When Zachary Verhulst, AIA, NCARB, NOMA, founded Pure Architects in 2020, it was with a powerful purpose to create spaces and places that uplift communities, positively impact the environment, and inspire people through inclusive and healthy design. To Verhulst, architecture is a vehicle and a platform in which to do good in the world, and a formal route of advocacy that can have a tangible effect across the socio-cultural, built, and natural landscape. Sustainability is not an afterthought, but rather a foundational principle, and relationships are deeply rooted and purposefully driven. And each project is an opportunity for change and a chance to contribute to a just and equitable world for the future, where people and culture are at the heart of every design.

“Pure Architects’ purpose is to use architecture to do good in the world and we do that through applying a few different lenses to our work and our relationships. We take this humble position that the buildings aren’t for us, it is usually not our resources creating them, it is often not our neighborhood, and so it takes this ability to leverage humility and empathy to understand who you are actually designing for. Business is rooted in time and effort, so hard work is the delta between good and great architecture. We aspire to do great architecture, but it takes time and energy to get there, so hard work is a really important tenant for us,” Verhulst said.