We know that the most successful projects are built on collaboration with our clients, team, and partners. Open and honest communication combined with a detailed site plan that accounts for all potential variables is key to success.

We treat every project we work on like we are building it for ourselves. It is personal and we take great pride in creating structures that improve communities and enrich lives. We believe West Virginia abounds with unexpected architectural treasures. A goal of the practice is to embrace the architectural heritage of the region and to celebrate the best of our past.

Our new office in downtown Morgantown is a reflection of our commitment to the community and the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. From the adorable black lab that greets you at the door to our state-of-the-art design technology, we have created a comfortable space ideal for collaboration and creativity.

Andy Beall, Planning & Zoning Administrator, Corporation of Shepherdstown

When collaborating with the Mills Group, one soon realizes they are dealing with a company built on integrity and managed by principles. The team listens and understands the client's end goals, provides feedback and creative options, communicates regularly their progress and completes projects on time and far beyond expectation.

Evan Hardesty, Managing Member, Black Oak Properties, LLC

I would strongly recommend Mills Group as architects for any job. Michael Mills and crew were not given much in the way of details when it came to our projects; however, they presented us with fully thought out, ready to build, beautiful, innovative designs. From traffic patterns, parking lot capacities, to water drainage, Mills Group considered factors often overlooked.

Preston County Commission

In our opinion, the Mills Group brings a wealth of expertise and professionalism that sets them apart from other architectural firms.

Tom Laurita, Residential Client

We needed help turning our vision into a reality. The Mills Group was able to take us through a collaborative process that generated a clear concept, and an outline for getting the job done. Our home was dated and now it exudes a warm welcoming feel.

Mark Nesselroad, CEO, Glenmark Holding LLC

Mills Group has developed into a highly reputable company for the Morgantown area. They have been an asset for Glenmark Holding LLC, as they designed the building that is currently our local office. Michael and his knowledgeable staff work diligently to deliver top-notch results with excellent customer service.

About

Mills Group’s technology pipeline utilizes some of the most cutting-edge devices and software on the market today. From the project kick-off to the finished product, our services add unmatched speed, accuracy, and hyper-realism.

Mills Group specializes in hand-crafted videos and project-related graphic packages that create a complete visual experience for our clients. Custom voice-over and narration, info-graphics, special effects, and soundtracking are all woven together in a cohesive package that can help illustrate the story behind the project and create a believable vision of what could be. Our video capabilities include utilizing both DSLR cameras (digital single-lens reflex) and GoPros to capture HD imagery and silky smooth video at ultra-high resolutions.

Our animation workflow starts with our accurate 3D models being integrated into our motion software. The software allows us to add a realistic atmosphere through the use of landscape plants, water effects, sunlight and weather, and moving people and traffic among other entourage assets. We create a visual storyline through scene scripting and wireframes to direct our in-program cameras to track. After perfecting the story, recording our scenes, and stitching the clips together seamlessly, we then overlay special effects, music, and narration to create a complete experience for our clients.

Animation & Video

One of our strongest technology tools is our Virtual Reality (VR) headset which brings our designs into fully-realized virtual environments for our clients. This technology creates interactive guided tours for clients to be immersed in a project and to view the site from unlimited perspectives.

The Virtual Reality capability also allows for an experimental design and review process and a deeper insight into the project details in real time. During the conceptual phase, our designers can enter the virtual space to prove or disprove concepts early on and in truly integrated ways. Checking dimensions, sight lines and testing the overall feel of space in first person are not possible without the help of VR.

Another client benefit of our Virtual Reality workflow is that it is optimized for web use which allows our teammates and clients to collaborate from anywhere. The web based software allows clients without VR headsets to still have the ability to join us in a virtual space to see their project take shape right before their eyes.

Virtual Reality

The integration of point cloud scanning is one of the most important and game-changing additions to our ever-evolving technology toolkit. This scanning process works by sending out and then collecting and analyzing a large set of data points within a given coordinate system, also known as a ”point cloud.” These data points gather details on the location being scanned that pertain to distance, size, shape, and color and then return that information back to the scanner. After canvasing an entire location of interior and/or exterior spaces, the scanner then registers a highly accurate composite point cloud model which is used by our architects to verify existing structures as well as create trustworthy models for new designs.

In addition to the incredible sub-centimeter accuracy of the scanning data, it also gathers 360° HD imagery that can be used to give our clients fully-immersive walkthroughs of their space. These images can also be integrated into our Virtual Reality interface for an even greater effect.

Further benefits to leveraging this technology include measuring and analyzing unreachable areas, utilizing the thermal camera to understand heat transmission or reveal insulation vulnerabilities, and to present our designs in visually rich and dynamic ways.

3D Scanning

Our 360° imagery and spherical capture is a great tool for helping our designers and clients with understanding space from almost any perspective. We can create these by capturing them from existing locations through our point cloud scanner or from our 3D modeled designs through our animation software. By combining several location captures, we are able to create virtual tours that help illustrate linear progressions through sites as you would see them in real life.

Some of our most impactful client meetings involve creating hybridized tours that contain spherical images of both existing conditions and modeled conceptual designs. These sessions allow for a quick recall of what the space feels like currently and then immediately highlights how the space can feel from the exact same location under the exact same conditions with our proposed design.

360° Imagery

A difficulty that we often face is adhering to strict federal and state guidelines that dictate responsible preservation, life safety, and sound architectural practices. These guidelines can be very complex and involved without the help of a knowledgeable advisor. Our team of experts are able to transform the complexity of these practices into functioning, intuitive, and user-friendly formats.

Our clients can easily navigate these guidelines using our hand-crafted, interactive PDF documents that guide users step-by-step through each phase. Whether it be creating linear, choice-based pathways or labyrinthine, multi-branching procedures, we transform the complicated into the concise.

Documents such as our Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Interactive Roadmap guide the user to ensure that no important steps are missed on the way. This particular document highlights the stages involved in determining whether a project is eligible to receive tax credits and then directs users through the application process. The Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Interactive Roadmap uses a straightforward, single-choice interface and a clickable flow chart that can lead users to any step in the progression.

Interactivity

Through the Remote Pilot Certification of Ryan McClain, the Director of Creative Planning and Design, Mills Group is able to provide fully-fledged drone services to our residential and commercial clients.

These drone missions or "sUAS" (small unmanned aircraft systems) will allow our entire firm to benefit from internally collected aerial photography and video as well as photogrammetry, which is the technology of obtaining reliable and accurate information about physical objects in the environment through the process of recording, measuring, and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant imagery and other phenomena.

Data distilled from our software will allow us to harness important, yet difficult to gather, site information like terrain slopes, cut/fill volumes, drainage elevations, roof profiles, site areas, hardscape distances, turf health, plant counts, and many other elements. In addition, we can now also use all the imagery and video we collect for enhanced marketing efforts and project graphics.

Animation & Video

Tools

Virtual Reality

3D Scanning

Animation & Video

360° Imagery

Interactivity

Unmanned Aircraft Systems