Evolution of an Enterprise, Chapter 3: Opening Day ... Identity Crisis

After months spent renovating, Jason Mitchell and Michael Mardis opened theworkshop 308 LLC on Jan. 8.

So how did they celebrate?

“It was so nice just to sit down,” Mardis said. “We did some computer work, but I think we just sat here and” ... “smiled and enjoyed our new space,” said Mitchell, finishing his business partner’s thought.

Their office is humble, but it will bloom in the coming months if Mitchell and Mardis accomplish what they want to.

Inside their 900-square-foot elongated main office space, they work on notebook computers on top of oriented strand board desks (the same material the floors are made of), with paper-globe lights hanging above them and a metal rack with stereo equipment behind them. There’s a 300-square-foot workshop behind closed doors.

That’s it. No client calls yet, either.

Still, Mitchell and Mardis have a lot on their plate. They plan to dive into furniture design with the goal of having prototypes, including new desks for their office, built in a couple months.

They also have a series of nine tests awaiting them – tests necessary for becoming licensed architects in Missouri.

What’s in a name?

Professionals in the architectural world have a minor debate over the importance of having a license before calling themselves “architects.”

Justin Hough, who nearly went into business with theworkshop 308 guys, has a different take on the topic than Mitchell and Mardis. Hough hasn’t taken the licensing exams and calls himself a “designer.”

“I have been advised by a few of my peers that it can be a pretty serious ordeal to be calling yourself an architect without actually having passed examination,” Hough said. “My issue with it personally is that it can give a potential client a misrepresentation of who you are or what you are capable of and therefore jeopardize a good professional relationship.”

Even though Mitchell and Mardis are in the same boat as Hough, they say it’s OK to call them architects.

“Yeah, there’s kind of a debate that goes on about that,” Mardis said. “It’s kind of an opinion thing. I think, yeah, we’re architects. I don’t see any reason why we can’t call ourselves architects. We can’t say we’re licensed architects, but we’re architects.”

Mitchell and Mardis plan to take their first licensing test in less than a month, and they plan to have all nine tests behind them by the end of summer.

“It gives us time to develop our business, build a couple houses, develop the furniture and the company and get our name out there – all while studying,” Mitchell said. “Really, you only need your license to do commercial work. We can still practice architecture. We can still be architects.”

So who’s right? They both are.

A state license is only required for commercial work, out of consideration for public safety, according to the Missouri Division of Professional Registration.

Mitchell and Mardis can design houses and furniture all day long without licenses, and that’s been the emphasis of theworkshop 308 from the beginning.

They can even design commercial buildings, if they hire a licensed architect to review their work.

As for the title of “architect,” Brent Stevens, licensed architect since 2000 and partner of H Design Group LLC, agrees with Hough.

“The term architect, as far as I know, is reserved for people who are licensed,” Stevens said. “They could really call themselves anything outside of architect.”

Long and winding road

Stevens, Mitchell and Mardis each completed the Internship Development Program, part of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. The roughly three-year program ensures complete on-the-job training in a structured way.

Mitchell said they paid a $400 one-time fee and $50 annually to NCARB.

According to Stevens, the real benefit to NCARB membership is reciprocity, which makes it easier for an architect only licensed in one state to work in other states.

Mitchell and Mardis both have five years of experience at major architecture firms and have finished IDP. The only part left is the tests.

Stevens said Mitchell and Mardis face hurdles in opening their business before securing licensing, but he said it could be done.