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A decade after opening an office in Seattle, Ankrom Moisan Architects is expanding into Northern California with its purchase of San Francisco-based Forum Design.

鈥淲e’ve been working down there for a while and several clients said, 鈥榃e would like you to be closer,’ 鈥� Ankrom Moisan spokeswoman Liz Coleman said. 鈥淭he move is client-driven, similar to when we expanded into Seattle.鈥�

The expansion of the Portland-based firm follows several Bay Area projects, including the Channel Mission Bay apartments and the Jewish Home of San Francisco. Currently, Forum Design is working on major residential developments along the Van Ness Avenue corridor, the renovation of Rincon Towers and other mixed-use projects.

By acquiring an existing firm instead of starting from scratch, as Ankrom Moisan did in Seattle, expansion will be smoother, Coleman said.

Ankrom Moisan now has approximately 240 employees in Portland, 100 in Seattle and 11 in San Francisco. The firm is looking to hire more people for all three locations.

鈥淲e started with two people in Seattle and rented a big open office and sat at folding tables for a while,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his time it made more sense to join forces with an established firm, and it’s mutually beneficial.鈥�

Ankrom Moisan, in a statement, said that with the recent purchase, the firm will gain the 鈥渋ntellectual capital and on-the-ground experience鈥� of Forum Design while the latter will gain access to the resources of a much larger firm.

Travis Throckmorton, recently promoted to principal at Ankrom Moisan, has already moved to the Bay Area, Coleman said. Throckmorton and Forum Design co-founder Warner Schmalz, who has more than 40 years of experience in architecture and master planning, will lead the San Francisco office. Schmalz will serve as managing partner.

Schmalz said in a statement that his company 鈥渞eally lucked out by teaming with such an exceptional firm whose values and interests are so closely aligned with our own.鈥�

Ankrom Moisan is already building upon Forum Design’s work in the Bay Area, Coleman said.

鈥淲e are getting projects in San Jose and Los Angeles, and we’re doing senior housing in some smaller communities,鈥� she said.

Operating in Portland, Seattle and San Francisco makes sense, Coleman added, because the three cities share many of the same values, such as pedestrian-oriented development.

Also, the firm is considering the possibility of opening an office in Los Angeles in the future, she said.