Welcome to the place that makes places. We’re glad you found us.
We help owners, operators, and developers make sense of place.
Wherever the place may be, we’ve developed a process to get us there. From the smallest details to the biggest picture, we dive deep on research, focus on the feelings, engage all the senses, and tell stories that create a sense of belonging.
Research, Strategy, Branding, Naming, and Interior Design.
How we get to the final product varies from project to project. We’ve got the years of experience to identify what’s required to make a brand and space come to life in the best, shiniest, possible ways.
With roots in Portland, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Tacoma, our reach spans continents, delivering transformative projects from New York to Singapore.
We bring a curiosity, artful sensibility and genuine optimism to every project, welcoming perspectives from everywhere and working in sync with our clients as creative partners in realizing their brand.
Every detail was considered in a way that was painfully thoughtful—it literally made my eyes well up. Liljestrand House, Honolulu, HI
I’m used to seeing architecture built by adding. This was “built” by taking away. Petra, Jordan
There is a little beach at the end of the big beach. It’s vast and quiet. Wrapped around its edges are a mountain, a grassy dune, the roaring ocean, and me. Sometimes the tide is in and sometimes the tide is out. And at the center of this marbled paradise of sand and water, there is a wedge, a storied stump protruding from the earth. It’s here where the great blue heron rests. A divine post, a pause in time, peace from the hunt. Little Beach, Oregon Coast
Canadian bookmaker and nature enthusiast. Kim will lead the creative direction to ensure we meet the highest design standards.
This is nowhere—and in that lies the freedom of the open road, the allure of the unknown, and the simple joy of breakfast included. This is the middle of nowhere, Utah, where the journey was just as beautiful as the destination.
Feline fanatic, amateur tap dancer, and enthusiastic list maker who enjoys a decent snack plate. Sarah brings varied experience, an eagle eye, and enthusiasm for research.
Paper is flying around the room unnaturally, as though compelled by magic. The whirring of strange machines, the ringing of telephones, and the smell of cigarettes waft from the tiny shop. I continue past, as the door shuts, on my jaunt through SF Chinatown.
Wake up, two stops. Breakfast, all day. Black coffee, two eggs. Rye toast, refill. Cash only, Check please. New York, New York. La Bonbonniere, NYC
Uphill battles doesn’t mean getting rid of hills. Maybe it’s building the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. Maybe it’s adapting to the neighborhood’s needs, running downhill for the morning commute and uphill for the hustle home. Maybe it’s less destruction, and more creation. Central-Mid-Levels Escalators, Hong Kong
Mexico City means everything to me. From the streets overflowing with tropical plants, to the architecture so beautifully lived in and weathered, to the people, the art, the energy and, possibly most importantly, the food. My. Gawd. The food - from the humblest street cart to Michelin-starred cuisine, the food of CDMX is bursting with soulfulness in a way I have never experienced anywhere else I’ve travelled (and I’ve been nearly everywhere). The city is crowded, complicated, frenetic and often times fatiguing and I wouldn’t want it any other way. It wraps you up in its energy and it’s warmth and if you welcome it, it will never let you go.
Inside a sculpture of a building, you find giant canvases without names all by one artist inviting you to unpack idea and emotion through abstract shapes, colors, and lines. What only you can see is what only you can get. Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO, USA
Not so much a place, as a type of place. Without buildings, bridges, people, cars, busses. Without infrastructure, without obstruction. When your eyes can reach out and touch the horizon; give them time to adjust. Take in the expanse of land, visual information, distance. No markers. Without connotation. Close and far blur into sameness. The Long View, USA
After the long car ride through winding roads, parking here puts me at ease. The crisp air and smell of seaweed cure any lingering carsickness. If you get there early enough, the whole place is sprawled with domesticated rabbits— beach bunnies, descendants of pet rabbits released 30+ years ago. A brief connection to family, the wind, the sea. Cannon Beach, Oregon
We’ve got friends all over that help us flex into bigger and better spaces.
Have some hidden talents you’re wanting to unleash? Interested in working with us? Drop us a line.
1. Everything is an Opportunity
2. Best Idea Wins
3. Stay Outside
4. Water the Plants
Limitations, speed bumps, and course changes are going to be a part of every job—we choose to use them as ways to be more creative and make better work.
We champion an idea meritocracy—a good idea can and does come from anyone.
We approach our work with more questions than answers. By starting with a “beginner’s mind,” we can clear the noise and get to the root of what matters.
Regardless of our titles, our job descriptions are simple: make everyone else’s lives easier. How can we help?
