Architecture and engineering firm Interplan LLC announces a major milestone: celebrating its 50th anniversary. Launched in 1972 in a little red school house in Lemont, Illinois, Interplan now prepares the next generation of young leaders to keep this legacy brand vibrant and relevant while building upon the values established by the original visionary leaders.
At a time when humanity endures extreme economic and societal pressures, Interplan has remained focused not only on the quality of its services but its relationships as well. “Over our 50-year history, we have built a company that is nationally recognized for supporting our clients with quality architecture, engineering, and permitting services amongst major retail and restaurant brands. We are now consciously investing in improving the quality of our interactions with one another. The past few years have taught us that it is equally important to communicate with empathy and serve with stick-to-it-iveness. This is a major focus of leadership as we cast our vision for our next 50 years,” says Patrick Ringlever, Interplan Managing Director. With an emphasis on culture and workplace joy, the firm enters its 50th year with several other exciting milestones. It just completed a company rebrand and relocation into a new 28,000-square-foot corporate headquarters office in Orlando, Florida.
Originally founded by Ray Chocholek and Lou Narcisi in 1972, Interplan humbly began in an old vacant school house outside of Chicago. With a vision of providing a seamless design process to its clients, the firm quickly expanded with the opening of its Orlando office in 1982, headed up by architect Harvey Jacoby. To better serve its clients, Jacoby brought MEP engineering and permitting services in-house for the first time in 1987. The experience was further enhanced with the Civil Engineering Department being established soon after in 1993. Interplan was a pioneer in offering multiple services all under one roof, setting the industry standard over the past few decades.
Today, Patrick Ringlever manages the entire company alongside a strong leadership team of architects and engineers, carrying forward the vision and soul of Interplan. New initiatives to coach, mentor, and educate team members at all levels of the company help elevate their culture and level of service. Ringlever credits much of his commitment to leadership development to his predecessor and mentor David Boyce, former Managing Director. “David took me under his wing and showed me the architecture and engineering business world up close. He instilled a passion for the industry and approachability as a leader in me through his example,” exclaims Ringlever. Interplan aims to continue developing its vision over the next 50 years with more empathy, self-awareness, and innovative ideas to create space that celebrates humanity.
