About Evolve Architects
Evolve Architects Principal partners, Brian, Maria, and Drew, have set out on a journey to take the stellar reputation of Kelly Grossman Architects and help it evolve into an even wider variety of architecture and geographic locations. As one of the premier architect firms in Austin, Texas we are here to serve. The mission set forth at Evolve Architects is to be an industry leader in designing the highest quality, most attractive places to live, work, and play. With over three decades of experience, we bridge the gap between ideas and innovation, inspiring and enriching communities and creating enduring spaces for memories of a lifetime.
Each of Evolve Architects’ Principals are deeply invested in their company’s mission. Principal Architect, Brian Lucke, is driven by the community-forward mission of Evolve Architects, designing places and spaces that meet the needs of the community. Supervisor of Architectural Services, Maria Aurora Reynoso, is passionate about the level of customer service Evolve Architects delivers to its clients, and takes pride in the team’s professionalism and responsiveness. Senior Land Planner, Drew Schelfhout, transforms even the most challenging of sites and delivers landscape designs that beautifully integrate indoor-outdoor living. Evolve currently employs over 25 architectural design experts, including project managers, landscape architects, and residential design experts, all of whom share a belief in the Evolve mission.
Evolve Architect Firm:
Our History
As our name suggests, our architecture firm has evolved over the last nearly four decades. Founded in Austin by the late Gary Chiles in 1987 as Chiles Architects, the firm quickly became a leader in the design of high-quality multi-family apartments and condominiums throughout the southern United States. Gary graduated from the University of Texas Architecture School in 1975 with the vision of designing residential architecture that would inspire a zest for life in its residents.
When Chiles Architects was founded, the first two hires were John M. Kelly and J. Mike Grossman. John was hired as a lead architect at the firm, and J. Mike was hired as a land planner. Over the next 19 years, Gary, John, and J. Mike grew Chiles Architects into a fully-staffed commercial architecture firm, which stood out from other architect firms from its inception. While other architect firms focused solely on design services, Chiles Architects built a name for itself by becoming a fully-staffed architecture firm, providing a complete range of in-house architectural services. After Gary’s passing, John and J. Mike took over the firm in 2008 and saw it through its evolution into Kelly Grossman Architects.
Kelly Grossman Architects continued to evolve into one of the best architect firms in Austin, gaining years of experience in a wide variety of architectural design. Kelly Grossman designed hundreds of projects including high density architecture, student housing, condominiums, garden multi-family architecture, commercial architecture, senior housing, and adaptive reuse architecture. With their passion and vision, John and J. Mike led Kelly Grossman Architects to become one of the most highly regarded architect firms in Austin, offering a full range of architectural services. Kelly Grossman Architects specialized in multi-family architecture and urban design. Integral to the success of the architecture firm were Brian Lucke, Maria Aurora Reynoso, and Drew Schelfhout, who took over the company when John and J. Mike retired in 2020.
Evolve Architect Firm:
Our Vision
Our vision at Evolve Architects is to provide architectural inspiration that fulfills and enriches communities to build a better future. We pride ourselves on improving the communities in which we work. The way in which our architecture fits into the community is of the utmost importance. Our architectural firm designs the spaces and places in which people live out their daily lives. Because of this, we design multi-family residential architecture, landscape architecture, and commercial architecture of which the entire community can feel proud.
Regardless of the scale or budget of a project, Evolve Architects designs buildings and landscapes that have a positive impact on their users. Those people in turn have a positive impact on their communities. Because of this, our architects and land planners get to know each community in which we work. This allows us to deliver architectural designs that enrich the community and improve the lives of community members. Our design services deliver aesthetically pleasing exterior and interior design. The interiors of our buildings are both beautiful and functional, while the exteriors are designed to fit fluidly with the surrounding landscapes. With input from our clients and an interior designer, Evolve plans each space with care and intention. Our landscape architects are experts at engineering creative design solutions for even the most challenging of sites, something with which other architectural firms often struggle. Besides the beautification of our projects, Evolve incorporates a mix of public and private access whenever possible. We incorporate community gathering spaces into our designs, providing space for public and private interface and community building.
Our commitment to sustainability speaks to our vision for the future. Sustainable architecture is the evolution the architecture industry needs for the betterment of our global community. At Evolve Architects we are already walking the path to sustainability. We have been a member of the City of Austin’s Green Building Program since 2003. This program was the country’s first of its kind and was created to encourage the use of sustainable design techniques in commercial building, residential projects, multi-family architecture, and municipal construction. Each project we have completed as part of the Green Building Program is uniquely designed as green, incorporating sustainability, livability, and constructability throughout the entire process. Our staff has experience in generating high-quality, sustainable design and construction in order to provide greater efficiency, comfort, and durability to benefit occupants and clients. We maintain positive relationships with engineers, contractors, graphic design firms, and an interior design firm, which helps Evolve deliver the highest quality architecture for each client and builder with whom we work. With over 20 projects awarded the Green Building rating from Austin Energy so far, Evolve Architects is looking forward to innovating more sustainable architectural design in the future.
The satisfaction of our clients and project owners is also crucial to our vision. Evolve Architects designs the highest quality and most competitive properties available. The ability to provide unique and innovative design solutions on time and within budget is a result of our firm’s extensive first-hand experience with construction methods and expertise in anticipating current construction costs. We maintain positive relationships with engineers, graphic design firms, contractors, planning firms, and an interior design firm, which helps Evolve deliver the highest quality architecture for each client and builder with whom we work. We consistently meet projected schedules in accordance with our client’s direction to see the project through to its successful completion. As one of the premier architect firms in Texas, Evolve has completed projects across North America.
Join The Evolve Team
Are you a highly motivated and talented individual looking for a career evolution? If so, we invite you to expand your knowledge in the fields of architecture and land planning at Evolve Architects. At Evolve we offer competitive salaries and excellent benefits, including paid overtime. Please email us your inquiries, contact information, and resumé or call our office at (512) 327-3397.
