About

We Help Developers Get Better Outcomes.

Boston · Founded 2018

Great projects begin with listening.

Balance was built on a simple conviction: the most important architectural work isn't designing something new from nothing — it's seeing the potential in what already exists and having the expertise, nerve, and process to realize it. When Boston's office market fractured post-pandemic, Balance didn't wait for the dust to settle. They navigated the regulatory complexity no one else had cracked and delivered the city's first permitted office-to-residential conversion — proving that vision without execution is just an idea, and execution without vision is just construction. That milestone is the proof, but the mission is bigger: to be the firm that cities, developers, and brands turn to when the stakes are highest and the transformation matters most.

We turn the constraints of your asset into the competitive advantage of your outcome — delivering architecture that changes what's possible, not just what exists.

Leadership

Strategic Partners in Development Outcomes.

CPHC

Philip Sima

Founder, Registered Architect

Registered Architect, Certified Passive House Consultant, and Principal at Balance. Before founding the firm in 2018, Phil worked at renowned firms in Copenhagen, Berlin, Montreal, and New York, focused on high-performance and adaptive reuse projects. He studied Environmental Studies at McGill, worked in construction and carpentry, then earned his Master of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin. He leads work transforming underperforming urban buildings into high-performing, sustainable assets that are reshaping neighborhoods and breathing new life into cities.

Chad Wulleman

Co-Founder, Registered Architect

Registered Architect and Principal at Balance, where he leads Life Science and Commercial projects. Chad's background combines civil engineering and fine arts, culminating in a Master's from Wentworth Institute of Technology. He spent years in construction before co-founding the firm, bringing hands-on building knowledge to every project. An expert in boutique fitness design, Chad ensures that each project is executed to the highest degree—translating vision into built work that performs for clients from day one.

Our Approach

Listening. Vision. Execution.

Listening

Understand constraints and opportunity. Before we draw a single line, we study the zoning, structure, economics, and stakeholders.

Vision

Define what creates the best outcome. Floor plates, entitlement paths, conversion economics. The strategy that makes it all viable.

Execution

Deliver with precision. Senior-led from permit through occupancy, navigating complexity and coordinating every trade.

Why Balance

What Makes Balance Different.

First-mover credibility in Boston office-to-residential adaptive reuse — Balance holds a milestone no competitor can replicate, in the category that is most urgently relevant to Boston's development market right now.

Deal fluency alongside design skill — Balance understands entitlement risk, conversion economics, and feasibility in a way that makes them a strategic development partner, not just an architect for hire. This is the structural moat competitors cannot copy quickly.

Boutique agility with specialist-level operational certainty — Balance delivers the senior-led collaboration and nimble decision-making of a small firm, combined with the regulatory expertise and process predictability that de-risks complex projects for developers.

Dual-audience capability across developers and experiential brands — while competitors specialize in one buyer type, Balance serves real estate developers (adaptive reuse, multifamily) and experience-driven brands (boutique gyms, fitness operators), expanding the deal pipeline without diluting the positioning.