Columbia, MO – PWArchitects Celebrates 40 Years

PWArchitects was featured in the November 2018 issue of the Columbia Business Times. The article includes a photo taken during the ribbon-cutting at the firm’s 40th Anniversary Celebration, held in August at the Country Club of Missouri.

Excerpt:

Bigger isn’t always better. In the world of architecture, this may seem contradictory, but for PWA, it makes sense. In fact, the firm itself mirrors this belief.

PWA is a full-service firm with 12 employees who work with clients from project inception through completion. They specialize in sustainable design and architectural planning, yet the firm’s repertoire also includes interior design, LEED design (an eco-friendly certification for building design), management, and landscape design.

Nick Peckham and Brad Wright founded PWA in 1978. The pair had met for the first time the previous summer. They created the firm because Peckham was in a bind: he had taken on multiple jobs but didn’t have anyone to work them. Wright, who had a background in architecture, was unemployed when he met Peckham.

Hearing that Wright had just quit his job, Peckham approached him about working together, and they formed PWA — the P and W standing for their last names.

Their partnership lasted more than 35 years until they decided it was time to retire. The company began a transition of ownership in 2005, with current president Chris Davis and Vice President Erik Miller. Davis and Miller were already minority owners in the company.

With expertise in both public and private buildings, the architects at PWA specialize in everything from educational buildings to multifamily housing, often pivoting between multiple projects at a time. “As architects, we’re natural-born multitaskers, so we lend ourselves to being able to jump from one project to the next,” says Davis.