good design multiplies its impact
We are a Kansas City-based architecture and development practice.
As architects and developers, our work creates positive impact in the built environment and lasting value for people and communities. We approach each project as an opportunity to bring architecture and development together from the start, ensuring intentional design guides decisions from idea through completion.
We believe well-designed places strengthen neighborhoods, support communities, and improve everyday life. Our work focuses on creating environments that are considered, resilient, and accessible; places that serve the people who live, work, and gather within them.
SAMUEL DE JONG, AIA LEED AP FOUNDER
Sam De Jong is an architect and development professional passionate about design for social impact. Through his nearly two-decade career he has held the belief that architecture and community development of high quality and innovation is created by disparate minds coming together. Sam’s extensive experience bridges numerous project types and scales, from higher education projects with University of Missouri and Rockhurst University, to housing, nonprofit, religious, urban design, and diplomatic work with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations.
Prior to founding De Jong Architecture Development, Sam practiced at the nationally acclaimed architecture firm BNIM, where he championed the firm’s approach to the development of sustainable, equitable housing for all through an initiative called Address. Sam’s dedication to a holistic human-centered design approach has been recognized for design excellence through numerous local, regional and national design awards, including a local AIA Design Excellence award for a self-initiated design and development of the Harrison Duplex, and an AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Project Award for a volunteer project in rural western Kenya at the Asilong Christian High School.
By coupling architecture and development we believe the opportunities for great design and the resulting positive impact are exponential. The De Jong “X” mark is a symbol that speaks to our belief in that multiplier. It could also be a figure-ground of buildings centered around a courtyard fostering community, or maybe it is just an abstract windmill that connects to the founder’s Dutch heritage. We’ll let you decide. In any case, if you’ve made it this far on the about page, you are either my dad, or are deserving of a prize.