White oak

When the pandemic reshaped the way we think about home, one Portland family decided to reimagine theirs completely. The result is the Council Crest Residence (completed May 2024), a project by Risa Boyer Architecture that blends intimacy, craft, and high performance into a singular vision of residential living. Caption Jeremy Bittermann; © Jeremy Bittermann / JBSA Jeremy Bittermann; © Jeremy Bittermann / JBSA Perched into the hillside of Portland’s Council Crest neighborhood, the home responds to a deep desire for connection, to each other, to nature, and to the future. The clients, coming from a compact vertical home with little access to the outdoors, envisioned a sanctuary that would be warm, adaptable, an... More

Our clients sought to enhance efficiency and introduce warmth into their spacious two-bedroom apartment on West 57th Street. The challenge was to create a seamless layout that maximized open views of the Manhattan skyline while ensuring a timeless and inviting atmosphere, often absent in high-rise apartments. Beatrice Pediconi   Beatrice Pediconi Beatrice Pediconi Beatrice Pediconi   To achieve this, we positioned the kitchen and living area at the heart of the apartment, reducing hallways and optimizing room size and circulation. A warm, textured material palette contrasts with the apartment’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls and surrounding New York City skyscrapers. Venetian plaster walls, paired with o... More

Project Overview Compassion International is a Christian charity focused on improving the lives of children living in poverty worldwide. The organization faced challenges related to local in-office demand at their headquarters in Denver, CO, and the need for a space that could accommodate global business functions and local non-profits. This led to the innovative concept of an “experience center.”   Half of the space includes diverse environments, including small to mid-size suites for group collaboration, flexible training rooms, telepresence-enabled conferencing spaces, catering cafes, and casual brainstorming areas. The other half focuses on the needs of the local workforce, offering open workstations, private offices,... More

In this reimagined mid-century home, we embrace sustainability through authentic living design principles. By preserving the original single-story form, we create a sunlit courtyard using passive solar techniques. Prioritizing old-world natural materials and processes, we craft a healthy interior environment, devoid of artificial dyes, paints, and stains. Experience the luxury of simplicity, where the past converges with the present in perfect harmony with nature. Leonid Furmansky Leonid Furmansky Leonid Furmansky The home is designed to maximize its wooded surroundings by merging indoor and outdoor spaces. The front courtyard is encased in a Texas limestone privacy wall. It is seamlessly connected to the rear pool, deck, an... More

Our design for this Upper East Side apartment focused on creating an open and efficient living space, enhancing spatial continuity within the historic pre-war layout through a bright yet minimal material palette. By reconfiguring the existing floor plan, we connected the kitchen and dining area to the living room, which overlooks Madison Avenue with partial views of Central Park. A former maid’s room at the rear was expanded into a third bedroom with an en-suite bath, improving both functionality and flow. The apartment’s design is unified by soft white walls and oak wood elements, prominently featured in the built-in cabinetry and doors, creating a warm, cohesive aesthetic. Throughout the space, a herringbone white oak floor... More

The project entails a significant expansion of an existing 'King-Cottage' style home, elegantly adapting it to meet the needs of the family. Fluidity of interior spaces towards the exterior The owners aimed to enlarge their home while maximizing their outdoor space usage throughout the year. The project, as designed, creates a seamless and natural transition between the interior and exterior. To achieve this, the architects initially incorporated an exposed wooden structure that stretches into a covered outdoor space. The main living area is generously extended, providing the opportunity to enjoy the backyard even on rainy days. The wooden structure thus serves a dual purpose, blurring the boundary between the two zones, while imparting w... More

A complete renovation, this design-and-build luxuriously minimal two-bedroom residence incorporates the usage of local and handcrafted materials throughout its design. Robert Banat Robert Banat Featuring stone culled from the oldest quarry in the Eastern United States, Vermont grown and milled white oak, American walnut cabinetry, and Italian venetian plaster – each material was sourced from an artisan. Robert Banat Robert Banat More