To help a client discover and then realize an optimal project requires a disciplined and coordinated accounting for many worries: climate, carbon, water, and energy data and challenges; site conditions, surroundings, and potential; space sizes, functions, and service requirements; time, cost, and market parameters; building, traffic, legal, historical, and cultural contexts; manufacturing, construction, weathering, and maintenance sequences; and many other priorities, including the inevitability of future change and adaptation.

To miss any one of these things can cost a project dearly, but good design is precisely the process of getting things right the first time. Resourcefulness – the ability to read, question, and untangle a situation; to spot risks, opportunities, and available tools; and to unify diverse demands in a coherent, efficient plan – is decisive.

Good design solves problems, but great design fits: There is order. All parts belong to the whole. New things work in old settings. The materials are authentic, pleasing, resonant – each in character and in time. Nothing grabs your attention without also rewarding it: a view, a seat, a drawer or a tree just where you need it; a bit of sunshine, heat, texture, quiet, or shadow; even an occasional surprise turn, just so. These details compose a special place, which welcomes you and others, and even seemed to know you were coming. It functions well, feels lucid, safe, and comfortable, lasts, and holds memories.

To make projects and places in this way is our Responsibility, to our clients, to their users and customers, and to the landscapes, cities, society and world in which we all live and work together. We craft space with purpose and care.

We do not pretend that these things are easy to achieve, but often the sweat, scrounging, and refinement are all in proportion to the promise of the work and the integrity of the workers. Skilled and thorough people set standards and expect the same from others, and, when we can rely on true partners, even the toughest tasks can be a pleasure. To reach this plane – of unified planning, documentation, and delivery – is precisely why we assemble such predictably devoted, expert, and conscientious teams; respect and listen to them; establish shared definitions of success and unmistakable lines of responsibility; and demand their best.

We know that no one works alone, and that good people want to love their work and their days working. We know that tight teams are more relaxed, fast, happy, and successful, and that clear and simple thinking helps everyone to make good decisions with less stress and more joy. We engage demanding clients and earn their Trust.