design

Due to the measurable effects that buildings have on our societies, the process of their design – and who has access to design services – is of civic concern. Building Bureau directly serves public clients, stakeholders, and communities through architecture and acts as a steward of the built environment. Our nonprofit model is critical to our approach, because we are able to partner directly with other mission driven organizations to offer discounted design services to those who need it most. Building Bureau operates at the nexus of state, community, and market actors. We often work through a community-engaged design process that foregrounds our partners and their requirements.

In our day-to-day design process as architects, we employ passive design strategies like solar orientation, daylighting, and natural ventilation to reduce operational carbon and reliance on artificial mechanical and electrical equipment. And we use local, low-carbon materials to reduce carbon footprint while providing opportunities for local labor on the job site. We work with local engineers and contractors on each project. See our Partners page for more information.