Alliance Architects is a full-service architectural firm which was formed as the result of a merger between James Childs Architects and Architecture Design Group (ADG) in 2012. The two predecessor firms had been in practice in South Bend, Indiana since 1972 and 1988, respectively. All of the principals and staff of James Childs Architects and ADG became members of the new firm. Services offered by Alliance Architects include architectural design, interior design and urban planning. The firm focuses on its core building types of higher education, institutional, multi-family apartments, public housing and senior living developments. Sustainable design and Building Information Modeling (BIM) are also specialties which the firm has developed. The name Alliance was chosen because it speaks to the collaborative nature of architectural practice. In the view of the principals, the concept of the alliance extends beyond the in-house team to include clients, consultants, contractors and virtually everyone impacted by the work. The principals have always shared a commitment to a “hands on”, direct principal management approach to completing projects on behalf of their clients. This involvement is recognized as both value added for the clients; as well as the source of considerable personal satisfaction for the principals themselves. The formation of Alliance has provided the support structure necessary for this tradition to continue into the future.