 The architects were commissioned for work in twenty-two states, participated in the competition for the National Parliament Buildings in Canberra, Australia, and prepared plans for a large institutional church, or Y.M.C.A., in Hunan, China.The two principals of the firm, William Gray Purcell (1880–1965) and George Grant Elmslie (1869–1952) both eventually received Fellowships in the College of the American Institute of Architects.George Feick, Jr. who was son of George Feick, an Ohio contractor, was the original partner with Purcell.