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Clearscapes is a multi-disciplinary design firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina that was formed in 1981 when architect, Steven D. Schuster, and sculptor, Thomas H. Sayre, combined their creative talents and energies to design environments for some of North Carolina's neediest citizens, the severely and profoundly retarded residents of Murdoch Center in Butner, North Carolina. Twenty four years later, the firm has matured to a broad-based, full service design firm comprised of twenty architects, artists, and support personnel with diverse educational, geographic and experiential backgrounds. Clearscapes continues to work with special populations while expanding its scope of work to encompass museums, arts facilities, university buildings, civic structures, and a range of public art. A significant focus of the work of the firm has been the revitalization of important historic structures and the infill of new construction in sensitive historic settings through out the state. The firm has been recognized with numerous design awards for these projects. In addition to the design studio, the firm maintains a 4,000 square foot shop where material research, mock-up fabrications, and experimentation is done. The firm's public art is built in the shop as well as components for many of its architectural projects. This facility is unique and extends the firm's creativity beyond the confines of a traditional architectural firm. The firm has consciously chosen to remain small so that the two founding principals can be actively involved in all of the projects, working with a professional staff of architects and artists who collaborate in teams. The firm has been successful in developing a client base with transit stations, commercial development, local governments, corporations, and institutions; two thirds of its work is repeat commissions.