There are a few reasons, some practical, others more personal: 

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Flexibility

Our most focused, productive hours rarely fall within the typical 9-5, Monday-Friday routine that dominates this industry. Life doesn't fit neatly into those hours. 

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Some days, meetings, emails, and phone calls take over, and the work that requires deep concentration is best done when distractions are at a minimum, even if that's outside conventional working hours. Sometimes, the best thing for our minds and creativity is a mid-day walk in the forest. 

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Family, appointments, and the ebb and flow of life shouldn't feel like interruptions, they are just part of life.  We want to work in a way that acknowledges and creates space for it. 

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Authenticity

We want to show up as ourselves. Not as a performance, and not as extensions of someone else's brand or expectations. 

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Every single person has strengths and weaknesses, and we believe that should be okay. Heck, it should be celebrated because when you find that team member with the strengths to your weaknesses (or vice versa) it can be an absolute force for amazingness! 

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We value ways of working that accommodate individuality, and that take openness and vulnerability, qualities that aren't typically celebrated in the corporate world. 

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We're not interested in maintaining a "professional facade" just for the sake of appearances. We want to build environments where people can show up as they are, and where their contributions are genuinely seen and valued.

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The Work, and the Clients

We want to do meaningful work with clients who care deeply about their communities and the future we are shaping together. 

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We take on projects that resonate with us.  Work that considers the environment, the community, and the generations to come. We pay close attention to the values of potential clients, how they frame their goals, and the kind of change they're trying to make. 

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It's not about fame, publicity, or magazine spreads. And while we absolutely need to sustain a business and pay fair wages, financial gain isn't the primary goal. 

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If we take the commercial pressures out of it (the race to the bottom that the architecture profession is becoming is a bigger conversation for another time), the work, and the people we work with are about much more than "a building". They are partners and collaborators who share a vision for better communities both now and in the future. And that's the kind of work we want to be part of. 

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It's never just a building. It's the idea behind it, the story, the vision, the purpose.