My background is wide and varied with over 31 years of practical design and architectural experience. As a draftsman while pursuing a degree in Fine Arts I began my career with the Minson & Hollander company in Salt Lake City, Utah. There I was introduced to all the detailed points of drafting commercial office buildings, warehouse space, single family and multi-family dwellings. Later while I completed my graduate degree, I had the opportunity to work for one of the premier firms in Utah: DeLaMare, Woodruff & Stephan. I was quickly assigned the responsibility of project manager where I had the opportunity to be instrumental in the design, drafting and overseeing the project of a world class casino, multi-family resort and a condominium complex with restaurants and adjoining commercial and retail structures.
After receiving my Masters Degree in Architecture, I began work with a large architectural firm in Dallas Texas, WSI. At WSI I gained the experience as project manager and draftsman in the design of a very large, commercial warehouse spaces for one of America's largest auto parts company. While at WSI, I oversaw one of the company's most prestigious projects: a multi-million dollar hotel and casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
Returning to Utah, I joined the respected firm of JSA, to design, draft and work exclusively on large scale single and multi-family housing and planned unit developments, as well as office and retail projects in the highly affluent ski resort of Park City, Utah.
I was hired away from JSA by a well known national company to the position of key corporate architect for all of their in-house expansion projects. This company is a billion dollar conglomerate, my responsibility with this company was to mange staff, organize construction documents, specifications and bid proposals for their convenience stores and truck plaza's across the entire United States.
After years of working for these prestigious firms I made the decision to open my own firm in 2001. Having now the practical experience of problem-solving, leadership opportunities and making major decisions for other companies, I have a successful firm of my own. I currently have an accomplished staff of 6 draftsmen. With my experience, Mendenhall Architecture & Design has had the opportunity to work on large scale single and multi-family homes, planned unit developments, master planning of destination resort/hotel, commercial office buildings and major retail projects.
While few firms were drafting in three dimension, I implemented our office with the programs: Autodesk Architecture, Sketchup, and others that proved to dramatically improve productivity and saved time. This is simply another example of how my firm has developed an ability for strong skill sets, written and verbal communications and drawing objectives.
There are three things that continue to set me apart from others: my customer service, my technology experience and my passion for this work. My philosophy for customer service is to thoroughly understand the client's needs. My ability to use my education, background experience and design talent to create a unique structure that meets their aspirations and budget. Clients become friends, subsequently for my firm, they become repeat clients. They have provided us with referrals and with it, this firm's reliable, creative reputation.
My passion for architecture and design can be seen in my artistic talents that are reflected in my initial designs, presentations and final plans.
