We are urban designers and architects who believe in the transformative power of beautiful, sustainable, walkable communities for all.

On November 1, 2021, Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, rolled back a significant, but lesser noted regulatory hurdle to building missing middle in the US, by locally amending building codes to enable structures of 3 to 6 dwelling units to be reviewed by the city and county under their residential building code rather than the commercial building code that typically triggers at three units or more. For Andre Jones, a local builder and member of the City and County’s Building Code Advisory Board, the push to become one of the first jurisdictions to review missing middle housing under the residential code could not have come at a better time.

For one last time in 2021, the Opticos team gathered at the office to pause and reflect upon all that we had accomplished this past year. It was a wonderful reminder of the project milestones, professional development, team building exercises, and overall fun we had in the last twelve months as we resumed meetings in the office and travelled nationwide to project sites, community engagement workshops, and speaking events.

Vertical construction on Culdesac Tempe is now well underway, with several buildings in the main entry plaza almost fully completed and future residents ready to make it their new home in 2022. The country’s first car-free community built from scratch promises a vibrant, walkable community that includes a restaurant, grocery store and coffee shop, amongst other amenities. While it is hard to find these types of retail tenants, especially early on in a mixed use project like this, Culdesac not only made it a priority, but also made a special effort to find small, locally owned businesses to support the local economy and reinforce a unique experience within the Culdesac community for residents and visitors.