BUILDING SYSTEMS

The Studio's Design Philosophy includes a necessary passive approach to energy consumption with a thoughful and imaginative consideration of technology and equipment that supports lower energy use.

Building orientation, window placement, thoughtful arrangement of roof structures, and their overhangs can greatly impact a building's response to energy issues.

Sustainable materials and equipment selection, either by the energy they consume in their manufacturing process, their reduced maintenance needs, or their transportation to the building site all impact their selection as possible building materials.

Technology that replaces a building's energy needs are always considered. Tankless water heaters, geothermal HVAC equipment, PV cells, and water reclaimation systems by their necessity are part and parcel of our design approach.

ARCHITECTURE AS ART

Our mandate is to provide the best architectural solution that satisfies the programmatic issues of space and context wrapped around and infusing a spirit of art as a form giver.

Art, as it relates to a building's form, can take on many shapes. Art can be the play of light as it filters into a building. It can be the materials we select. Art can be the relationship of spaces and the volumes they create. Art can be the building's physical structure of wood or steel as it delineates and separates spaces. It can be the inclusion of the technology that defines the building.

CLIENT NEEDS AND EDUCATION

For architecture to be successful, the client's requirements need to be met. The notion of building for building sake will never provide satisfactory results. It is our belief as architects that the best and only viable solution for successful architecture is to include the client as part of the design team; inviting them into the design dialogue as partners, providing them with an education about thoughful and successful design.