Services
Architecture · Town Architect · Charrettes
Craft Design Studio provides residential and commercial architecture, Town Architect and charrette services, and consulting on traditional design. All of it starts from authentic, traditionally rooted architecture in an urban context.
Residential Architecture
Houses and multifamily buildings, from high end custom homes to affordable housing.
High End Custom Homes
Semi-Custom Homes
Historic Urban In-fill
Town Homes and Row Houses
Multifamily Condos and Apartments
Plan Collection Development
Affordable Housing
Commercial Architecture
Specializing in Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) types.
Live Work Buildings
Mixed-use Buildings
Civic Buildings
Town Architect (Director of Design)
Developing architectural standards and upholding them through a rigorous yet customer sensitive review process.
Creating and Defining Development Standards
Selecting Approved Product Manufacturers and Vendors
Establishing Design Review Procedures
Construction Implementation Review
General Development Guidance
Charrette Architect
Helping to set an architectural vision for a development, rooted in the local building traditions of the region.
Photo Documenting Local Precedent
Discovering, Defining and Establishing Local Indigenous Character
Concept Type Explorations (Single Family, Row House, Live Work, Mixed-Use, Civic)
Concept Plan and Elevation Design
Perspective Studies and Renderings
Pattern Book
Traditional Design Consultant
Review and guidance on existing designs, measured against traditional principles and details.
Existing Design Review and Analysis
Traditional Detail and Principle Assessment
Design Mark-ups and Re-skins
General Guidance
Presentations and Seminars on Traditional Principles and Design
Residential Plan Collections
Craft Design Studio has a growing collection of house plans that can be purchased at plan book comparable rates, with options of localization, elevation re-skinning, alternate elevations, plan options and plan modification or customization.
Pattern Book
Pattern books can be used to help establish and define appropriate details and design characteristics for the local historic architecture of a region, town or community. They can also act as a development document for establishing desired standards for architectural character and quality, and they give direction and guidance to architects, builders and owners.
Re-Skin Studies
Re-skinning means developing exterior elevation drawings of a house or building with the goal of improving the design, composition and detailing. In traditional architecture there are indeed right and wrong ways to design and build, according to classical and traditional principles. The studio can take schematic, conceptual or existing designs and provide re-skin overlay studies to investigate design alternatives. Great design doesn’t have to cost more. It generally just involves re-arranging current elements and features, to improve composition, massing, proportions and details.
Core Principles and Design Methodology
Communication
Communication is crucial to a successful relationship and a successful project. Our approach focuses on clear communication in all aspects of the process in order to achieve a design that exceeds expectations and is also an enjoyable process for the Client.
Attention to Detail
Thoroughness and attention to detail are a hallmark of Craft Design Studio. From the careful development of a design program to a proactive correspondence with the Contractor during construction, no detail is left un-scrutinized in the process.
Traditional Architecture
Tradition is merely taking from the past the things that work best. All great places in the world are great because they respected tradition and learned from it. Craft Design Studio has a depth of knowledge as well as an ingrained methodology of learning from the past and applying it to contemporary design problems. Timeless principles are indelibly woven into a design and integrate with the needs of contemporary life.
Sense of Place / Indigenous Architecture
Throughout time, architecture always responded to and reflected the characteristics of its place. Buildings were built using locally available materials and built to respond to the prevailing climate of their location. This responsive design resulted in an Indigenous Architecture that was intensely rooted in its place, uniquely distinguishable, and environmentally fitted to its climate. Craft Design Studio is passionate about design that has a sense of place, that is indeed indigenous to its locale.
Urbanism
Throughout time, human settlement has placed all the necessities of life and society in a convenient walkable arrangement, an Urban arrangement. All “great” places prior to about 1930 were inherently walkable, livable, and indeed sustainable. Modern society has all but lost the knowledge of how to build these great places, and with the loss has ushered in severe social, health, environmental, and economic problems. New Urbanism is a movement that has responded to this crisis, and proposed a return to the tried and true Urban principles that have always served humanity best. Above all else, a passion and belief in the principles of urbanism guides the direction of the work of Craft Design Studio.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a core principle at Craft Design Studio. Kenny is a LEED accredited professional and has been involved on several projects pursuing LEED certification. Craft Design Studio comes at Sustainable Design from a perspective of Environmental Stewardship; the resources of the earth are available for us, but we should strive to minimize our negative impact upon the earth. The most successful design occurs when innovative sustainable strategies result in a reduced impact on the earth and also result in very tangible benefits such as reduced utility expenses, improved indoor air quality and health, longevity of systems, etc.
The work runs from the careful development of a design program through proactive correspondence with the contractor during construction, with clear communication at every step.
