BNIM (Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell, Inc.) is an architecture and design firm founded in 1970 in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. BNIM’s notable sustainable projects include the Iowa Utilities Board – Office of Consumer Advocate Office Building in

Des Moines, IA Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, the Omega Center for Sustainable Living at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, New York (Living Building and LEED Platinum), the School of Nursing and Student Community Center at

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) is a public academic health science center in Houston, Texas, United States. It was created in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents. It is located ...

(LEED Gold), and the Lewis and Clark State Office Building in

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

(LEED Platinum).

History

The firm was founded in 1970 in Kansas City, MO as Patty Berkebile Nelson Love Architects (PBNL) by R. Bruce Patty, Robert J. Berkebile, Thompson C. Nelson and William Love. Dating to its early history, the firm is dedicated to strengthening the urban core with projects and the civic involvement of firm members. Two of the principals (Bob Berkebile and Tom Nelson) were members of a joint venture, PBNDML, that designed the Hyatt Regency Crown Center that was site of the 1981 Hyatt Regency walkway collapse. Architect

Edward Larrabee Barnes Edward Larrabee Barnes (April 22, 1915 – September 22, 2004) was an American architect. His work was characterized by the "fusing fModernism with vernacular architecture and understated design." Barnes was best known for his adherence to st ...

was the formal master of the hotel. However, two local Kansas City firms merged to formally design the hotel-including a consortium of R. Bruce Patty, Bob Berkebile and Tom Nelson (PBN), and Duncan Monroe Lefevre (DML). Investigation of the accident determined the failure to be the fault of the structural engineer. In 1987, Patty, Berkebile and Nelson formed a new firm with David Immenschuh, known as PBNI Architects. They were to design One Kansas City Place which is the tallest building in Missouri. In 1991, Berkebile, Nelson and Immenschuh were joined by Steve McDowell and became Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell (BNIM).

Description

The firm’s practice areas include

sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

and community redevelopment; urban planning and design; educational facilities; campus master planning; civic, state and federal government work; residential, and corporate office spaces. The firm has offices in Kansas City, Missouri;

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

; and

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Notable Projects

Greensburg, Kansas Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kiowa County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of the city was 740. It is home to the world's largest hand-dug well. On the evening of May 4, 2007, Gre ...

master plan following May 2007 Tornado Outbreak devastation *

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is in Downtown Kansas City, downtown Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, at 16th and Broadway, near the city's Power & Light District, the T-Mobile Center and the Crossroads, Kansas Cit ...

, Kansas City, MO (Executive Architect for

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie (; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author. He is well known for incorporating principles of socially responsible design throughout his six-decade career. His projects include cultural, ed ...

) *Omega Center for Sustainable Living, Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Rhinebeck, NY (The OCSL was one of the first two buildings in the world to be certified as "living" by the International Living Building Institute.) *Make It Right, New Orleans, LA * Nelson-Atkins Museum Bloch Addition, Kansas City, MO (Architect of Record for

Steven Holl Steven Holl (born December 9, 1947) is a New York–based American architect and watercolorist. His work includes the 2022 Rubenstein Commons at the Institute for Advanced Study; the 2020 Campus expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston inc ...

) *The School of Nursing and Student Community Center at

, Houston, TX (with Lake, Flato) *Fayez S. Sarofim Research Building, Home of The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX *

Fort Osage Fort Osage (also known as Fort Clark or Fort Sibley) was an early 19th-century factory trading post run by the United States Government in western Missouri on the American frontier; it was located in present-day Sibley, Missouri. The Treaty ...

Education Center, Sibley, MO * H. L. Hunley (submarine) Museum, Charleston, SC (in consortium) * Union Station (Kansas City) – Science City Addition (in consortium with other architects) * C. K. Choi Building,

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, Vancouver, BC, Canada (consultant to Matsuzaki Wright Architects Inc.) * St. Joseph Civic Arena, St. Joseph, MO (1980) * John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts addition (Architect of Record for

) 2013 *

University of Missouri School of Music The School of Music is an academic division of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Its focus is the study of music, awarding baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees as part of the College of Arts and Science. The instituti ...

, Sinqfied Music Center, Columbia, MO (2020)

Awards

* 2010:

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

Architecture Firm Award The Architecture Firm Award is the highest honor that the American Institute of Architects can bestow on an architecture firm for consistently producing distinguished architecture. Prior recipients of the AIA Architecture Firm Award include: *2025 ...

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.bnim.com/ Architecture firms based in Missouri Companies based in Kansas City, Missouri