The smaller parts that contribute to the bigger picture.
Collaboration
One of the most over-used, yet undefined terms. Here is our first attempt to articulate what 'collaboration' means to us.
We don’t see architecture as a solitary act. While design might begin with an individual thought, the work itself, the real work, only takes shape through conversation. Every project is the result of many people coming together with different forms of knowledge, different priorities, and different lived experiences. That mix is not a complication to be managed; it’s the heart of what makes architecture meaningful.
For us, collaboration starts with listening, and with a genuine curiosity about how others see things. Clients come with aspirations, constraints, and often an intuitive understanding of what they need. Consultants bring technical insight and rigour. Community members and future users bring lived experience, the kind that can’t be found in drawings or spreadsheets. Each of these perspectives is vital. We see our role not just as a designer, but as someone who can hold space for all of that input, helping to translate it into something coherent, intentional, and lasting.
True collaboration takes time. It requires patience, humility, and a willingness to let go of the idea that there is a single “right” answer. It’s often in the moments of friction, when ideas are challenged or expanded, that the most generative insights appear. Sometimes that means reconsidering assumptions. Sometimes it means holding a bit more space for something unfamiliar. But every time, it leads to a result that’s deeper, more layered, and more grounded in the real lives of the people it’s for.
This way of working isn’t always efficient in the conventional sense. It’s slower, more relational. But it’s also more enduring. It builds trust. It leaves room for surprise. And it produces buildings that feel as though they belong, not just to a place, but to the people connected to it.
By the time a project is complete, there’s often a formal record of authorship: a name on a sign or a set of drawings. But what matters more to us is the mosaik of people who shaped the outcome, each one leaving their mark in ways that might not be visible, but are absolutely essential to the whole.
That’s what collaboration means to us. Not just shared tasks, but shared authorship. Not just coordination, but conversation. And ultimately, a built environment that reflects the richness of the people who help create it.
Trust
Recently we have been thinking about trust.
We have been reflecting on the role of trust in our professional lives. How it shows up, how it shapes relationships, and what is possible when it is prioritized.
Watching a tech business implement a 32 hour work week has been a reminder that trust isn't just a "nice to have", it's the engine that powers healthier, more sustainable ways of working. It requires believing that your team will show up, contribute meaningfully, and care deeply without needing to be constantly monitored.
We have felt the same thing on a project using Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) principles. When the client, architect, consultants, and contractor all trust one another, when we can speak openly, share responsibility, and make decisions collaboratively it creates space for better outcomes AND a better process.
Too often in architecture, trust is missing. We hold on tight to old systems, rigid schedules, and hierarchical relationships because we are afraid of what will happen if we loosen our grip. But in our experience, when we build cultures of trust, we unlock creativity, flexibility and genuine collaboration.
Trust isn't about being naive. It's about setting the stage for people to do their best work. And believing that they will.
When the approach to a project is built on openness and shared responsibility it only works if everyone is willing to trust each other. To be transparent. To speak up. To listen. To ask questions. To show up with kindness, even when things get hard.
And I think that's what's often missing in the traditional way we practice architecture. So many firms are afraid to offer flexibility or let go of control because they don't trust their employees.
Trust doesn't just feel good, it leads to better work, stronger teams, and more thoughtful outcomes for everyone involved.
Why do this?
Why leave the (relative) stability of employment and venture out on our own?
There are a few reasons, some practical, others more personal:
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.
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.
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.
Authenticity
We want to show up as ourselves. Not as a performance, and not as extensions of someone else's brand or expectations.
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!
We value ways of working that accommodate individuality, and that take openness and vulnerability, qualities that aren't typically celebrated in the corporate world.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It's never just a building. It's the idea behind it, the story, the vision, the purpose.
