Forty Under 40: Dave Burris

For Dave Burris, architecture is about creative problem-solving. “I love the idea of being able to solve other people’s problems,” he said. “One day you’ve got your problem on a sketch of paper, and a year later you can go and touch and feel what was once a sketch in your head.”

Originally from Columbia, Mo., Burris graduated from the University of Arkansas in December 2002 with an architecture degree. He spent the next four years working in St. Louis and Springfield, Mo.

In 2006, Rogers architect Jim Mangold, for whom Burris worked summers in college, asked Burris to join his firm as he moved toward retirement. Burris said Mangold’s mentorship and leadership in shaping the business to be client-oriented were invaluable.

Burris bought the business in 2008, and in 2014 changed the name to Burris Architecture. As owner and principal architect, Burris manages projects from design to reality.

Designing everything from homes in downtown Bentonville to churches, notable projects include Keypoint Church, The Haxton District, Rush Running, Arkansas Musicworks, Bentonville Community Church of the Nazarene, Snack Lab, the addition to the Daisy Outdoor Products factory in Rogers and The Shoulder Center of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Helping shape the community through architecture drives Burris.

“I believe architecture is something greater than designing and putting out papers and plans,” he said. “I believe it has a value that adds value to the community.”

In the future, Burris would like to serve on Bentonville’s planning commission. He hopes to spur redevelopment of the North Walton Boulevard corridor. To be part of the growth, Burris built a new office for the firm in 2016, just east of the intersection of North Walton and Tiger boulevards.