Twenty-five years ago, it was blueprints piled high on a kitchen table. Now, humming and thriving inside a transformed, computerized industrial space, the firm of Lee Burkhart Liu is alive with projects and possibilities. The alchemy of its eight principals fuels a strong commitment to innovative design solutions, a responsiveness in serving their clients, and a proven ability to meet ever-changing challenges of healthcare and research architecture head-on. Founding partners Ken Lee, Erich Burkhart, and Ken Liu’s lively problem solving sessions defy the likelihood of ever becoming too staid. Core beliefs collide, then coalesce into a mix that makes environment rich with ingenuity. Their unique clients and versatile and talented staff are an integral part of the energy of the operation.

When a client presents a building challenge that others deem “impossible,” the LBL team simply asks where the goalpost is and, with some imagination and a lot of thought…gets there. The have the experience and expertise to address today’s design demands, while sharing a vision beyond the limits of what already exists. They thrive on unpredictability and change. Fluent in the language of healthcare and research, the partners sport an array of job titles-from diplomat to therapist; from visionary to simply doer-whatever it takes to pull it off. They embody the kind of flexibility necessary to balance the nitty-gritty of getting the job done with heartfelt call to doing it right. LBL’s design approach fosters creative investigation and the exchange of new ideas.

They transform the austere of healthcare institutions into friendly, functional healing spaces, bright with light and humanity, reflective of architecture’s recuperative powers. Their solutions are solid responses to a variety of building needs that will stand the test of time and will continue to speak to the communities they affect.

Combining artful vision with technological know-how requires sensitivity to asking the right questions and listening. Ongoing research, experience, and curiosity have created an in-depth knowledge of healthcare delivery, biomedical research, public, policy, building technology, and building regulations. This has formed the foundation upon which design excellence has grown.

We design for our clients and their unique constituencies and situations. Every occasion presents a range of possibilities and opportunities. Our buildings are places where people work, play, learn, and live, and by introducing elements of scale, texture, light, pattern, drama, and landscape, we enable each building to realize its potential to be an inspiring place.

The clear operation and organization of a building must grow from a hierarchy of often conflicting functional requirements. By balancing flexibility, efficiency, modularity, identity, and Wayfinding, we create environments within which institutions can develop and evolve.

The challenges facing institutional clients today require architects to rethink the traditional linear process of project delivery. By innovatively reshaping approaches to building design, adaptive reuse, seismic design, entitlements, planning, and design-build, we have saved time and controlled the costs of implementing building solutions.