Our History
MAKERS is an award-winning architectural, urban design, and planning firm providing services to clients throughout the Pacific Northwest and the United States. Founded in 1972, the firm provides a client-oriented approach stressing attention to project requirements, design quality, and budget. Our specialties include urban design, community planning, and facility planning. MAKERS is a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE).
Emphasizing implementation through effective action, MAKERS addresses the fundamental community, economic, social equity, functional, and design challenges inherent in each project. The name MAKERS – coming from a root word meaning “to bring together, to combine parts, to compose, to cause, and to construct” – distills this philosophy.
Our Key Practice Areas
Our plans achieve results because we seek to balance the complex issues that come with every project. We offer professional services to clients of all sizes. From local community design guidelines to large-scale master plans for U.S. Navy bases, we look at our plans and projects through a social equity lens, offer creative and effective facilitation and staff/public engagement, and include an implementation strategy tailored to the unique needs of our projects and clients.
Federal Facility Planning
Asset Evaluations
Installation and Area Development Plans
Encroachment Studies
Special Studies
Facility Planning
Strategic Facilities Plans
Site Selection, Space Needs, and Facility Programming
Site and Campus Master Plans
Port and Waterfront Master Plans
Community + Regional Planning
Neighborhood, Subarea, and Corridor Plans
Downtown and Town Center Plans
Regional and Environmental Plans
Comprehensive Plans
Urban Design + Architecture
Urban Design
Design Guidelines and Regulations
Parks
Architecture
Our Team
The heart of MAKERS is our creative and talented staff. We’re also proud of the fact that our partners do not sit on the sidelines and merely supervise. They have active, hands-on project involvement from beginning to end.
Partners
Staff
Linda Ashby, LEED AP BD+CAssociate 1 - Planner/Designer
Beth BatchelderAssociate 1 - Facility Planner / Landscape Designer
Ian Crozier, AICP, LEED Green AssociateAssociate 1 - Planner
Travis Curry, AICPAssociate 2 - Planner
Anne D’MuraMarketing Coordinator
James DuBois, AICP, LEED Green AssociateAssociate 2 - Planner
Jena GerryAssociate 1 - Planner
Carter GraydonIT Systems Engineer
Conor Ott, AICPAssociate 2 - Planner
Ralaine Parton, LEED Green AssociateAssociate 1 - Architectural Designer
Paolo PelagioAssociate 1 - Designer
Jon SchaferAssociate 1 - Planner/GIS Analyst
Rishabh UkilAssociate 1 - Facilities Planner/Landscape Designer
Gretchen Van BodegomAccountant/Business Administrator
Cyndi WilderMarketing and Human Resources Director
Yifan XingUrban Designer
Articles
MAKERS is a proud contributor to the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC). Click below to download articles written or co-authored by MAKERS staff, or to view on the MRSC website. Articles are organized by year of publication.
Urban Design: A Definition, Approach and Conceptual Framework
Author: John Owen
PDF Document
An in-depth look at the practice of urban design from its fundamental principles to its use in addressing current challenges.
Visualizing Compatible Density
Author: Bob Bengford
PDF Document
A closer look at various densities in Washington State communities and a summary of design elements that help to make density more compatible.
Sign Code Update: Finding the Sweet Spot between Flexibility & Clutter
Author: Bob Bengford
PDF Document
A case study in integrating form-based and street graphic approaches into the sign code update for the City of Lacey.
Google Earth – A City Planner’s Best Friend
Author: Bob Bengford
PDF Document
Google Earth should be a part of every planner’s toolkit.
Planned Unit Developments – Real World Experiences
Author: Bob Bengford
PDF Document
An examination of planned unit developments in the real world.
Providing for Usable Open Space with Multifamily Developments
Author: Bob Bengford
PDF Document
A study on usable open space in new multifamily development as a regulatory strategy for creating compatible and livable infill development.
Protecting Existing Neighborhoods from the Impacts of New Development
Authors: John Owen, Rachel Miller
PDF Document
An examination of achieving compatibility between new multistory development and existing smaller-scale neighborhoods.
A Hybrid Approach to Form-Based Code in the Northwest
Bob Bengford
PDF Document
Case studies on hybrid form-based codes in the Northwest.
Creating Walkable Neighborhood Business Districts (PDF only)
John Owen, Gregory Easton (Property Counselors)
What does it take to support a neighborhood business district around which to focus a walkable, cohesive community?
