The History of BRS Architects

From two men and a turkey coop

To understand the current BRS culture and distinct business model, the history of the firm and its founding partners must first be explored. Billy Ray Strite and Clinton Yaka founded the firm in 1974 and set up shop in an old turkey coop in the city of Boise, Idaho and operated under the business name Billy Ray Strite, Architect. The humble wood structure lacked any indoor plumbing, utilized an old pot-bellied stove for heat through the cold winter months and it was not uncommon for various farm animals to loiter in and around the building.

With a growing client base Strite and Yaka enlisted Tim Terry to the firm in 1977. The threesome had a very non-conformist attitude toward professional business, touting long hair and casual attire during work hours and a full beer keg as professional and social requisites in the office. Through a philosophy of melding the professional and social spectrums of professional/client relationships at the firms inception, the trio effectively soldered the perception and culture of BRS Architects today.

To 30 people and regional leader

Over the last thirty years, the firm has enjoyed continued growth both in commissions and workforce. The firm outgrew its sole proprietorship in 1980 and became BRS Architects as Clinton and Tim were made partners. As evidence of the firms strength and in an effort to meet the emerging challenges of modern times Trent Koci, Doug Racine, and Andrew Davis were added to the partnership team in 2005. With continued growth and unwavering dedication to our business strategy, the firm has become a 30 person full service architectural firm and a regional leader in commercial, industrial, retail and office design and planning solutions.

Although the firm has seen exciting change over past three decades and has adopted new technologies in response to a high-technology world, our founding values of uniting the professional and social client relationship under Billy Ray Strite Architect continues today with even greater resonance under the modern BRS Architects culture.