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PROFILE
Steward of the firm: Kevin Eipperle President of FEH Design (Dubuque, IA), a full-service architectural, structural engineering, inter design team that’s creating a better world through design.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
E ipperle first developed an interest in architecture when, at the age of 12, he helped his mother to design a little cabin in the woods. He then went on to help build it with his father and brothers. He was adept at math, art, and details and as time wore on, he decided to blend the three into what would turn into a lifelong career. Today, he and his team generate great design solutions and they have fun doing it. And, he’s doing it at a firm that’s been around since the late 1800s! “We have existed since the 1800s. The ownership has been passed down successfully for a long time,” Eipperle says. “We are a corporation with 16 shareholders of different levels of stock. We keep an ownership attitude, but also one of stewardship of the firm.” A CONVERSATION WITH KEVIN EIPPERLE. The Zweig Letter: Collaboration and teamwork seem important to you. Can you tell me about a recent brainstorming session that was particularly inspirational and why?
Kevin Eipperle: One great example is during the design of the new Galesburg Public Library. The design team was getting together to generate ideas for making the children’s area special. One of us mentioned the idea of connecting a theme to the community. Carl Sandburg was a resident, and we got the idea to connect him as a famous local author to the library. A couple of his children’s books had great stories and we each just kept building on each other’s ideas in an excited and intelligent way. It got everyone energized about the whole area of the building. The client loved the connections too. TZL: How has COVID-19 permanently impacted your firm’s policy on telecommuting? KE: One of the things that we love most about design is the collaboration. Collaborating remotely is not as efficient or productive. You lose the energy that you get from working shoulder to shoulder when you are working virtually. Remote workers lose the opportunity to learn by being around the veterans. It is clear that any designer working remotely
THE ZWEIG LETTER JU
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