We are advocates for good living.

We are designers.

We are artists.

We understand space and light. Architecture is space, light, texture, and color.

We are adept in art and architectural history.

We are problem-solvers.

We are house detectives.

Primitive: from latin primitivus “first of its kind”; original.

In the 1755 edition of the famous treatise on Architecture, Essai sur l'Architecture, Abbe Marc-Antoine Laugier provided a new drawing of the “primitive hut” that had not been published in the original edition of 1753. For Laugier, the concept of the primitive hut represented the first architectural idea, the origins of architecture, and its practice. While the hut is an imaginary house, it has important meaning to us because Laugier’s primitive hut is an emblem of the first modern house. It is a symbol of well-being, and the art of dwelling. We are interested in ideas about dwelling. Houses embody us, as much as we occupy them with our bodies.

The mythic elements of Laugier's hut are simple: trees (wood) as columns (the basic structure). The tree-columns are rooted to the ground. The house is tied to the earth. A house is a living thing. Foliage, neatly trimmed, provides a lush roof canopy. The hut embraces both the interior and the exterior. The hut is a breathing body. Laugier's fable of the hut is a thoughtful and  enlightened nod to the diverse individuality of dwellers, a conceptual exploration of inside and outside in design, and the merits of sustainable construction. In the history and theory of architecture, Laugier is considered the first modern architectural philosopher.

We embrace these concepts in our work.

The house is a wrapper for living.

A house is foremost a frame and filter for daily dwelling. Simultaneously an inside and an outside, our homes are extensions of our bodies. In our everyday practice, our design approach is simple: timeless form, appropriate proportion, elegant scale of parts, commodity of materials, daylight, adept detailing, spatial flow, a sustainable weather-proof wrapper, daydreaming, and delight.

We are advocates of healthy buildings.

Houses are living bodies, constructed of natural materials. A house, like any structure must breathe or it will rot away. Even when synthetic or man-made materials are components in the overall construction of a house, nature plays upon them anyway. Not unlike a body with skin, a house is a filter of weather, time, use, history, occupation, and nature. We may live in a big city surrounded by the densities of a bustling urban life, or in the country surrounded by the effects of local climate and culture. Despite our locations, our homes dwell in nature, and are shaped by human nature.

Our Design Ingredients:

Light

Shadow

Space

Flow

Use

Time

Color

Sound

Volume

Play

Site

Environment

Nature

View

Tactility

Economy

Firmness

Beauty

Delight

Design projects for the non-designer are overwhelming. we know that. we help you plan.

A design and construction consultation with us gives you important tools you need to start a project with confidence.

We are building doctors.

Architects understand everything that is going on aesthetically and physically in a space and structure.

Just as a doctor understands the body, architects understand the chemistry of materials, the physics of nature and structures, the wellness of a building, weather, light, project costs, schedule of work, construction methods, building codes, aesthetics, and most importantly, space.

Have a concern? Not sure who to call? Call us. We make house calls.

We meet you at the curb.

We listen to you. We brainstorm. We are imaginative.

We approach your project in a wonderful way.

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