News
Board & Vellum is Moving to Pioneer Square
As we approach our 15th anniversary, Board & Vellum is preparing for a new chapter as the evolved firm we’ve grown into, moving back to our roots in Pioneer Square, this time, taking over the 16th floor in Seattle’s iconic Smith Tower.
January 27, 2026
In 2012, after a year of working in my attic, I decided it was time to move into an office that could hold a future team and where that team could engage with a great community.
After some searching, I ended up finding the first home of Board & Vellum: a little office space in the heart of Pioneer Square in the Grand Central Building. Pioneer Square was where Board & Vellum put down its first roots, welcomed its first employee, and gave our team its first opportunity to engage with the greater Seattle community.
We eventually outgrew the space in Pioneer Square and moved to Capitol Hill, where we’ve been located for more than a decade. Capitol Hill has been a tremendous home for us, but big change is again on the horizon.
I’m thrilled to announce that we are returning to our first home of Pioneer Square and taking over the 16th floor of the historic Smith Tower!
It’s always a big decision to move offices, and an even bigger decision to move neighborhoods. As a team who cares deeply about our fellow colleagues, the clients we serve, and the city of Seattle as a whole, we went into this decision deliberately and carefully.
Our client base has expanded and spread. We not only do work throughout the Puget Sound region, but across the state of Washington, and we’re growing in numerous other locations, such as Chicago, the Midwest, Texas, and Arizona.
Capitol Hill will always be special to us. We continue to work there, and, of course, I still live there and continue to serve as the Co-Chair of the 15th Avenue Business Improvement Area.
Making a classic symbol of Seattle like the Smith Tower our home is a reflection of our commitment to great architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture, and our ongoing investment in Seattle, while also looking outwards to our work nationally.
Importantly, (and close to our hearts) it is also a commitment to helping this historic neighborhood continue to recover after the pandemic.
When considering our move, we knew that relocating should do more than just change our office’s physical location. And there were a few things that felt especially important.
Supporting Our Integrated Teams
For many years, we have spread out over two, and sometimes three, floors. Interdisciplinary collaboration is key to our design process. We wanted a move to allow our integrated, multidisciplinary team to sit together, all on one floor, making it so much easier to collaborate.
Supporting Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Speaking of collaboration, we knew that we wanted Radial Engineering to be able to move with us. Over the past year, they have worked in our current office’s lower level and having their team so close has been a game-changer.
At the Smith Tower, the Radial Engineering team has their own office space, separate but adjacent to us. This set up will allow us to continue to streamline how we coordinate and collaborate with structural engineers on many of our projects.
Radial Engineering works with many other architects and are not part of Board & Vellum, but having them in their own space just steps away, will ensure we can continue to hold true to our core ethos of cooperative design across our network of collaborators.
Confirming Our Commitment to Our Team
In our commitment to the amazing B&V team, we wanted more building amenities available to them, plus an easier commute. Many of our team members commute by light rail and ferries, and the Smith Tower is perfectly situated for that.
Confirming Our Commitment to Seattle
When researching locations, we knew we wanted to be somewhere of historic significance. Pioneer Square is known as “Seattle’s first neighborhood,” and it’s also filled with so many other forward-thinking design firms. This combination of history and opportunity was irresistible.
We’re not a “downtown” firm, but we wanted a place that not only offered opportunity but actually allowed us to connect easily with our peers and our clients. Pioneer Square is the perfect fit for that. We’re so excited to be charting our next chapter there.
Growing with Our Team
Our interior design work has grown significantly. We are helping so many clients with full-service interiors work including procurement and installation. The Smith Tower allows us to have a dedicated space for a larger materials library, which means we can keep growing this work and helping our clients.
Celebrating Our Uniqueness
We wanted a place that didn’t feel like it could be just anywhere. Board & Vellum has always forged its own path, and we wanted our office space to reflect the uniqueness that makes our company what it is.
As designers, we have been inspired by the gorgeous interior details of the historic tower. Finding ways to respond the existing conditions of the space and incorporate them into a modern office plan has been a treat for us. We can’t wait to show you what it looks like!
Looking Ahead to the Next Chapter
Board & Vellum’s next chapter feels exciting and like a big step towards another significant event: our upcoming 15th anniversary. I couldn’t be prouder of the dozens (and dozens!) of people who have helped make this firm what it is.
I remember moving into the office we are departing. It was our fifth anniversary, and I was filled with joy at what we had built and proud of where we were going. As I look back on the past decade and look towards the decade ahead, I am filled with even more pride at the care we have taken to build a firm that deeply values our team, cares about our community, and looks ahead with confidence in all the things we can do for our wonderful clients near and far.
Our new home will allow us to celebrate design milestones with clients at the rooftop bar, hold design meetings in a comfortable and accessible material library, host large-group meetings for our community, and continue to design in a positive and collaborative environment, all while being inspired by the 360-degree views of the city and Puget Sound.
We’ll be open for business in the Smith Tower in April 2026. We can’t wait to welcome you there. We hope to see you soon, and thank you for coming along with us in this next exciting chapter.
Read more about the design of Board & Vellum’s new Smith Tower office on our portfolio.
