Why Mode?

Our mission

To develop high-quality, practical, and economic housing throughout the greater Seattle area by continuously developing technical excellence and a deep understanding of the industry.

Our culture

Our culture is built around personal development. At MODE, we strive for technical excellence and we push ourselves to deeply understand the industry. We celebrate individual accomplishment and initiative. We create a stimulating workplace where we nurture employees to grow and develop their skills. We have a friendly, flexible, down-to-earth culture where good ideas are embraced. We seek out challenge and are constantly pushing ourselves to grow and innovate better ways to solve problems. We hold ourselves to high standards, and we emphasize doing things right over doing them quickly. We love sharing what we learn, and we are driven to use our knowledge to help others.

Our values

• Always be learning
• Seek out challenge
• Hold ourselves to high standards
• Individual achievement
• Share knowledge / be helpful to others

Our Design Philosophy

Here at MODE we celebrate everyday architecture – the houses, apartments, and dwellings that collectively make up the urban fabric. We focus on creating designs that are considerate, well-balanced, and visually pleasing rather than bold or disruptive. We are not a high-concept design firm: first and foremost, we see our job as solving practical problems. We are always looking to make the best use of space in an elegant way, and we see architectural expression as just one piece of the puzzle. We believe housing should be practical, comfortable, and welcoming, and we believe quality design is best appreciated when it doesn’t attention to itself. Stylistically, our design sensibilities lean modern, but in a comfortable, non-sterile way. We like our designs to feel timeless and balanced, clean but not minimal. Modern in vocabulary, yet with classic sensibilities. And most importantly, a delight to live in.

Our Work

We are an integrated residential design firm, combining architectural design, structural engineering, and development consulting under one roof. Our projects range in scale from structural remodels to townhouse developments, with a particular focus on urban infill development and accessory dwelling units. We focus on detailed design and effective use of small spaces, and we are constantly working creatively within tight limits.

Each project is small enough to be handled by a single person, so our work is primarily individual. We support each other through development of best practices, common tools, and sharing of ideas, while retaining high levels of autonomy and taking individual responsibility for our work.

Collectively, our goal is to nurture and develop our skills, with the hope of developing staff to profit-sharing partner roles.

Our Location

Our work environment is mixed office and remote, driven largely by individual preferences. We support up to 80% remote work time, with in-office work for coaching, training, and in-person project review and collaboration. Our offices are based in downtown Seattle on First Hill. We are planning to expand to larger office space in the near future, and intend to continue operating in Seattle near frequent public transit.

Career Profile: Ian Story

Ian Story founded the company shortly after obtaining his architecture license in order to have the autonomy to pursue real estate development projects. He has since learned an extraordinary amount about the industry, as well as the technical side of the profession. In addition to his architecture license, Ian also has certificates in ecological design and commercial real estate development, a real estate agent license, and is currently pursuing a second degree in civil engineering in order to obtain his professional engineer license.

Career Profile: Emma Howland

Emma joined MODE architecture 2 years ago with a background in fine arts and a fresh degree in interior design. She started out as a drafter using Revit to model buildings and produce drawing sets, and was quickly promoted to a position as a designer. She has worked directly with clients to select finishes and write specifications for interior design projects, including for a 9 unit subdivision with 9 additional accessory dwelling units. Through MODE, she has taken color selection masterclasses and obtained a certificate as a true color expert. And she is currently working towards becoming a licensed architect.

How Do I Get Started?

Here at MODE we are always looking for better ways to do things, and that includes hiring. We believe the traditional resume, portfolio, and application process is broken, and we’re trying something different. We don’t really care what’s in your portfolio or where you went to school – we want to get to know you as a person and see how you approach problem solving in your work and everyday life.

Hi, I’m Ian, the hiring manager and principal here at MODE architecture. If you like what we’re about and think you’d be a good fit here, I’d love to chat further. Please contact me directly and let’s start a conversation.

Ian Story
Principal, Hiring Manager
(425) 891-5262
ian@modearchitecture.com