EXPANDING LEADERSHIP WITH NEW PRINCIPALS
smbw announces the addition of Andres Pacheco, AIA, as Principal and the promotion of Will Payne, AIA, to Principal. With visionary leaders guiding our work, smbw continues its mission of shaping designs that empower people and organizations.
Welcoming Andres Pacheco:
Expanding Creative Ambition
Andres joins smbw as an accomplished designer, that seeks to cultivate studios that thrive on the search for spaces and buildings that tell clear, meaningful stories rooted in the people and places they serve. He is boldly and rigorously committed to design excellence, implementing his passion with clarity and masterful craft, helping smbw continue to push the boundaries of design.
“Some of the most powerful moments in practice are when a team becomes completely synced,” Andres said. “When everyone rallies around a story or a thread of meaning, you can feel the energy shift. I hope to help build a culture where that spark happens often. When trust, curiosity, rigor, and passion are alive, great architecture becomes inevitable.”
Connect with Andres here.
For more than three decades, smbw has paired creative vision with insight and real-world understanding. These leadership advancements strengthen the firm’s design leadership, technical rigor, and position it for meaningful work ahead.
Elevating Will Payne:
Strengthening Design Delivery
Since joining smbw in 2023, Will has advanced the firm’s design delivery by integrating clear documentation strategies into the design process, ensuring that meaningful narratives guide projects from concept through construction. His elevation to Principal reinforces the firm’s belief that design excellence is inseparable from the rigor required to bring ideas to life.
“The most impactful architecture comes from teams who understand both the vision and the parts and pieces that make it real,” Will said. “Technical leadership throughout the design process isn’t just important, it earns our clients’ confidence and trust. It shows that we can cast a vision and carry it all the way through.”
Connect with Will here.
