8 Values : 1 Vision

8 VALUES >

1 | ARTISTRY
2 | COLLABORATION
3 | EXPLORATION
4 | INTEGRITY
5 | LEADERSHIP
6 | PASSION
7 | SUSTAINABILITY
8 | VIABILITY

1 VISION >

Inspire, enrich, and transform lives through great design.

5 | LEADERSHIP

We define LEADERSHIP as “creating work worthy of identification by users, peers, and the media as excellent examples of design and sustainable practices.”

Today we explore LEADERSHIP and how it is integrated into our culture and our work.

Chelsea Semelka

“WORKSHOP8 exhibits leadership by being involved in our community. As an office, we have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to help build homes for local families and painted murals for the community to enjoy. Many members of our office have spoken on educational panels about everything from sustainable design to millennial culture in the workplace, encouraging our peers to design responsibly and to keep an open mind about upcoming generations. Through volunteer work and education, we set an example of little things we, as designers, can do to make our community a little better.”

Alex Parulis

“In our office, everyone wears multiple hats, so we address leadership on many different levels. Whether it’s researching new building products, organizing team meetings, or improving the way we work together internally, we all take on different leadership roles while learning new ones.”

Cesar Gellido

“One way that leadership is expressed in WORKSHOP8 is through the encouragement of individuals leading projects. Whether it’s a large multimillion-dollar project, giving a presentation at the Month of Modern, designing a community mural, or leading an office “glamping” retreat, staff members are encouraged and given opportunities to lead different types of endeavors.”

Megan Stanley

“Leadership is achieved by understanding and utilizing the strengths that each of us has, as well as our ability to create growth within ourselves and our peers. In our office, we strive to lead by educating ourselves, embracing innovations, and applying new information. When we adopt the mentality of openness to change and growth, we can become leaders in our office and in our industry.”

Joseph Vigil

“When we selected Leadership as one of our values at WORKSHOP8, the intent was was to “lead by example.” By this, we felt it was our responsibility to produce the highest quality, most sustainable buildings, and environments possible. Sometimes the most sustainable options are more expensive, sometimes the most durable products cost more. We feel that it is our responsibility to explore various options and include them in our designs, and if they don’t work out, at least we tried. If we as designers – as people who care about how people interact with their environment and as stewards of a world that is to be sustainable – we must push the envelope and strive for better designs and solutions that enrich people’s lives and give back to the environment. If not us, then who?”

Marcel van Garderen

“Leadership is a balance. Leadership does not mean “knowing it all”. Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people towards a common goal. Leadership is providing direction, and setting an example of how you would like to see your team show up. Leadership translates visions into reality. At WORKSHOP8 all of us practice multitude of roles and we see leadership as being dynamic and dependant on the strength of each individuals’ skill and knowledge.”

Maris DuBois

“At WORKSHOP8, we like to switch up the teams that are assigned to projects; that way each person in the office has the opportunity to work with everyone in the office at some point. This furthers our professional development, as from working with new Project Managers we are able to learn from our peers and identify new methods of design. Diversifying the leadership for each project allows us to learn new ways of design and sustainable practices.”

Matthew Murray

“At WORKSHOP8 leadership is very different; each day you come to work you can have a different role depending on the project. I think this is very unique because it allows everyone to have a chance to be a leader and have a more active role in projects. This helps people get out of there comfort zone and learn more about their profession and themselves.”

Ivan Patino

“To me, there are many ways that leadership manifests itself at WORKSHOP8. My favorite, though, is the kind of leadership that is enthusiastic, passionate, and contagious. I love it when my colleague and I lose track of time because we are so deep into a project. I like to think that this happens because our hard work ethic is contagious, and therefore we are all leaders because we are all constantly motivating each other to do better.”

Sydney Angel

“Leadership in the WORKSHOP8 office includes the concept of taking initiative on your project assignments. We also show leadership in the architectural field by creating work that is true to our values of design and sustainability.” 

Brandy LeMae

“My definition of leadership is being a trusted authority in the field and going above and beyond expectations in terms of design and service. WORKSHOP8 seeks to create projects that will be recognized by the industry, peers, and clients as superior in terms of design and sustainability. To that end, W8 has worked on several LEED and award-winning projects“.

Omar de la Mora

“At WORKSHOP8 we try to be leaders in what we do. When working on affordable housing, we look beyond our own self-interests and encourage others to do the same. We create and effectively communicate a positive, realistic vision to the people involved.”