Driven by the Impact of Design.

smbw is an interdisciplinary design firm delivering architecture, interior design, graphic design, and strategic planning across diverse sectors. We partner with clients to align vision and intent, blending research, technical rigor, and creativity to craft solutions that are memorable, engaging, rooted in place, reflective of context and built for impactful moments.

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Our Story

United by a mission to deliver transformative, client-focused designs, smbw was founded in 1991 when Will Scribner, Becky Messer, Shelli Brady, and Bland Wade first shook hands in booth seven at Perly’s Restaurant in Richmond, Virginia. From that moment, the firm has remained committed to creating work that empowers visionary people and organizations.

Now led by Spencer Grice, Michelle Mikita, Andres Pacheco, and Will Payne, smbw continues to honor its founding values while evolving its leadership and ambition. The firm pairs creative vision with insight and real-world understanding, bringing design and technical leadership. These visionary leaders position smbw to deliver moments of impact, staying true to the principles that guided the studio since its inception.

Meet the Leadership

  • Spencer Grice

    ARCHITECTURE

    As a firm leader at smbw, Spencer brings a commanding design vision that aligns concept, culture, and real estate strategy, transforming architecture into a strategic asset that advances both human experience and client enterprise.

  • Michelle Mikita

    INTERIOR DESIGN

    As a design advocate and firm leader at smbw, Michelle leads with optimism and focus, aligning teams and strategy to advance design thinking and deliver work that reflects client missions, creates lasting value, and strengthens community impact.

  • Andres Pacheco

    ARCHITECTURE

    Driven by the pursuit of deeper ideas, Andres creates architecture that tells clear, meaningful stories rooted in the people and places they serve. Committed to ambition and excellence, he implements his passion with clarity and craft, helping smbw continue to push the boundaries of design.

  • Will Payne

    ARCHITECTURE

    Will guides project teams with a strong technical perspective, ensuring precision, rigor, and innovation in design delivery. His leadership establishes consistent excellence across every phase of development.

We craft a strategy with rigor and a story to tell.

 

Our work begins with co-authoring, not as a sentiment, but as a strategy.

We engage our clients early as true idea partners, using a defined framework of shared thinking, clear rituals, and disciplined tools to shape direction from the outset. This early collaboration allows us to craft a precise strategy that informs every decision that follows.

From this foundation emerges a bold, simple design story, unified, clear, and rigorously crafted. Our process is exacting and purposeful, pushing beyond the expected to create environments where people, culture, and ideas can flourish.

We bring vision and intent into powerful alignment to deliver a transformative design.

  • At SMBW, we blend curiosity, rigor, and collaboration to create design that is both imaginative and purposeful. Architecture and design are most powerful when teams are aligned around a clear narrative, guiding projects from concept through construction while connecting meaningfully with the people and communities they serve.

    By pairing creative vision with technical precision, we craft solutions that are functional, memorable, culturally resonant, and deeply rooted in context.

  • We cultivate a studio that thrives on curiosity, trust, and shared purpose, where ideas are explored boldly, iterated thoughtfully, and guided by meaningful stories. Technical excellence and creative discovery are inseparable in our work, ensuring projects inspire confidence and deliver lasting impact.

    Our culture emphasizes collaboration, ambition, and continuous learning, reinforcing that great design emerges when people, process, and vision are aligned.

  • SMBW is committed to advancing design excellence and shaping transformative projects that empower people and organizations. By embracing new perspectives and strengthening the culture we’ve built over decades, we continue to deliver architecture and design that elevates clients, communities, and human experiences.

    Our mission is to create work that is visionary, intentional, and enduring—design that inspires today and shapes the world of tomorrow.

Experience Our Approach.

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