MEET HELEN CRAWFORD

Born in Brooklyn

Princeton University

Parsons School of Design

The New School

Helen is a visual artist, and award-winning architect.

With over 28 years of experience in the architectural profession, Helen is an architect, designer, construction expert, and visual artist.

Inspired by a love of her grandfather’s construction company, as well as Sunday afternoons at her family’s brownstones near Downtown Brooklyn, she spent her childhood, teens, and twenties exploring the buildings, streets, spaces, and waterways of New York City.

After 20 years as a leader in the design of large commercial and university projects, Helen launched Primitive Huts in 2017. Primitive Huts is based upon a philosophy of dwelling that focuses on place, time, and healthy spaces. Design is the art of living, and small, simple interventions can increase joy and well-being. She often makes house calls that include: curb appeal projects, house well-checks, existing structure assessments, design consultations, masterplanning, and more.

In addition, she helps her clients organize projects and create a plan of action to follow over time. Helen also provides full-service architectural design, including ground-up construction, and renovation. She is a registered architect in Georgia, and a LEED Sustainable Professional.

Known for her intricate drawings, layered paintings, and collages about environmental arts and spatial investigations, Helen’s collaborative projects about public space, architecture, land art, and dwelling have been exhibited at The Van Alen Institute, The Wexner Center, The Urban Center, MoMA and in galleries in Atlanta and New York.

Helen was named one of 30 artists under 30 by critic Herbert Muschamp for The New York Times Magazine in 1994. She was a full-fellow at Princeton University from 1993 to 1996. Helen has taught visual studies studios, design studios, and art/architectural theory seminars at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Princeton University.

Throughout her career, in various outlets of the visual arts and built environment, Helen has provided written and spoken commentary about  the intersection of art, perception, visual education, and architecture for NPR, Metropolis Magazine, The New York Times, and The Carnegie Foundation.

Helen lives in Atlanta with her family where she enjoys meandering, people watching, street sitting, and porch lolling.

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read our interview in Canvas Rebel here.

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