Our Studio

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We listen to clients – their practical needs, their daily rhythms, passions, and constraints.

We listen to sites – the local materials and material culture, previous marks on the land, prevailing climate and weather patterns, fauna and flora, and geological features.

We negotiate the needs of both – an alchemy that, when done well, creates a unified whole that feels rooted in its place. The buildings themselves become extensions of both the client and the land.

Americans spend about 90% of our days indoors, and on average in a post-covid world, 75% of each day in our homes. That’s a huge number, contained largely in hermetically sealed, drywalled fortresses! We have lost touch with Eden. And while most of the world does not approach the promise, beauty, or climate of garden-ness, it is clear that we were never intended to shut ourselves away from it. 

Given the amount of time we spend indoors, and considering the wealth of evidence pointing to the benefits of human engagement with nature, BHA seeks with great enthusiasm to connect clients to nature. This may look like leveraging the best qualities of a given site, encouraging physical connections to the outdoors, using natural light and daylighting strategically, choreographing thoughtful views and openings, and by selecting natural materials rooted in local resources and material culture. 

Instead of an object that draws attention to itself, we prefer a building that acts as a frame; instead of a living room, we prefer a room that is living; instead of a room with a view, we prefer a view with a room.

We are called to be caretakers, stewards of this amazing planet that we call home. Being a part of the building industry which accounts for 40% of annual global CO2 emissions, we recognize the weight that lies on our shoulders. At the scale of projects that BHA works on, considering global and even local energy flows can be daunting to say the least. But we see that even on smaller projects, the use of active and passive systems, paired with strategic design decisions from the project outset, can make an impact. Eventually a small ripple can effect an entire pond.

In addition, the construction industry accounts for 40% of America’s solid waste generated annually through construction and demolition.  In light of this, BHA actively seeks to introduce material efficiency and re-use to projects. In the small scale, this can look like diverting masonry waste destined for the landfill and instead using it as the primary material for landscaped retaining walls. It looks like wood cut-offs from trim work being re-purposed as barn door sliders. It looks like trees slated for removal, re-shaped to become expressive wood columns. The very concept of renovation is a larger scale version of re-purposing (as opposed to demolition and re-building). 

New life for old discarded things. A worthy goal.

Building is inherently an act of optimism. It requires vision and enthusiasm to see the potential in clean slates or broken states and to believe that design can bring about positive change or solve a client’s pressing needs. The process of moving from the spark of an initial idea to the manifestation of that idea is a fascinating and privileged endeavor. It is a great joy to walk this journey with clients.