We are a multi-disciplinary design firm, founded in 2002, that specializes in the sustainable design of the built environment and the landscape around it.
The principal, Jeremy Levine, earned a Master’s Degree in Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture where he won the Haskell Prize for Architectural Journalism. His work has been on the cover of Dwell Magazine and featured on the Discovery Channel. Jeremy is chair of the board of directors of Side Street Projects, which promotes art education through mobile wood shops, and the Harpo Foundation for the Arts, which supports emerging and unrecognized artists.
PROCESS
We begin each project by drilling down into the needs of the client. Just as every site is unique, so is every client, and that drives a unique solution.
The context is the not just the physical site, its also the neighborhood, the natural ecosystem, We document it, walk it, and study it in order to unlock the hidden potential.
Our most important collaborator is the client. They are entrusting us to turn their dream into reality. Together we make the journey from inspiration to that final moment when it becomes reality. We live for that moment. To get there we use a combination of tools to communicate our designs: from digital animations to laser printed models to photorealistic renderings to capture every space.
Budgets are challenges, not impediments to good design. We welcome a good challenge.
Sustainability is an opportunity. Fresh drinking water often travels thousands of miles before it falls into you glass. This is a staggering achievement, yet we hardly give it a second thought.
Every house is part of into a vast web of invisible systems. This is an opportunity for architectural intervention and technological exploration. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness about our impact upon the natural environment. We do this by using active systems such as rain water capture, solar power, and grey water recycling. Or passive systems such as thermal mass walls and stack effect ventilation.
Every project has a distinct sustainable strategy. Sometimes the emphasis is on the construction process itself. Construction debris is creatively recycled rather than hauled to the dump, for instance by turning old wood floors into custom doors.
