There’s a reason we chose Mithun as Top Firm in our 2001 Leadership Awards. A large company that still includes houses as part of its work, Mithun designs regionally appropriate architecture that is at once familiar and new. “Residential work has always been a core part of our office, but it’s now balanced with civic projects for cities, governments, institutions, nonprofit groups, and universities,” managing principal David Goldberg, AIA, told us last year.

Throughout its 61 years, the firm has evolved into a practice that is serious about sustainability. Mithun accepts only residential planning and design work that has a density of 14 units per acre. “We need to get higher densities to stop sprawl,” say principal Tammie Schacher, AIA, LEED AP.