Ethan Pulvermacher
An Illinois native, grew up alongside his three siblings in Naperville, Illinois, and attended the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. After finding his passion in architecture, he received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the IIT in the spring of 2025. For three years while at IIT, worked in a wood and metals shop on campus and interned at OPN for the summer of 2024.
’s “why” comes from people. Their story, needs, ideas, and perspectives all bring inspiration to his work. To him, architecture isn’t just about a physical space. It’s also about the culmination of people’s thoughts and feelings. He enjoys how all these very different parts of a project come together; even the smallest detail has a place.
Q: When did you know you wanted to be an architect?
A: When I visited IIT [I was] planning to go for… engineering. There was a point where my parents were talking to one of the professors, and I found myself drifting towards the architecture table. I couldn’t see myself doing math all day, so on a whim I made the switch. I don’t regret it.
Q: If you were a cake, which flavor would you be and why?
A: Cheesecake. It might be a rather neutral flavor, but the amount of attention into each of its elements makes it much greater than the sum of its parts.
