FGM Architects builds relationships with school districts, communities

    Tim Kwiatkowski, managing director of FGM Architects’ O’Fallon and St. Louis offices, says relationships with people and communities “drive everything we do.”
    “At FGM, we design every school as if our children were learning there, every police and fire station as if it housed the first responders who protect our families and every city hall as if it were the symbol of the civic life we share with our neighbors,” he said.
    He said FGM is among the top 25 architecture firms nationally in the PK-12 school marketplace
    FGM is currently working with more than 50 school districts in Illinois and Missouri. In 2018 the firm celebrated 17 years of partnership with Mascoutah School District by beginning work on the third strategic expansion of Mascoutah Middle School. Brand-new Wingate Elementary and the Mascoutah High School are like jewels-in-the-crown for families of this growing community, he said.
    Kwiatkowski said the firm is excited to have launched new district architect partnerships with Lebanon Community Unit School District 9 and Belle Valley School District 119.
    And, he said, FGM architects are leaders in the design of safe, secure facilities. Right now, two Missouri school districts (Northwest R-1 and Dunklin R-5) are building FEMA-funded safe rooms and tornado shelters in elementary schools as a result of FGM safety/security audits.
    Steve Raskin, FGM principal architect says, “In our region, we have to be prepared. At FGM, we help leverage the resources needed to design and build the safe shelters that protect communities.”
    FGM also knows what communities need to keep their police, fire and emergency management centers up to speed, Kwiatkowski said. Recently, Franklin County, Mo., officials and FGM began the design process for an expanded county jail with capacity for up to 244 beds as well as renovated operations facilities for the County Sheriff’s department.
    FGM architects are expert in the adaptive reuse of community assets, he said. This year, Lincoln, Ill., celebrated its new police station — converted from a mid-century school building the community had outgrown. The new Lincoln Police Station features a state-of-art evidence processing lab and high-capacity training room that other jurisdictions can use as well.
    This spring, the St. Peters, Mo., community will celebrate the opening of the FGM-designed Golf and Banquet Center, a new venue for dining, relaxing, tournaments and special celebrations that will overlook the city’s 18-hole municipal golf course.
    “We hit a hole in one when we selected FGM to replace an aged, undersized clubhouse with a modern, new facility,” said Jeff Hutsler, of the city of St. Peters.
    FGM was also named an Outstanding Emerging Professional Friendly Firm by the Central States Region of the Emerging Professionals Committee of the American Institute of Architects.