Shoegnome Architects is located in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Shoegnome Architects works with homeowners on custom residential projects and other architects/designers on improving their Archicad usage and BIM integration. Our website is primarily focused on exploring the practice of Architecture in the 21st century, from BIM and technology to understanding what it even means to be an architect these days. Check out Instagram and Houzz for images of our latest work.
We are open to discussing any project of any scale. Collaborating with the right clients, such as ones that understand dining rooms are used more for game nights than Thanksgiving dinners, is more important to us than project type. Shoegnome Architects is part of a collaborative of small firms, working closely with Grayform Architecture (Houston, TX) and westerbeck|architecture (Bothell, WA).
Send us an e-mail or call us at 206.504.3075. We’d love to talk with you.
The Architect
Jared Banks, AIA is a licensed architect in the State of Washington (State of Washington, License 11137). He decided to become an architect when he was in first grade. He forgot about that dream as he got older, but remembered the day before his senior year of high school. Jared graduated from Rice University with a BArch in 2005, got his architecture license in 2009, and started Shoegnome in 2010 as a consultancy to teach other architects how to better integrate technology into their businesses. Moving from St. Paul, MN to the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle in 2014, Jared shifted his focus to residential design, rebranding the business as Shoegnome Architects.
Jared has been a member of the AIA since 2010. He served on the AIA Custom Residential Architects Network (CRAN) Communications Committee from 2013 to 2017 and on the AIA CRAN Advisory Group from 2015 to 2017. Since 2018, Jared has been a co-organizer of the Sole Practitioners Round Table (SPRouT), a group of architects who meet monthly to discuss issues related to being a sole-practitioner and to provide encouragement and support.
The Not At All Secret Weapon
Shoegnome Architects is dedicated to Building Information Modeling (BIM) and helping other architects work in a smarter, more efficient manner. What is BIM? This article will give you some art historical context. If you use Archicad, our favorite BIM software, we have some specific services here that might help you. You can also download the Shoegnome Open Template for Archicad here.
Jared started the Minnesota Archicad User Group in 2009 and began writing about Archicad in 2010. Between 2012 and 2018, Jared wrote for BIM Engine, the official blog of GRAPHISOFT North America. Sadly the internet is transient and so much of what Jared wrote between 2010 and 2018 is not as accessible as it should be. If he ever finds the time, he’ll republish old posts on this website or maybe finally write that book on BIM, Archicad, and architecture that he’s been dreaming about for years. Jared has been organizing and running the Seattle Area Archicad User Group since he moved to Seattle in 2014. In addition to traditional architecture work, Jared is always looking for opportunities to speak, write, and teach about Archicad, BIM, and the future of architecture.
The Fairytale
Why is an architecture firm called Shoegnome? It’s from our favorite Brothers Grimm story, the one about the cobbler and the elves. We are the elves. Jared misremembered the Brothers Grimm story as the cobbler and the gnomes. Jared noticed that wherever he was working, people would come to him to save their projects. Coworkers would go home and he’d stay to fix projects and make everything wonderful. Something felt very familiar. The concept of being a shoegnome was born. For a longer explanation, read this blog post.
Have a question or comment? Want to hire us as your architect? We’d love to hear from you.