From 1919 until 1925, he worked as a design engineer for the Turner Construction Company of Boston, while engaging in his own architectural practice on the side.

Commissions followed; he became a registered architect in 1925, opening his own Boston office on lower Beacon Street the same year.

Wills' artistry brought refinement to every level of planning, engineering and detail of the Cape Cod model.

In the category for people with $5,000 to $6,000 incomes, the modern design was by Frank Lloyd Wright and the traditional one by Royal Barry Wills.

With the motto "no stock plans," Wills designed buildings not only in New England, but from Canada to Florida, including Cape Cods, garrisons, saltboxes, churches, and, in 1941, a 300-unit housing complex for defense workers in Springfield, Massachusetts.