Since establishing Subterranean Architects in 2018, the goal has been balance — creating spaces that provide a sense of belonging while creating moments that offer an emotional shift beyond the familiar to encourage growth and new ways of thinking and being. This interplay between stability and change, familiarity and newness, is a fundamental aspect of our practice and teaching, and is not intended to be resolved. As a faculty member at Kean University, we describe our mission as a transformative process that happens within an anchor mission. Balancing these motivations aims to uncover the potential in all people and places, particularly those that have been overlooked or dismissed but still have something powerful to offer.