Senior Architect (April 2006 – Nov. 2009)
Bruce Grulke was previously a Senior Architect for Clark Nexsen Architecture and Engineering on various projects that included a school expansion and addition funded under through a PPEA. While still under the purview of the Bureau of Capital Outlay Management, the renovations for Jefferson Forest High School (Thomas Jefferson’s country home is in nearby Forest, Virginia) were initially proposed at half the cost of a previous design/bid/build project for the same program and were delivered to the School Board 6 months ahead of schedule and $1 million under the reduced budget. Mr. Grulke proposed the LEED program for a LEED Silver Parking Garage in Quantico, Virginia, a LEED Silver 1000 Room Army Lodge in Petersburg, and a LEED prototype for the Navy Federal Credit Union. As a consultant to the energy manager for the Federal Correction Center in Petersburg, Virginia, Mr. Grulke designed the housing for a bio-mass boiler and integrated the technology into the existing prison facility. Mr Grulke also rescued the LEED Certification for a Dormitory on the campus of William and Mary and suggested that the Certification be confirmed before the public announcement is made. The firm did branch banks for the NFCU throughout the country and was having difficulty pulling permits in some locations. The projects were the guinea pigs for the conversion to REVIT (BIM technology) and Mr. Grulke was a guinea pig for mentoring interns by example, on how to find and reference the right building code for each state, how to get the energy analysis done for the right climatic conditions, how to use Linx software to write the specs from scratch on each project, and how to not flunk sand box when dealing with the Building Code Officials. Mr. Grulke was also the architect of record on a Biomass Boiler for the Federal Corrections Center in Petersburg, Virginia and for the $6 million renovations to the historic USS WISCONSIN so that visitors could tour the ship below decks and children could sleep in the berths overnight and breakfast in the Mess.
Senior Architect (Mar. 2004 – Apr. 2006)
Bruce Grulke provided the Historical American Building Survey drawings for the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC and a historic preservation study and assessment for the Old Seaplane Hangar (Billy Mitchell learned how to bomb naval ships there) at Langley, AFB. Mr. Grulke was responsible, in coordination with four other architectural firms, with the Physical Assessment of the Fort Monroe campus, in preparation for turning the site over to the National Park Service. There was a Light rail Station for the Defense Intelligence Agency, Stars – a statewide communication facility for the Virginia State Police (BCOM), but the rest was prison work that ranged in size from $5 million to $80 million, all designed to both BOP and BCOM standards. If one is not careful, doing one excellent job on a corrections facility becomes a life sentence.
Principal Architect (Oct. 1996 – Mar. 2004)
Bruce Grulke was the principal architect for the award winning firm, BGA Design, Inc. located in Thunderbolt and later Savannah, Georgia In this position, Mr. Grulke managed the design and construction of commercial and retail structures, restaurants, performing arts facilities, theaters, medical office buildings, medical clinics, and office buildings from inception to completion. Mr. Grulke recruited and trained a staff and delivered creative solutions for both new construction and adaptive transformations of existing properties. Clients often referred to their friends and associates to Mr. Grulke, who they called the painless architect for his ability to listen and understand their needs then assemble just what the right mix of art and technology to satisfy them. The projects ranged from infill houses for the Economic Opportunity Authority of Savannah to $20 million hotels in the Historic district. They were often award winning including a Sustainable Design Award from AIA Georgia, but were always appropriate for both the context and the client.
Director of Architectural Services (Jun. 1993 – Oct. 1996)
The Savannah College of Art & Design was a private school founded in Savannah to capitalize on the large supply of largely abandoned existing buildings. The President and Provost (the husband and wife) noticed that Professor Grulke was starting to win awards with his private practice and took him out of the classroom with the comment, “If you’re going to win awards, we want them!” With the freedom to hire as many students and faculty as were necessary, Professor/Director Grulke completed 17 projects in three years winning several preservation awards from the Historic Savannah Foundation and an Outstanding Rehabilitation Award from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. In 1997, SCAD received a National AIA Urban Design award for integrating it’s campus into Savannah’s historical context. The projects ranged in size from the College’s Bed & Breakfast for visiting dignitaries to an 88,000 square foot library in an abandoned mercantile building in the heart of the city. The projects were all completed in the design/build format which proved to be extraordinarily effective. When the President and Provost divorced, many of Professor Grulke’s new clients came from his many presentations to Savannah’s Historic Review Board.
Professor of Architecture (Aug. 1991 – Jun. 1996)
Professor Grulke offered courses in Introduction to Architecture, Design Studio II and III, Masonry Technology, Systems Integrations, Preservation Economics, Real Estate Finance, Construction Technology and Preservation Science, Environmental Controls I, Structures I, II, and III, AutoCAD, FormZ. Professor Grulke introduced graphical methods for acoustics, structural calculation and masonry design and was known for his Friday Field Trips to job sites and building product manufacturers. The students referred to the trips as “looking cerebral on the job site” and would spend Friday (their day off) with professor Grulke even if they weren’t enrolled in one of his classes. Professor Grulke was known for his brick days, and wood days, and hosted the Technology Conference for the Associated Collegiate Schools of Architecture two years running.
Assistant Professor of Architecture (Aug. 1988 – Aug. 1991)
Assistant Professor Grulke offered course in: Second Year Architectural Design, Third Year Architectural Design, Active Building Systems, CAD, Advanced CAD, Asbestos Abatement Project Designer, Inspection & Assessment, Management Planner, and Operations & Maintenance. Assistant Professor Grulke focused on working with light and sound which resulted in the design and construction of a day lighting simulator on campus and the commission for the lighting and day lighting design for the Walter Anderson Museum in Gulfport, Mississippi. The structure survived Hurricane Katrina but Walter Anderson used the barrier islands as his outdoor studio, and they seem to be in peril at the moment.
Assistant Professor of Engineering (Aug. 1986 – Aug. 1988)
Assistant professor Grulke offered course in Engineering Design Graphics, CAD, Project Management, Architectural Systems, and Community Design Studio. After South Dakota State University almost lost accreditation for its’ engineering program (Briggs & Stratton), Dean Ernest Buckley had returned to his alma mater to “right the ship.” Part of his agenda was the establishment of an architectural degree track. There was no money for any new programs and assistant professor Grulke taught four classes of engineering graphics to fulfill his obligations to the University and volunteered two additional architectural classes and they rest of the administrative effort. In addition to his classroom duties, assistant professor Grulke traveled throughout the state developing service projects to promote both the University and the profession. Professor Grulke created terrazzo tiles using petrified wood logs that the farmers had dragged to the side of the road, after a well orchestrated ritual of profane incantations and dance. There was a grant for the South Dakota State Housing Office to design and construct an Eldercare Alternative home addition inside one of the dead stores in the local mall and another grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to develop the use of Gumbo, a primordial goo that lay in some case just six inches below the surface of the topsoil, into thin brick veneer. The architecture program grew from 8 students to 80 students in two years with matriculation agreements with accredited programs in surrounding states, when Dean Buckley died.
Project Architect and Construction Site Expediter (Jun. 1985 – Oct. 1986)
Bruce Grulke was the project architect for the historical restoration of the Concessions and Administration buildings on Liberty Island. There were five architectural firms, one construction manager, 385 sub-contractors, and countless government agencies, review boards, and public forums for vetting the restoration plans. Getting your work done meant an extraordinary amount of site inspections and research and finding and scheduling the right sub-contractor to perform the work. The site trailers were set along a curving path and during winter months, each seemed to have a fire burning in drums for warmth which made them resemble medieval Guild Halls. Due to funding concerns, all of the work was prioritized, but everything was “in the moment” as the image of President Reagan at the relighting ceremony was always on everyone’s mind. Lee Iacoccoa (which he said stood for I Am Chairman Of Chrysler Corporation of America) was also keenly aware of this and on his site visit in October, noted that the Concessions and Administration buildings were the only project components that were on schedule and budget. Mr. Iacoccoa put spending limits on all of the other projects and made sure that Bruce Grulke was out on the Island as Construction Site expediter for the rest of the $67 million restoration, not including donated materials or labor.
Project Architect (Jun. 1984 – Oct. 1985)
Sidney Phillip Gilbert was well known for the design of high end corporate interiors but he didn’t have any architects on staff. And he had a client, WOR-TV, that wanted television broadcasting studios along with their corporate offices in a new/slightly used structure outside of the New York City. Bruce Grulke served as the project architect and later as the project manager for the renovation of a 110,000 square foot tennis and racquetball facility in Secaucus, New Jersey. In an early design/build project, SPGA was hired by the Construction Manager due to the intense deadline. Senator Bill Bradley had passed special legislation that would allow WOR to keep their broadcasting license as long as they moved to New Jersey and broadcast by a certain date. Mr. Grulke worked on several other projects for Gulf and Western, Paramount Pictures, and the Met Life Buildings, but the exigencies of life in the field had top priority.
Senior Staff Architect (Jun. 1982 – Oct. 1984)
Real Property Services provided Citibank with construction, project accounting, project management and architectural services. As a senior staff architect, Bruce Grulke created designs for internal clients and the conceptual designs for high rise buildings around the country, two of which were in built in California: Oxford Properties in Los Angeles and One Sansome Street in San Francisco. Everything was right with the world until other banking institutions noticed that the Citibank never really occupied Citicorp Center which was designed to break even at a leasing rate of $28 per square foot but yielding $65 on the very first day, and filed complaints that the company was acting as a developer rather than a financial institution. Bruce Grulke used the many corporate churns that followed to design and implement the first installations of Steelcase and Knoll office furniture, write portions of Citibank’s Office Planning Guide, and develop an analytic method for programming and space planning called “productivity by design” that was later used as the core of a course for facility planners at Baruch College CUNY.
Job Captain (Aug. 1981 – Jun. 1982)
Bruce Grulke produced corporate office designs for AFS International, American Management and Investment (mangers for “Blondie” at the time), the toy store at Williamsburg, the gift shop in the Dallas Museum of fine Arts, The poster shop in the Metropolitan Art Museum (New York) and the Greenwich Hospital Gift Shop. Mr. Grulke also revised and updated the International Facilities Planning Study for McKinsey and Company then used it to design their corporate office in Stamford, Connecticut. Tom Peters was the project manager for McKinsey and he went on to write “The Search for Excellence” and star in his own television program on PBS of the same name. The intensity of this experience change Bruce Grulke’s design process and continued to inspire him throughout his career.
Architectural Intern (Jun. 1977 – Jan. 1980)
Bruce Grulke had a relatively normal experience as a cub draftsman working in Port Columbus International Airport, Nationwide Insurance Tower, Nationwide Insurance Parking Garage, Saint Andrews Parish School, Medical Office Buildings, Data Centers for the Ohio College Library Center, Day Care Facilities, and a baby’s milk factory for Ross Laboratories. Most interns were gouging each other’s eyes out trying to design something, anything, even the toilet rooms, but Mr. Grulke stayed out of the fray and focused on cost estimating, project scheduling, specifications, and feasibility studies. On an extracurricular note, Mr. Grulke continued to make presentations to students through the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Artists-in-the–Schools program and established the very first design based explorer scout troop in the country.
Architect in Residence/Architects in Schools (Sep. 1976 – Jun. 1977)
Bruce Grulke participated in the very first year of the National Endowment for the Art’s Architect in Schools program. Mr. Grulke executed full body casts of student volunteers and created real life sculptures for them to base their designs of an interior courtyard. HUD donated a house and Mr. Grulke found donated materials to use as a learning laboratory for the EMR students to provide them with the dignity of knowing how to take care of things around the house. Mr. Grulke developed a land use simulation training game that was published and “played” for many years after his residency. There were many projects throughout the year but a chance encounter with a blind student led to thirty years of research on environmental perception and his current round of patents.
Education:
Bachelor of Science in Architecture, The Ohio State University. 1976.
Summa Cum Laude
Master of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley. 1981.
Cum Laude
Professional Registrations and Licenses:
Licensed Architect - State of Virginia, State of New York
State of South Dakota, State of Mississippi, State of Georgia, State of South Carolina
Professional Certificates:
NCARB, LEED AP
