When Lori Stephens was growing up in Salem, she loved to draw imaginary houses that she wanted to live in. Sheâd make elaborate floor plans and sometimes even create models of the homes out of cardboard and toothpicks.
Today, Stephens owns Broadleaf Architecture in Corvallis. Thanks to her childhood sketches â which amounted to countless hours of joyful practice â she can look at a set of drawings and see them clearly in three dimensions.
Among the recognizable mid-Willamette Valley buildings Stephens has created are the Beazell Forest Education Center in Kings Valley, the Monroe Community Library and the Long Timber Brewing building in Monroe.