle institute. there are also a couple of other decent firms, like integrated architecture, and design+ which does some good fake historical stuff. you can find a couple good "botique" type firms downtown as well. for green architecture, bazzani associates is a good contact, but they aren't architects, they are developers and construction managers who are really into architecture. if i were you though, i'd steer clear of grand rapids until you've established yourself as a licensed architect. chicago is a much better bet for you. GR is way too conservative, and generally not all that welcoming to more progressive designers. most of the really good designers in GR either leave or work for herman miller or steelcase.

btw, if anyone visits western michigan for any reason at all, GR has some really good architecture in the downtown area, the van andel institute by vinoly, the meyer may house by flw (worth the trip by itself, it caused a car accident in front of my mom's old house once), the civic center by progressive, and the new museum by munkenbeck/marshall (under construction), which is right next to a park designed by maya lin. there is also a pretty nice caulder in front of city hall, although i think every city seems to have one of those.

GR is a little strange, as though you are always being watched. if there is anything i can say for the city though, i'm amazed at what they have done to improve it in the last ten years. if you live in easttown, heritage hill, or downtown, its not so bad, but still not that great. it reminds me of a religious Providence.

Chicago would be the obvious choice - but a 3 hour commute? That's a bit much for me - especially 5 days a week. Maybe contract work would allow me only 2 or 3 days per week in Chicago or something like that - spending the rest of the time working from home - That's still a chore and a half, tho.

I have more than 10 years under my belt (Commercial and Residential/all phases) and could try to get some work on my own - but I get the feeling like all the summer homes are prolly designed by Chicago or outside architects.....

Anyway, thanks for the information folks.

why is it that you absolutely must live in GR? are you already settled there? if you are worried about raising your kids or something, ann arbor is a pretty viable option to GR, and one where you'll find a more progessive design atmosphere.

The decision to move to Western Michigan is not a planned destination move or anything, and it is not wholly in my control and it involves love. Hope that clarifies things. I'm the tagalong in this potential move.

well, like i said there are a few good firms there, and the architectural community is fairly tight knit, so once your in, your in. kendall is planning on adding a graduate architecture program to their curriculum, which will make things a little more interesting. it isn't a bad place to live though, lake michigan has some great sandy beaches and gr has some good nightlife and places to eat for such a small city. if you have to live in western michigan, the best places to live are either by the lake or in downtown grand rapids, in my opinion.

Thanks again for your insights - nice to hear.

Unfortunately there isn't much to choose from in Grand Rapids but some are better than others. If interested in green design, Integrated would be the best choice but they can be trendy. Integrated's office (building) itself is nice but not near downtown. Progressive is also one of the better choices but contrary to posts above they did not design the new convention center, (despite their best efforts to make it appear as if they did). They were the local consulting firm, and they may have also done the construction documents. Progressive is also not in downtown. Design Plus, Cornerstone Architects, and AMDG Architects are about as good as Grand Rapids gets and all are located downtown, which is in my opinion the preferred option if working in GR. There is a new small firm (maybe just two people) that is doing some nice work but I can't remember their name at the moment. A number of firms are jumping on the leed bandwagon so you're enthusiasm and experience could prove helpful in the job search.

You will need a car to survive in Grand Rapids but the downtown area is fairly walkable and getting more and more interesting. Lots of little cafes and bars popping up lately. They have a great Maya Lin park downtown with a which will have a nice art museum (mentioned in a previous post) to be built adjacent to it.