Our Journey: The Company History of MoDE

The team at MoDE is proud to serve its clients with architecture that inspires and enhances the human experience. Now a team of ten who is well-established in our community, we used to be a tiny team of four. But how did we get where we are today?

In this blog, we are taking a walk back in time to share the story of MoDE’s history: how we started and why. You’ll see that the core tenets of our firm as established in the beginning have remained the same; we’ve simply gained more team members to interpret and improve them now. 

Let’s start by going back–to 2005.

MoDE’s Beginnings (2005-2020)

Our Founder and President, James Mo, first gained his formal experience working for two different architectural firms as Project Architect and then Project Director. Eventually his passion for the building technology aspect of architecture, which not all firms utilize, sparked his interest in branching out. When he started MoDE in 2005, James knew it would give him agency over how he chose to approach architecture and serve his clients. 

To that point, the firm’s name MoDE is indicative of the ways James wanted (and still wants) to create better modes of architectural design for his clients. In other words, MoDE exists to provide better ways to collaborate, problem-solve, carry out various services, and more. From the beginning, our team has been evaluating our own processes and seeking feedback from our community to see how we can improve our work and best meet people’s needs with it.

For example, James is a strong believer in team members working together synergistically because it improves both the design and construction phases of a project; this was something he cultivated at MoDE from the start. He also instilled a focus on people-centered design, environmentally conscious architecture, and the ongoing education of our team (among other things)–all of which are integral to MoDE’s ethos today. 

Company Growth (2021-2023)

We are very grateful to our clients and community members for contributing to our success over the years. As MoDE steadily built relationships and provided great services to returning customers over the years, we witnessed expansive growth. In 2021, the amount of projects we took on nearly doubled, and so did our team. What was originally a team of four grew to seven and eventually ten in the following years. 

During these years of growth, we also became more recognized in the public sector which allowed us to recenter our focus on public works projects. At the same time, we continued to refine our design approach and improve our services by incorporating more research and education into our practice.

MoDE Today

Now, we have a team of ten talented individuals and a range of exciting projects coming in. Each team member brings their unique background, perspective, and areas of expertise to the table while holding space for one another’s perspectives. With James’s direction, we work together to advance our craft and provide people with innovative architectural solutions. Taking inspiration from the communities we serve, we feel privileged to fulfill our company mission by designing spaces that make a difference.