Dave moved on in the early 1990s and shortly thereafter Jim and Doug began laying plans for a separate practice that was focused exclusively on these types of architectural collaborations, rather than providing these services as a sideline within a larger full-service office. They sensed that a firm structured to deal effectively with the unique opportunities and challenges of working as an executive architect could create an opportunity for a new type of firm, focused exclusively on this area of practice, which would enable them to engage in their shared passion for working together with great architects while maintaining their common commitment to total integrity and outstanding client service.

These were our motivations for founding House & Robertson Architects in 1996. After working for a few weeks in Jim’s garage, we soon moved into a subleased space in the office of our first design collaborator. Within a year we established our first autonomous office adjacent to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In the early years HRA grew quickly, thanks to the support of several key entertainment industry and developer clients, major contractors and supportive design offices. Over the ensuing years HRA has stayed true to our core mission and values, focusing exclusively on working as executive architects or architects of record in collaboration with a wide variety of design firms on projects for private-sector corporate, developer and institutional clients. As HRA has expanded and matured, we have remained focused on our original vision of creating a great culture for collaborative practice; nimble, adaptable, innovative, ever-evolving, non-hierarchical, aggressively non-corporate and seriously committed to having fun while doing great work.

Relocating to our own building west of downtown Culver City in 2008, we have continued to evolve into a larger organization while maintaining our unique culture of collaboration and commitment to empowerment of our staff at all levels. We’re always mindful of the need to quash bureaucracy that might stifle our ability to adapt and innovate to meet the needs and goals of each project, client and design partner. HRA’s principals are proudly committed to interacting every day directly with clients, contractors, consultants and city agencies, working through the nuts and bolts of ongoing projects, and being borderline-obsessive about client satisfaction.

What we do at HRA is highly technical in nature, but our accomplishments ultimately depend on the outstanding quality and integrity of the architects and staff throughout the firm who are equally committed to our clients’ and partners’ success. The practice has now expanded beyond Culver City to include thriving offices in San Francisco and Houston, and transitioned to an employee-owned ESOP structure. HRA’s core leadership team of principals and associates plays key roles in all projects, as well as the management of a firm that is poised for continued growth and always seeking new challenges.