It’s fitting that Caron Architecture gets its name from a Czech accent mark; founder Radim Blazej (above right, with principal Joel Wilbur) is Czech and says he chose it in 2002 as a symbol of how an accent can change the meaning of a word—or a project. They pride themselves in innovative design, and it happens their office speaks 12 languages and has done work in China, Japan, and the Philippines. They do a ton in Seattle, of course, and most asset classes and scopes of work, but their sweet spot is mixed-use multifamily and under $30M. This month they start construction on 100 apartments over retail at 23rd and Union with Lake Union Partners and a student housing project in the U-District, and in the past they’ve ranged from the 34-unit high-end Volta lofts to a 350-unit development in Shoreline. Good thing they're architects—they're outgrowing their current space and will need to design more.