noun oom-bra \ üm -brə \ 1. A small, creative firm of design professionals, focused on creating thoughtful, unique and socially responsible environments using skills forged through past experiences that are built on meaningful and lasting human relationships.

Through a diverse range of expertise, OOMBRA creates thoughtful spaces and memorable places, meant to evoke a conversation, an emotion and an experience. OOMBRA takes a client’s objectives and communicates them through compelling designs. They believe successful architecture and placemaking is realized when the complexity of the problem is simplified through the design process, resulting in a clear expression of purpose, material, light, shadow and form. Through all of their work, OOMBRA strives to create a strong sense of community and a responsibly built world that enhances the human experience.

EXPERIENCE With more than one hundred fifty projects in their professional portfolios, partners AJ Reilly and Michael Brahler have firsthand knowledge of all phases of the design and building process, from site selection to construction administration, and on a wide range of award-winning projects.

PROCESS OOMBRA’s design process always begins with a conversation to define the project parameters and goals, but more importantly to understand what drives and motivates our clients. Open communication continues throughout the design and construction process and helps to ensure the final project outcome is rich and responsive. By starting with an analysis of existing site context, historical context and the surrounding environment, and comparing findings against the programmatic needs of the project, OOMBRA is able to form contextually relevant and meaningful design concepts. These values provide a strong foundation for every project no matter the size, location or project type, and help to work within the constraints of their client’s expectations, budget and schedule.

As visual creatures they use a variety of tools (drawing, modeling, building) to help connect the team to the design process in a way that is clear and concise, allowing for a truly integrated and collaborative approach. They explore and test multiple space and planning scenarios to realize the full potential of the project, giving their client the ability to participate from the project conception to completion. Along with the client, they work closely with the design team, builder and community, to investigate problems and concerns and find a shared vision, which is reflected on throughout the duration of the project. They accomplish this by asking the right questions and bringing together like minded individuals, using collective strengths and knowledge to achieve common goals. When possible, they engage with a builder early in the design process, keeping open lines of communication and collaborating on best possible solutions when issues arise later on in the field. Collaboration is paramount to every successful project in their office and ensures their client’s needs are met and executed at the highest level, delivering the long-term project goals and lasting relationships.