California has been home to me all my life. Family roots go back three generations, and their mark was left in both northern and southern California. It seems fitting that I married a native Californian as well.

For all of it’s striking and varied landscapes, I’ve always felt the quintessential California landscape is the image above.....oak studded hills and valleys. You will find them most everywhere in the state, both north and south. To me they are sort of a unifying element that ties the state together. There are very few parts of California where you won’t find this timeless pattern.

Timeless patterns are a recurring theme in architecture as well. Buildings that respect the forces of nature, as well as our cultural traditions, age well with time. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area instilled in me a respect for its unique architectural traditions, including a respect for craftsmanship and the use of vernacular materials, two distinctive features of what’s known as the Bay Area Tradition. My brief experiences working under contractors took this appreciation one step further by helping me to understand the connections between hands, tools, materials, craftsmanship, and design.

Creating something new out of the aspirations of a client, a unique location, current technology, the inevitable economic and regulatory constraints, all the while respecting the history and special qualities of a site, are my inspirations for design.

Our tools are changing. Today we can create virtual buildings in 3D, which opens up possibilities that are only beginning to be explored. You will have the opportunity to experience the impact of these exciting new tools, which will enhance your understanding of the design of your building as it evolves.