Jim co-founded Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture in 1987.

As lead design partner, Jim has guided the firm’s placemaking practice, establishing scalable initiatives that are infused into each and every site.

He forged the firm’s expansion into all aspects of the hospitality industry, and is the Chair of HPA’s Planning and Urban Design Group, focused on large and mixed-use projects, adaptive reuse and preservation.

At any point in time, Jim is overseeing the design development of any number of projects in and around Chicago and across the United States. His work has been influential in the development of destinations like Fulton Market in Chicago, Atlantic Station in Atlanta and WeHo in Nashville, among others.

More than anything, Jim enjoys the intense collaboration associated with the concepting of a place, be it with a client, partner or young associate. He can often be found sitting in the center of the studio engaging in a charrette, and his hand-sketched drawings are often part of the early design process.

Jim holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Detroit.