RESOURCES
RESOURCES
Practical guidance for planning, designing, renovating, and building.
Clear information to help homeowners make informed decisions before construction begins.
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01
When Do You Actually Need an Architect?
When Do You Actually Need an Architect?
Learn when professional design expertise adds real value, from defining scope and coordinating consultants to helping avoid costly decisions during construction.
02
Before You Call a Contractor
Before You Call a Contractor
Getting wildly different construction prices? The problem may not be the contractors. Learn why defining the project first leads to clearer pricing, better comparisons, and fewer assumptions.
03
We Bought Land. Now What?
We Bought Land. Now What?
Before you start designing the house, understand what the property is telling you. Zoning, access, utilities, topography, drainage, wildfire or flood risk, and site conditions can all shape what is possible and what it may cost.
04
Renovate, Add On, or Build New?
Renovate, Add On, or Build New?
When a home no longer works, more square footage is not always the answer. Learn how to compare renovation, addition, and new construction based on function, cost, existing conditions, zoning, and long-term value.
05
Why Two Houses With the Same Square Footage Can Cost Very Different Amounts to Build
Why Two Houses With the Same Square Footage Can Cost Very Different Amounts to Build
Square footage only tells part of the story. Learn how building shape, site conditions, windows, materials, structure, finishes, and performance goals can make two similarly sized homes cost very different amounts to build.
06
Thinking About Buying a House to Renovate? Look Beyond the Finishes
Thinking About Buying a House to Renovate? Look Beyond the Finishes
A dated kitchen can be easy to fix. Structural problems, old systems, zoning limits, previous renovations, and site constraints can be much more important. Learn what to look at before buying a house for its renovation potential.
07
How Long Does It Really Take to Design and Permit a Home?
How Long Does It Really Take to Design and Permit a Home?
Construction may be the visible part, but months of design, engineering, coordination, pricing, approvals, and permitting often come first. Learn why starting earlier gives you more options and a better chance of keeping the project on track.
08
One of the Biggest Investments You’ll Make. Why Wouldn’t You Plan It?
One of the Biggest Investments You’ll Make. Why Wouldn’t You Plan It?
Building or renovating a home can be one of the largest investments you ever make, and a place you may live in for decades. Learn why thoughtful planning can protect your investment, reduce costly decisions during construction, and create a home that truly supports the way you want to live.
09
Crawl Space, Slab, or Basement?
Crawl Space, Slab, or Basement?
The foundation affects much more than what supports the house. Learn how soils, frost, drainage, insulation, radon, site conditions, and future flexibility can influence whether a basement, crawl space, slab-on-grade, or shallow foundation makes the most sense.
10
Frank Lloyd Wright Was the OG. So What Happened to Architecture?
Frank Lloyd Wright Was the OG. So What Happened to Architecture?
Architecture has gained better technology, building science, and specialized expertise, but have we lost some of the connection between design, craft, and construction? A look at what Frank Lloyd Wright, the master builder mentality, and historic buildings can still teach us about creating thoughtful architecture today.
11
Your Home Is Changing the Way You Live
Your Home Is Changing the Way You Live
Architecture affects more than how a home looks. Light, color, air, nature, layout, privacy, and connection to the outdoors can all influence how we feel, move, gather, focus, and live every day. A look at how thoughtful design can shape human behavior and everyday life.
12
Urban Infill: Why Building Within Our Cities Matters
Urban Infill: Why Building Within Our Cities Matters
Not every dream home needs to start on untouched land. Urban infill can make better use of existing neighborhoods, infrastructure, and services while creating more housing, stronger communities, and a more convenient way to live. A look at the benefits, challenges, and tradeoffs of building within the places we already call home.
13
The Most Awkward 12 Inches of Your House
The Most Awkward 12 Inches of Your House
Exterior foundation insulation can improve thermal performance and reduce heat loss, but what happens when that insulation reaches finished grade? The exposed portion has to withstand moisture, snow, UV, landscaping, impacts, and everyday abuse, yet there is still no single industry-standard solution. A look at why this seemingly small detail is so difficult, the materials builders are using, and what a better solution might actually require.
14
Before You Knock Down That Wall: What You Should Know About Load-Bearing Walls
Before You Knock Down That Wall: What You Should Know About Load-Bearing Walls
Removing a wall can completely transform a home but not every wall is there just to divide space. Learn how load-bearing walls support the structure above, why they matter in renovations, and what to consider before opening up your floor plan.
15
Why “One Small Change” Is Part of the Design Process
Why “One Small Change” Is Part of the Design Process
Changes are a normal part of architecture, but when they happen can make a big difference. Learn why projects move through Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction Documents, and how early exploration can help define scope, improve pricing, identify the right consultants, and reduce costly rework later.
16
The Confidence Trap: Why “Let Me Get Back to You” Can Be Good Project Management
The Confidence Trap: Why “Let Me Get Back to You” Can Be Good Project Management
Good project management is not about having every answer immediately. This article looks at why slowing down, verifying information, and understanding how one decision affects the entire project can prevent costly mistakes. From consultant coordination to construction details, experience is often knowing when to act, when to investigate, and when to take the extra time to see the whole picture.
17
The Real Cost of Building: Why the Cheapest Decision Isn’t Always the Cheapest
The Real Cost of Building: Why the Cheapest Decision Isn’t Always the Cheapest
A lower number at the beginning does not always mean a lower cost at the end. This article looks at how unrealistic allowances, change orders, redesigns, rushed schedules, material choices, and small revisions can quietly push a project beyond its original budget. From comparing contractor bids to balancing design goals with long-term performance, good planning means understanding what each decision may cost before it becomes expensive to change.
18
After Disaster Strikes: Before You Rebuild, Understand Your Options
After Disaster Strikes: Before You Rebuild, Understand Your Options
When a home is damaged by wildfire, flood, fire, or a major storm, the first priority is making sure everyone is safe. What comes next can be much more complicated than simply rebuilding what was there before. Building codes, floodplain requirements, insurance, site conditions, and new resilience standards can all affect your options. This article looks at what homeowners should understand before rebuilding and how thoughtful planning can help create a safer, more resilient home for the future.
19
Project DEMI: We Are Planning for Mars. Why Haven’t We Figured Out the House?
Project DEMI: We Are Planning for Mars. Why Haven’t We Figured Out the House?
Project DEMI is an idea that has been evolving for years through endless sketches, studies, and iterations. This article explores why housing remains so expensive and complicated, what past ideas like prefab, tiny homes, modular construction, and off-grid design got right, and where they still fall short. It is an early look at a bigger question: can we create a lighter, adaptable, self-sufficient building system without losing the architecture, individuality, and connection to place that make a house feel like home?
20
You Can’t Compete With AI. So Stop Trying.
You Can’t Compete With AI. So Stop Trying.
AI can write, research, generate, analyze, and increasingly interact with the same tools designers use every day. Trying to beat it at those tasks is probably a losing battle. This article explores a different idea: what happens when we stop fighting the machine and start using it as an extension of the human mind? It is about creativity, judgment, dyslexia, efficiency, expertise, and why the future of architecture may belong to the hybrid designer.
21
What If You Can’t See Architecture?
What If You Can’t See Architecture?
Most people do not experience architecture through plans, elevations, or renderings. They experience it by walking through a room, seeing the light, feeling the scale, and understanding how spaces connect. This article explores what happens when a client cannot visualize a design before it is built, why that is completely normal, and how architects can use models, images, walkthroughs, and conversation to make design easier to understand before construction begins.
22
I’m an Architect. Sometimes My Job Is to Tell You Not to Build.
I’m an Architect. Sometimes My Job Is to Tell You Not to Build.
More square footage does not always mean a better home. Drawing from two very different New York apartments, this article looks at how layout, circulation, privacy, acoustics, views, and access to the outdoors can make a smaller space work better than a larger one, and why sometimes the smartest solution is improving the space you already have instead of adding more.
23
Helena, While We Still Have Choices
Helena, While We Still Have Choices
Growth is already reshaping Helena. This article looks at how the city can make room for new housing, businesses, and infrastructure without losing the history, character, open land, and neighborhoods that make it feel like Helena. From the Sixth Ward and historic preservation to subdivision design, walkability, and the possibility of passenger rail, it explores how thoughtful growth can add to the city rather than erase what came before.
24
Historic Preservation: Keeping the Story While Making Room for the Future
Historic Preservation: Keeping the Story While Making Room for the Future
Historic buildings can be beautiful, complicated, expensive, and full of unknowns. From structural challenges and modern code requirements to selective demolition and creative reuse, this article looks at why preserving the past sometimes takes more work, but can still be worth it.
25
Thick Doesn’t Mean Insulated
Thick Doesn’t Mean Insulated
A thick wall is not always an insulated wall. R-value, U-factor, and thermal mass all describe different ways a building responds to heat, and understanding the difference can change how we design better-performing walls and windows.
26
Be Water: Why Architecture Should Stay Fluid
Be Water: Why Architecture Should Stay Fluid
Architecture shouldn’t be trapped by a single style. Like water, good design adapts to the client, the place, the climate, and the problem in front of it. The more we learn from history, different styles, disciplines, and experiences, the more thoughtful and adaptable our architecture can become.
27
Knowing When to Walk Away From a Design
Knowing When to Walk Away From a Design
Not every design gets better the longer you work on it. Sometimes persistence turns into overworking, and you end up right back where you started. Knowing when to keep pushing, when to step away, and when to walk away is part of the design process too. Even the studies that never become finished projects can still teach you something and add another tool to the bag for the next one.
28
When the Demons Knock on Your Door
When the Demons Knock on Your Door
Life has a way of testing us when we least expect it. Through loss, uncertainty, personal struggles, and the battles nobody sees, we discover that perseverance isn't simply about enduring hardship. Like architecture, life requires strong foundations, the ability to adapt, and the strength to withstand pressure. But it's also about finding joy in what we do, learning from our imperfections, and recognizing what truly matters. Because attention is time, and time is the one thing we can never get back.
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