Architects in Michigan are a local partner in the Flint area for 60 years, and we look forward to being engaged with Mary free bed and covenant health care in the Saginaw area and with our license to practice architecture in the sixth Grade Lakes State region area, we are capable and ready to grow with you as Mary free bed expands across the nation.
The leadership at Architects in Michigan architects is very cognizant and aware of the lack of equity and diversity in the architectural and engineering practice and in the, in the profession of architecture. And we are committed to creating a more inclusive and diverse environment in our office and with those consultants that we choose to work with. And, we as members of the American Institute of Architects, have supported the equity in architecture research project, which is also known as equity by design. And we’ve been following this, research since the beginnings of the project in 2012 and each year has, as it has evolved and provided more documentation, research and statistics on equity, diversity and inclusion in the profession of architecture. And here at the office of Sedgewick and Ferweda Architects and for Wetta architects, we are dedicated to, promoting an equitable, a horizontal workplace where everyone has an equal voice in the design and decision making process, with, clarity and, prejudice involved. And so Architects in Michigan are, currently a staff of seven architects and designers. And right now 50% or of our staff are women, 15% of our staff are Hispanic or Latino. And the leadership of the office is, dedicated in making sure that we’re not seeking to discriminate from anyone who has talent and passion for architecture. And we are always, embodying and trying to
Architects in Michigan stand up for the, the future of our profession. And right now the biggest concern, that the AIA at the national level is addressing and tackling is the lack of diversity and what is known as the missing 32%. And that represents, the number of, percentage of women in minority architects that leave the field at some point during their career stages, for a numerous amount of reasons. However, they do not return to the profession. And that is a big question and concern to fill. And so what we are looking to do as a firm and as an member from of the American Institute of Architects is to, commit to opening our doors to any staff or a staff member or a potential employee. regardless of their ethnicity or gender or anything that would be considered a bias. We are, always looking to break down those barriers, create an equitable practice, and also support a work life balance that allows all members of our staff to take time off when needed.
if it regards, any personal time off not just sick time or vacation time, but if there is, leaves required for medical or any other family related issues than we are. we’ve structured our practice to be more of an accountability practice, versus a clock in, clock out from. And so Architects in Michigan sdwant to make sure that everyone here, can feel comfortable to have flexible hours, but we choose to balance that schedule with making sure that our projects are done correctly on time and meet our client’s needs at any moment. So this creates a opportunity for our firm to have a more dynamic, staff arrangement. we, we work hard to find a cultural fit for every employee and we look to, encourage all of our employees to pursue professional development. And, if that’s working with the AIA, volunteering locally or volunteering in their home town. but we are encourage, a certain amount of time each week for our employees to these extra curricular activities that don’t, always, or relate to a billable service, but, develop our staff to be more citizen architect minded and community engaged practitioners so that they represent the future of this profession personality as well as they are more than just an architect or a designer, but they represent a professional that has a vast amount of experience in diverse, background and are able to communicate in the architecture community as well as the community abroad, which is very important to us to stand apart from our peers as a leader in architecture and the community, development.
Architects in Michigan architects has been continuously practicing architecture, urban design and planning for over 60 years in Flint, Michigan. We have been based in this city, for that amount of time. the beginning of our firm was founded by Tom Sedgewick and Ferweda Architects, senior as, a sole practitioner in the city of Flint in 1958 and since then, Sedgewick and Ferweda Architects and for what it has evolved over the decades and, grew from a small office to a large practice during the, late sixties and seventies when, downtown Flint and the surrounding suburbs were expanding. And, all of the development was, directly related to the automotive industry here in Flint. And it spurred a lot of built environment development in a variety of different, typologies. Architects in Michigan, Tom Sedgewick senior was a leader in the design of educational facilities for the Flint public schools, civic buildings for the city of Flint, as well as Genesee county courthouse building, administrator municipal administrative building, which is seated here in Flint, for the county and many more buildings.
even in, in the, for the University of Michigan, Flint, the governmental offices in Lansing for the state. And since then, the firm has continued to evolve, over the, over the decades. And, Tom Sedgewick senior partnered with, Don Sellers. And together they continued to practice, building out the civic institutions of the city of Flint. And after, Tom Sedgewick senior died in the year 2000, Jeffery Ferweda joined the firm with Tom Sedgewick, son, Steven. And together, today Tom or Steve and Jeff are working as partners and for the past 20 years, they have developed the next generation of what Sedgewick and Ferweda Architects and for what it exists as today and is moving forward into the future as one of the premier healthcare architects in Michigan and a diverse staff that is seeking to develop quality architecture projects that are not only suitable for today, Architects in Michigan is looking forward to the future in exploring higher levels of sustainability and energy efficiency. And we look forward to partnering with Mary Free Bed to develop the next prototype of premier rehabilitation centers.