Simbiotek Architecture Is Now WBENC-Certified as a Women Owned Business!

We're proud to share that Simbiotek Architecture is now certified as a Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The certification formally recognizes what has been evolving: Simbiotek is a woman-owned, woman-led architecture firm, and the design decisions on every project are made by a woman licensed architect.
For our clients, partners, and the communities we design for, this milestone opens new doors while reinforcing the values that shape our work.
What WBENC certification meansWBENC certification is the most widely recognized national certification for women-owned businesses in the U.S. To earn it, a business must be at least 51% owned, controlled, operated, and managed by women.
The process is thorough. WBENC reviews a firm's ownership, finances, governance, and management records, then conducts a site visit to confirm that a woman runs the business day to day. For us, that meant documenting years of corporate records and showing how decisions are made across our studio, from design direction to contracts and finances. WBENC
Why it matters in architectureWomen are still underrepresented in architecture. In 2024, only 27% of U.S. architects identified as women, though more than 2 in 5 newly licensed architects now do, according to NCARB. Women-owned firms are rarer still.
We believe the built environment is better when the people designing it reflect the people living and working in it. Our certification is one small way to make that visible, and to show the next generation of women in design that leading a firm is a real path.
What this means for our clients and partnersMany corporations, institutions, and public agencies set supplier diversity goals for their design and construction spending. Hiring Simbiotek now counts toward those goals.

• Corporate and commercial clients can include a certified WBE architect on tenant improvements, retail, hospitality, and recreation projects to meet supplier diversity targets.
• General contractors and design-build teams can add Simbiotek as a certified WBE subconsultant when bidding projects with diversity participation requirements.
• Public and government agencies gain a qualified, women-owned architecture partner with experience on municipal, county, and federal work, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities.
• Homeowners and developers get the same thing they always have: a licensed architect who knows San Diego zoning, ADU and SB-9 rules, and the California Building Code inside and out.

What stays the sameThe certification is new; our approach is not. Every Simbiotek project still starts with listening: to the client, the site, the code, and the neighborhood.

• Sustainable design at the core. We design for daylight, natural ventilation, efficient envelopes, and Title 24 performance that goes beyond the minimum - when desired.
• Permitting expertise. We guide clients through San Diego city and county plan check, from ADUs and SB-9 lot splits to commercial tenant improvements.
• Personal attention. As a small studio, clients work directly with the architect leading their project.​