Mike and Grace founded Schemata Workshop twenty years ago with a clear idea of the kind of firm they wanted: one focused on community, direct client engagement and inspiring design.
Empowering all members of the firm to feel ownership, they eschewed putting their own names on the door, instead opting for a name that would state their intentions – one that could carry on long past their own tenure. Collaboration and inclusivity are central to the studio culture. The pair had worked for too many firms where the design was constantly being reinvented with competing ideas. They chose “schema” the Latin word for “framework,” meaning the intentional design idea from which a project evolves. “workshop” evokes collegiality, craft and teamwork in a way that is more approachable than “studio” or “atelier”.
Shortly after a trip to Copenhagen where Grace was taking a sabbatical to research cohousing in 2004, Mike and Grace had a chance to re-think their professional situations. While neither had actually aspired to taking on the responsibility or risk of owning their own firm, they realized it was the only way to practice architecture in a truly collaborative and inclusive environment.
Northwest Work Lofts, view out to Elliott Bay from the first office space.
Within one month of their decision, they had a tax ID and bank account and a lease for an office space that still needed to be built out. For that first month, Schemata Workshop operated with a total of four employees out of their Belltown condo. They soon set up shop in the Northwest Work Lofts at Denny and Western Avenues with a water view – but no acoustic or thermal insulation to speak of.
After hopscotching around several office locations, they ended up in a 12-foot-wide, 50-foot-deep “shoebox” with a skylight and 14-foot ceilings on Capitol Hill - at the site of what would become their permanent home. A former garage, their new space in the one-story brick structure was originally the building’s loading bay with the rest of the building occupied by a tattoo parlor.
1919 Franklin Auto Repair Building. Entrance to Schemata Workshop was past the espresso cart on the left.
The former Hot Rod Pinstriping Garage adjacent to the Lucky Devil Tattoo Parlor, and behind the Peoples Republic of Coffee.
Lucky Devil Tattoo Parlor artists move two blocks south to found Dark Age Tattoo Parlor, and Schemata Workshop takes over the entire 2,400 sf building.
A major milestone in 2016 was the construction of CHUC (Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing) on the same site. Reflecting their interest in creating intentional communities, the five-story building has residential homes for nine families (including Mike, Grace and their 17-year child), a “common house” kitchen and gathering space, an internal courtyard and rooftop garden that follow the cohousing principles of community. The courtyard is a bright yellow, echoing similar courtyards they saw in Copenhagen multifamily homes. The ground-floor storefront office is also painted the same bright shade on the exterior, making it a landmark on the busy streetscape. Reflecting their desire to be part of the community they serve, the glass storefront allows passersby to see the firm’s daily activities.
Employees of the firm have happily nicknamed themselves “froggers” in light of Schemata Workshop’s iconic red and white logo designed by artist and graphic designer friends Nino Yuniardi and Tania Liminardja. The simplistic icon, originally meant to represent two people sitting at a table, also evokes a frog’s face. In Coast Salish* culture, frogs are communicators, travelling between land and water - a fitting mascot for a NW-based practice committed to engaging with and creating community.
From its inception, Mike and Grace’ s mission for Schemata Workshop’s was “empowering communities through architecture,” with a focus on direct community engagement in the design process. Twenty years later, we continue to be mission-driven, holding community central to our work, along with racial equity and sustainability.
We are proud of our contributions to the community throughout the past twenty years – represented in the way we conduct our practice, engage with our clients and partners, and approach our design work.
Schemata Workshop office at the ground floor of Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing