Bernardo Wills Celebrates 35 Years of Designing Places That Strengthen Inland Northwest Communities
Bernardo Wills is celebrating 35 years of helping clients turn questions, challenges and possibilities into places that serve people and strengthen communities.Founded in downtown Spokane in June 1991 by Gary Bernardo and Robert Wills, the firm began with its two founders working from an eight-by-ten-foot office in the Tomlinson Black Building.
Thirty-five years later, the firm continues to build on the collaborative, client-centered approach established at its founding. Today, Bernardo Wills provides architecture, landscape architecture, planning and related design services, partnering with clients to create purposeful places shaped by their needs, vision and communities.
“Our work has changed and grown over the past 35 years, but the heart of what we do has remained remarkably consistent,” Gretchen Renz, Managing Director of Operations, said. “We listen. We ask questions. We bring the right people to the table and help our clients determine the best path forward. Our clients don’t always come to us with all the answers, and they shouldn’t have to. Helping them find those answers is part of what we do.”
That philosophy is at the center of the firm’s 35th anniversary campaign,“Don’t Leave Your Next Project to Chance.”
Every project comes with questions. Is this the right time to build? What is possible on this property? How can an existing space work better? What will an organization or community need five, 10 or 20 years from now? And perhaps the most important question: Where do we start?
For 35 years, Bernardo Wills has helped clients navigate those questions through thoughtful planning, collaboration and design. The anniversary campaign reflects that role with a simple message: The Magic 8 Ball can make a prediction. Bernardo Wills can help you make a plan.
Since its founding, the firm's work has spanned both public- and private-sector projects. Its current portfolio includes work across commercial, civic, educational, healthcare, retail and other environments, as well as outdoor spaces and land-use planning. That diversity allows the firm to draw ideas and experience from across disciplines while developing solutions specific to each client, site and community.
As Bernardo Wills enters its next chapter, the firm is continuing to build upon its core architecture and landscape architecture practice while bringing a broader range of planning and design expertise together to help clients move projects from early possibilities toward implementation.
“Thirty-five years gives us a lot to celebrate, but this milestone is really about what comes next,”Gretchen Renz said. “We are proud of the relationships, projects and communities that have shaped our firm, and we’re excited about the opportunities ahead. Whether a client has a clear vision or simply a question about what might be possible, we want them to know they have a place to start.”
At the center of that work is a mission that has become a defining statement for the firm: We are here to make communities better. We do this by giving our clients’ purpose a place.
After 35 years, the questions may change. The commitment to helping clients answer them has not.
Don’t leave your next project to chance. Start with a conversation.
