“Our meetings are fun because we’ve developed such a relationship and a trust with each other. I just love that aspect, especially with the client, consultants, and contractor. Everybody is happy, they like meeting with you. That’s the great part – the relationships.”

Meet the Team | Janna

“I always wanted to be an architect. My brother and I used to draw houses on grid paper when we were little. My grandfather was a civil and chemical engineer for WSDOT, so the awareness was always there.”

Associate Janna Peters appreciates how the practice of architecture allows her to constantly learn – through both the craft of design and the variety of buildings that are developed in our region. She never shies away from a challenging or complicated project because of the learning opportunity that it presents. Whether it’s a new K-12 school in Washington, a physical fitness renovation in Alaska, or a justice facility in Oregon, Janna takes a systematic approach to design and she is energized by exploring complex spatial relationships.

“I definitely get my parameters in order first so I’m not designing something that doesn’t fit or doesn’t meet the client’s needs. I like to color code the visual program so that you can see its layout. That also makes it easier for the client to understand. They can see where their spaces are.”

Janna cites her relationships with clients and team members as the most rewarding aspect of her job. Her clear, communicative management style fosters trusting relationships where people are happy collaborating together. Janna uses cartoon sets in Excel to define each sheet by the phase of design, which leads to each team member understanding timely priorities and an efficient process where no one is jumping ahead.

In the associate group, Janna is a vocal advocate for sharing knowledge and is leading by example to push the firm to new heights. As a mentor, she identifies areas where younger designers need coaching and presents on those topics at KMB University or at Inside the Designer’s Studio – two internal educational programs run by the associate group. Janna also created another learning tool, Conundrum, where she puts forth puzzles for the staff to solve – either related to project design issues or historical architects and buildings. For the first Conundrum, Janna featured her favorite architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whom she admires for the functionality celebrated in his designs.

When not working, Janna is training for her next cycling race. She has completed the Seattle to Portland (STP) multi-day event, among other road races, and she’s currently training for her next competition with her mom. In fact, Janna’s athleticism earned her a track scholarship to college. Fortunate for KMB architects, she turned it down to study architecture at Washington State University and was still able to be on the track team at WSU!.