Alex Slitz / Daily NewsMatt (left) and Nick Sewell, both of Bowling Green, owners of Sewell and Sewell Architects, talk last week with members of the Alvaton Fire Department about their expansion plans for Alvaton Fire Department Station 3.

Brothers Nick and Matt Sewell expected that they would have careers in the construction industry, since that was where their father worked.

They even spent a few summers working at Scott, Murphy & Daniel, where their dad, Frankie, works.

“But he steered us toward (engineering) and architecture,” said Matt, the younger Sewell. “He said that’s where the opportunities are.”

The Greenwood High School graduates – Matt in 2001 and Nick in 1996 – took similar paths. Nick went off to the University of Kentucky to become an architect and Matt eventually followed. Both found internships and then full-time jobs at Sherman Carter Barnhart, a major designer of projects and Kentucky schools, including many in Warren County.

They worked for the firm in Lexington considerably longer than many young architects do – Nick for 10 years and Matt for six.

“We had offers to come back this way,” Matt said. “But we wanted to wait until we were ready.”

Matt said many of the firms in the Bowling Green area are one- or two-person firms, so they decided to wait to come home until they were ready to start their own two-person firm.

They came home, and in May started Sewell and Sewell Architects.

“Very few companies here have two licensed architects on staff,” Matt said.

At least for another year, the two architects are all the firm has while it gets established.

“We expected to have a few lean months,” Matt said. “But we started right through the gates.”

Nick said they have parlayed their knowledge and contacts with the construction industry into some future jobs.

Mike Murphy, an owner of Scott, Murphy & Daniel, said he was excited when the Sewells decided to come back home and looks forward to being able to work with them.

“I recall that they were really hard workers,” Murphy said of the brothers’ summer jobs.

Last week, Matt and Nick spent several hours visiting job sites with potential clients. The projects have not yet been announced, so they declined to discuss what they were.

The brothers said they will focus on commercial, industrial and some residential projects.

“We are going to steer clear of schools,” Nick said. “Those projects are really geared more for larger firms … because of the size of the projects and the volume of paperwork that you have.”

An ideal project scenario, Nick said, would be to have a client who is open to ideas and willing to work with you.

A nightmare scenario would be to have no budget, no time and have an owner who lacks direction, Nick said.

“Each project will have its own merits,” he said.

So far they have designed a park building for Edmonson County, a building for Simpson County’s fiber-optic servers and some residential projects.

Their brother, John, is a civil engineer for Arnold Consulting and the brothers plan to collaborate on more projects together.

Nick said their parents, Frankie and Peggy Sewell, are glad to have all three children home, particularly so they can frequently see their grandchildren. Matt, who is married to the former Jody Hurt, has one child, and Nick will soon be married to Kendra Hurt. John has two children.

As for the future, Matt and Nick said they see their firm remaining fairly small, perhaps with four or more employees besides themselves.

“We already have had designers and draftsmen contact us,” Nick said. “But we want to make sure we are established well before we hire anyone.”

— For more information about the Sewells, go to http://sewellarchitects.com.