Residential Architecture

I design houses with a typological approach, fluent in both historical and modern languages. Good house design is a creative solution to a set of challenging requirements and is not necessarily a certain style. But it can be. A client's lifestyle and needs will be the foremost requirement. The house also must be well planned, efficient, and structurally logical. It also must respond to resilient and sustainable construction practices. The house might reflect the materiality of its surroundings or its region. But a house can do more. It can be an expression of its own presence within nature, a part of the landscape. Or, it might be a more formal expression of how one lives, or aspires to live, as expressed by traditional designs.

I take a hands-on approach to integrated solutions ranging from siting and landscape to custom millwork.

The gallery below highlights some of my residential architecture, small-scale institutional, and design-build work. I can assist you with residential design projects, and, if it's the right project in terms of scope and logistics, I can assist you as a design-builder. One of the great things about good architecture (and all good building, such as boatbuilding or furniture making) is the craftsmanship and detailing, the logic of the planning and design, and the beauty and quality of materials. Oh, wait a sec... the ancient Roman writer Vitruvius already said that! Describing the cornerstones of good architecture, he called them "firmness, commodity, and delight."

These unchangeables are the hallmarks of excellent architecture regardless of style. At a certain point it doesn't matter whether a house is modern or Victorian, as long as the architect understands the principles behind it.