Most obviously, Williams and Associates Architecture is making an impact throughout the Black Hills in a tangible way: distinctive architecture. But the Spearfish company can claim less visible success, too. Williams and Associates is a role model for businesses who would like to offer young people a real world introduction to a profession, and owner Steve Williams’ personal story is the type South Dakotans love—young man leaves home for an education and professional experience, then returns to go into business for himself.
Williams grew up in Spearfish and then earned a degree in architecture from Montana State University, Bozeman. He started his career in Colorado Springs, working for a firm that designed medical buildings coast to coast.
“I was on the road all the time,” he said. He and his wife, Linda, had two sons, “and I found being in a motel room, calling back home to talk to your kids, wasn’t good.”
So in 1993 Williams came home to Spearfish, at first working from a basement office in his home. Before long the business spread into another basement room and, he recalled with a laugh, “we had seven people working there and the city was asking questions about all the cars parked at our house.”
Now 12 people work at Williams and Associates, housed in a condo complex the company designed on Spearfish’s Colorado Boulevard. Williams’ first big project in the Black Hills was Spearfish Canyon Lodge, but the company’s bread and butter has been designing more than 30 medical buildings—physician offices, surgery centers, assisted living and nursing homes, and an expansion of Spearfish’s hospital.
That’s the specialty field of architecture Williams learned in Colorado Springs. “I like working with physicians,” he said. “Most of them are tremendous decision makers. Their projects don’t usually get bogged down by bureaucracy.”
Appealing architecture, Williams believes, is important to any region promoting itself as rich with development opportunities. While the Black Hills can claim a wonderful architectural heritage—beautiful sandstone structures of the late 1800s, distinctive buildings in gold-rich towns, impressive log creations in state and national parks—the region is hampered by the fact that South Dakota has no architecture school. Neither does Wyoming.
“Places close to those schools tend to have an elevated level of architecture,” Williams said. “And it’s hard to get young architects to initially consider careers in places outside cities, because schools tend to present cities as where cutting-edge architecture happens.”
But, he adds, there will always be architects who, after experiencing urban work and life, will opt for something else. There’s a good chance any architect graduating from Williams’ alma mater, and who enjoyed Bozeman, will also appreciate the Black Hills.
Williams and Associates helps Spearfish youth who might be interested in a career in architecture gain exposure and, eventually, some hands-on experience. The company has welcomed students seeking job shadowing or mentorship opportunities. Two young people have gone on to work toward degrees at Montana State.
“The Black Hills region has been really good to us,” says Williams. “I didn’t work for him, but when I returned to Spearfish, architect Herb Aslesen welcomed me and sent some projects my way. I was fortunate to get involved with some physicians and project partners who were doing some pretty aggressive things.”
He is pleased to be part of a community of Black Hills architects working to make good things happen, and business is fine.
“Even with the cost of construction going higher, we’re still incredibly busy,” he said. In fact, he’s currently seeking a full-time architect for his company.
