"As we look to the future, we're focused on continuing to serve our existing client base and strong mixed-use/multifamily and student housing markets, while growing into new markets–including affordable housing, commercial and senior living," said Nagamine. "We're excited about this next phase knowing that with our business model, we're all in it together."

In addition to its diverse project mix, Encore contributes its success to a collaborative culture driven by employee ownership, with more than half of the firm's staff also serving as company shareholders. This broad-based ownership allows Encore to focus on accountability, both inside and out.

Having used this model since the firm's launch, the Encore mindset focuses on having designers personally own the practice, along with a team that's more experienced than average, in order to encourage everyone to make decisions with long-term outcomes in mind.

"I'm proud that we have a business model that rewards every staff member on the basis of 'what they do' not 'how much they own'," said Encore founding principal Vince Ferrese. "Our 14 owners have a shared goal of parity for the firm and are continually growing our ownership group."

Encore won a People's Choice Urban Design Award from the city in 2017 for the Broadstone Clarendon mixed-use building in Queen Anne and is a 2019 People's Choice Award finalist for Broadstone Lexington apartments on First Hill. Zella Apartments, as well as Axle Apartments, are also finalists for the 2019 NAIOP Night of the Stars, both in the Multi-Family Residential of the Year category.

"Our name 'Encore' was chosen as a daily remainder of our goal to be 'asked back' after every project by every client," Ferrese says. "We continue to closely follow our original goals of hiring the finest in the industry, providing them an ownership opportunity, having them strive for high-level client service and having our drawings thoroughly checked by experienced staff. We started with four employees and I would have been satisfied if we grew to a staff of 10 to 12 architects; but today, I'm proud to say we are approaching employee number 30."

Moving forward, the firm intends to continue furthering its unique culture and principles while managing growth purposefully so team members will continue to know each other, what projects are being developed, where the firm is going and why.

"Even while growing, we've continued involving staff in the top-level decision-making of the firm and implementing solutions to respond to client needs in thoughtful, timely ways," says Nagamine.

Tech and e-commerce continue to fuel Seattle's economy, keeping the metro among the country's top-performing multifamily markets, according to a report by Yardi Matrix. Young professionals are boosting housing demand, maintaining healthy absorption amid a slow but steady rent growth deceleration. With the pace of development slowing down, the year-over-year rent growth rate remained almost flat in the last quarter of 2018 and going into 2019, at 2.5% as of February.