This project type has been a core specialty for Brown Design over the years.  We have been able to help plan and build town centers in traditional neighborhoods all over the county and also provide the architectural design work for the individual buildings.  These buildings form great places for people to interact and those spaces become more important than the typical individual buildings themselves. Live-work and Mixed use buildings typically form the core of an urban infill project or a new town center project.  Mixed use buildings are typically larger and will have multiple tenant spaces on the ground level and either residential units or office space above.  Use flexibility is key here, we often design the upper floors to convert from residential to office or vice versa.  Live-Work units tend to be smaller fee simple units.  These often take the form of the classic shop front building but also can be done in looser house form units or even small liner buildings.  We have also designed units that can convert to Live-works from single family residential (Attached or detached), being a perfect home based business or extra.

These units are complex in several ways, no matter how large or small they are.  There are many choices to be made in terms of construction types and materials plus many factors to understand such as sound control and space flexibility.  Additionally, the multiple codes overlap such as the FHA, IBC and ADA codes all must be thought though during the design phase.  We have worked with most every project type in this category at this point.  Everything from working with the national brands such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks to the small business incubator  units.  Our work has been featured in many case studies and the firm principal, Eric S. Brown, has given lectures on this topic at the National Town Builders Association and the Congress for the New Urbanism.