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

The Daniel Burnham Award-winning Memphis 3.0 Comprehensive Plan charted a bold new vision for how the City of Memphis, Tennessee would “grow up, not out” as it embarks on its third century. Opticos Design was thrilled to assist the City of Memphis as they lead the innovative 3.0 Comprehensive Plan on behalf of a multidisciplinary team of national and local consultants. It was a pleasure to be invited back to help the city implement the plan through a series of small area planning projects.

If you’ve ever been to Greenville, South Carolina, you can understand why so many people want to live there. It’s got a small-town feel, is only a short walk or bike ride into nature and has beautiful tree-lined streets with great physical character. But along with that appeal comes housing-related growing pains: higher housing costs with few choices, aside from detached houses and apartment developments. Recently, Greenville found themselves looking for an innovative approach to address their wide range of housing needs and interests. 

Shelter is an integral part of the human condition and an aspect of our lives that can be easily taken for granted. Many consider housing and shelter to be a fundamental human right. But this thinking feels jarringly disconnected with the unpleasant reality that on any given night, approximately half a million Americans are left unsheltered. Of those people, 19% are chronically homeless and 6% are veterans. Disturbingly, the fastest growing segment is families with children.