Kari Uhlenkamp, an architect in our Davenport, Iowa office, is celebrating one year with us. She leads and manages the projects through all phases. Currently, she’s designing Sudlow Middle School (Davenport Community Schools) and Bettendorf Community School District’s Alternative High School – Edison Academy.
Growing up in a family of engineers, solving problems and building things were always happening around the house. But it wasn’t until one of her art teachers brought architectural magazines to class that Kari became intrigued with architecture. Knowing she liked art and building things, architecture fit into the mix.
As an architect, Kari enjoys problem-solving to design facilities. Designing K-12 schools fulfills Kari’s passion for helping students, as education has always been important. Kari shares, “I give teachers a lot of credit because I know I couldn’t be one, but I love helping students, so designing functional, comfortable, and inclusive spaces for students and educators is my way of giving back to schools.”
Kari also enjoys mentoring the younger generations and sharing her career with students to open their eyes to other careers, like architecture. “I’d love to have the same impact on a student as my art teacher did on me when he brought in the architecture magazines,” Kari added.
While her kids keep her busy outside of work, that doesn’t stop Kari from finding time to work on her artwork or get outside to hike or paddleboard.
