Focusing on open, untethered spaces, Plano-based SHW Group designs educational spaces for K-12 and higher ed institutions. Despite firm-wide '09 projected revenues at $67M and more than 100 projects designed each year, managing principal Jimmy Strohmeyer doesn’t even have his own office, opting to live the cube life with his staff (he puts the "pal" in managing principal), including Tina Syring,Brad Glaesmann, and Vandana Nayak. Smooth sailing goes beyond the office and out onto Lake Ray Hubbard, Jimmy says, with his wife and four children.

The team working on the Dallas ISD Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy  moved workspaces closer together, promoting a collaborative atmosphere. The school is designed to have a college atmosphere and is targeted toward first-generation university students. It's slated for a 2011 opening.

Educational facilities remain one of the few active real estate areas, and SHW’s North Texas Studio marketing manager Kim Smith said 70%  of SHW’s business is from repeat customers. Fast-growing districts have new projects, but the land-locked ISDs may need facilities repurposed or renovated. Kim’s artistic endeavors don’t stay at the office. She paints, and it looks like some of those skills may be hereditary. Fyi, the sign didn't lie: she did smell like flowers.