The work of EJA is informed by a deep conviction that the social and personal needs of people should be at the center of the act of building, and that architecture should evidence a gracious neighborliness with its natural and human surroundings. In particular we are guided by the following goals: CREATE PLACES OF MEANING Places that foster an awareness of and pride for the uniqueness of a setting and its inhabitants. We seek to show sensitivity to the specific qualities of the cultural, natural, built, and/or historic context in which our work is situated. STRENGTHEN THE BONDS OF A COMMUNITY Places that inspire people to aspire to the highest of personal and civic ideals. We seek to make community spaces that bring people together to vividly and fully engage in the rituals, performances, and tasks that define and support their identity. OFFER A RICH VARIETY OF CONDITIONS FOR INHABITATION Places that offer a healthy range of interrelationships between people with one another and with the environment in which they reside. We seek to build environments that provide a balance of connectivity and separation. CELEBRATE THE VARIETY AND BEAUTY OF MATERIALS AND LIGHT Places that demonstrate, in material, light and craft, the richness and beauty so abundant in our natural world. We seek to build in a manner that celebrates the joy of materials and light, and the prudent and artful manner in which they can be afforded, assembled and cared for. MANAGE BUDGETARY AND MATERIAL RESOURCES WITH RESPECT AND RESPONSIBILITY Places that are built within sustainable resources and inspire by means of an elegant frugality. We seek to allocate the resources of a project in a manner that parallel the priorities of the client/community To reach these goals we offer open design workshops that immerse us in the spirit and ethos of a place and engage us with the client and/or members of the community in an interactive dialogue around potential design ideas.
