The Who’s Who in Residential Coastal Design
Ocean Home magazine presents its annual list of the Top Coastal Architects, honoring the most innovative and inspiring design professionals shaping oceanfront living today. This recognition celebrates architects who blend artistry, sustainability, and a deep respect for the coastal environment to create extraordinary homes along the shores. Each firm on the list exemplifies excellence in design, craftsmanship, and a passion for elevating the experience of life by the sea.
ALABAMA
Christopher Architecture & Interiors
Birmingham
Known for: Blending responsive architecture and thoughtful interiors to create a cohesive and inspiring environment.
Highlight: New, talented staff looking forward to continued growth.
Highlight: Southeast Luxe RED Award for Exterior Architecture.
In the works: Projects in Alys Beach and HIghway 30A Area, Bay Area, Boulder, Upstate New York, Lake Martin, and Dallas.
Jeffrey Dungan
Mountain Brook
Known for: Designs deeply rooted in Southern architectural traditions, emphasizing craftsmanship, material authenticity, and a strong connection to nature.
Highlight: The firm’s second book with Rizzoli is slated for release next fall.
Highlight: Expansion of its interior design studio and taking on a growing number of projects across a range of scales and styles.
Highlight: An Alys Beach house honored in the inaugural Ocean Home Awards, recognized for its midcentury modern and Gothic influences.
Highlight: The Architectural Collection, designed with Textures Nashville, won a Luxe RED Award.
Highlight: Completion of a remote cottage on the coast of Nova Scotia.
In the works: A beach home in Puerto Rico that embraces its tropical setting with a strong indoor-outdoor connection.
CALIFORNIA
Anacapa Architecture
Santa Barbara
Known for: Crafting spaces that inspire and enhance the well-being of clients and the community, while preserving a legacy for future generations.
Highlight: Recognition on Architizer A+ List: 220 Best Architecture and Design Firms Worldwide in 2024.
Highlight: New LEED-certified office space in Santa Barbara.
In the works: Estate homes in Montecito, Hope Ranch, and Santa Barbara, as well as several hospitality projects throughout California.
Appleton Partners Architects
Santa Barbara and Santa Monica
Known for: Diverse and eclectic work, rejecting the notion that a successful design practice needs to be ‘branded’ or have a consistent signature style.
Highlight: Four Seasons Resort.
Highlight: Biltmore renovations in Santa Barbara, California.
Highlight: Named one of Forbes’ Best-in-State Residential Architects for 2025.
Highlight: 2025 Sunset Western Home & Design Award—Best Outdoor Living.
Highlight: 2025 AIA SB Design Awards: Santa Barbara Heritage (Residential).
Highlight: Oceanfront projects in Southern California: Rosewood Miramar Beach, Four Seasons Resort, and The Biltmore.
In the works: Early design for the reinterpretation of the historic Valentino estate in Los Angeles; Summit Residence, Hot Springs; Montecito Residence; Little Rock Residence with Mark Sikes, and new residences in Beverly Hills, Los Feliz, Nevada, Montecito, and Santa Barbara.
DesignARC
Santa Barbara and Los Angeles
Known for: Elegant, modern and historic design solutions that integrate the environmental, the natural, or the manmade.
Highlight: Completion of the “Santa Barbara Bowl,” an iconic concert venue nestled within Santa Barbara’s “Riviera.”
Highlight: AIA Merit Awards for the Capogrosso Residence, a modern home in Santa Barbara, and “The Hotel Californian,” a mixed-use gateway hotel in Santa Barbara.
Highlight: Completion of Ocean Home, a three-level home on the beach in Montecito, the Capogrosso Residence, an art collector’s home in Santa Barbara, and a corporate retreat on the ocean in Baja, California.
In the works: Three new homes in Montecito, and mixed-use projects in Los Angeles and Palm Springs.
Kallos Turin
San Francisco and London
Known for: Combining modernist restraint and minimalist rigor with a desire to challenge a more purely reductive approach to form-making.
Highlight: New projects include a winery and boutique hotel in Argentina.
Highlight: Homes from London to California.
Highlight: High-end sushi restaurant in San Francisco.
Highlight: Added to the AD 100 by AD Germany.
Highlight: Projects in Santa Barbara, Uruguay and London.
Tim Barber Architects
Los Angeles
Known for: Shaping the future of vernacular residential architecture.
Highlight: After celebrating its 30th year of business in 2024, the firm added two new partners this year (five in total).
Highlight: Recently finished construction on a new mountain home on the East Coast; Finished the first phase of construction on a project in Montecito; Designing a fire-resilient modern cabin in Los Angeles; 13 new projects, including one on the bluffs of Malibu.
Highlight: 2025 Best of Houzz, Design.
Highlight: A “national-parks-inspired” homestead; An addition with porches/pool house to a Colonial Revival home; A renovation to a Mediterranean-Modern seaside oasis.
In the works: A new equestrian farmhouse; A renovation/expansion of an early 20th century Arts & Crafts Revival home; A contemporary estate including rebuilding centuries-old barns; Several rebuilds in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena after the 2025 wildfires.
Richard Beard Architects
San Francisco
Known for: A sensitivity to context, integrating projects with the natural landscape and a deep collaboration with clients and design partners. A respect for traditional architecture balanced with the function and flow of a modern home.
Highlight: The Estancia Madera Residence in Carmel Valley featured in a June issue of the Wall Street Journal.
Highlight: Broadway Residence featured in Classical Residences, a book from Beta-Plus Publishing; The firm’s working on its first monograph from Monacelli, due in fall 2026.
Highlight: 2025 Architizer A+ Award, Special Mention Architecture + Detailing Award.
Highlight: Wrapping up a home in Carmel-by-the-Sea, fall 2025.
In the works: New homes in the coastal communities of Pebble Beach, Montecito, Rancho Santa Fe, Pacific Palisades, and Marin County.
Brandon Architects
Costa Mesa
Known for: High-end, luxury living and a collaborative process that harnesses both artistic intuition and advanced technology to create spaces that are as emotionally resonant as they are functionally flawless.
Highlight: Now offering interior design services on select projects.
Highlight: Securing the firm’s first residential tower project in Dallas.
Highlight: Several awards from SARA National, Gold Nugget, Best of American Living, and DNA Paris.
Highlight: A 6,700-acre ranch project under construction in Utah, and a third project in Cabo San Lucas.
In the works: Several projects currently in design in California, Florida, New Hampshire, Utah, and Aruba.
Burdge Architects
Malibu
Known for: Embracing coastal luxury across all styles—modern, contemporary, and classic—with designs that push the boundaries of what’s possible.
Highlight: As the year began with devastating Malibu and Palisades fires, a silver lining was the opportunity to apply lessons learned in the 2018 Woolsey fire to help victims navigate through a complex and emotional rebuilding process.
Highlight: Sunset Western Home & Design Awards 2025: Best FireResilient Design.
Highlight: Completion of the “Dume Modern” rebuild after years in the making. Following the loss of their family home in the 2018 Woolsey fire, the clients embraced a residence that showcases a stunning sense of style, anchored by a deeply personal, recurated art and furniture collection.
In the works: A number of fire rebuilds in both Malibu and Pacific Palisades, setting a new standard to help homeowners rebuild better, without sacrificing quality or style.
Butler Armsden Architects
San Francisco
Known for: Excellence across a variety of architectural styles, with work that’s timeless, contextual, and deeply informed by the aspirations of each client.
Highlight: The firm celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025.
Highlight: Featured in the forthcoming California Coastal book, highlighting outstanding architecture along California’s iconic shoreline.
Highlight: Best Sensitive Rebuild in Sunset’s Western Home & Design Awards 2025.
Highlight: Collaboration with Jay Jeffers on a preservation project in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Completion of a ground-up project in Portola Valley.
In the works: Projects at Stinson Beach, on Belvedere Island in Marin County, and in San Francisco’s historic Sea Cliff neighborhood—with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, and the Pacific Ocean.
Evens Architects
Los Angeles
Known for: Architecture inspired by classical traditions—interpreting those grand languages through harmony, proportion, and beauty in ways that serve modern life.
Highlight: Book-signing events for Shaping the World as a Home, published in late 2024.
Highlight: Erik Evens to give a lecture about classical moldings at the Catholic University School of Architecture.
Highlight: A contribution to Case Study 2.0, a thoughtful reimagining of the iconic Case Study House Program—with fire-resilient, courtyard-focused, Mediterranean-inspired homes to help Los Angeles families rebuild with grace, dignity, and safety.
Highlight: Completion of the Parra Grande project in Montecito, whose garden was featured in the Summer 2025 print edition of Traditional Home.
In the works: A Mediterranean-style house in Brentwood, a beach cottage on the Strand in Manhattan Beach, and a hilltop, Southern European–style estate overlooking Los Angeles.
Feldman Architecture
San Francisco
Known for: An architecture and interiors studio that’s highly responsive to people and place. Spaces that sit gracefully and lightly on the earth, honoring the spirit of each site and championing regenerative practices for a better future.
Highlight: Establishing a new market for designing high-end residential homes in the Intermountain West.
Highlight: Architizer A+ Awards 2025, Best Residential Firm Jury Winner, and Best Visionary Modern from Sunset magazine, 2025.
Highlight: Completion of a modern residence in Bend, Oregon.
In the works: A number of new residences in Carmel, new work in Park City, and renovations in San Francisco.
Ike Baker Velten
Oakland
Known for: Specializing in residential architecture, rooted in a sense of place and shaped by the firm’s curiosity.
Highlight: Historic renovation of The Beverly Hills Hotel.
Highlight: Partner John Ike is working on a New Jersey Shore residence.
Highlight: Weaving the award-winning legacy of creativity and professionalism (AD 100, Elle Décor A-List, ICAA Julia Morgan Award and Stanford White Award) from Ike Kligerman Barkley into IBV’s founding ethos.
Highlight: Modern Shinglish project in Michigan.
In the works: Houses in Sausalito and Sea Cliff underway, with a Las Vegas project nearing completion.
KAA Design
Los Angeles
Known for: Luxurious yet approachable homes that blend modern architecture with organic sensibility, tied to both Southern California context and client lifestyle.
Highlight: Created the Palisades Design Network, a collaborative initiative offering guidance and resources to architects involved in rebuilding efforts following the Palisades and Eaton fires. This network has become a vital platform for supporting thoughtful and resilient design in the wake of disaster.
Highlight: HONOR Award from the AIA | Long Beach South Bay Design Awards, and a MERIT Award from the AIA | Los Angeles Residential Architecture Awards.
Highlight: Completion of residential projects in the Barbuda Ocean Club, on a Hollywood hilltop villa, and on the oceanfront in Santa Barbara.
In the works: Projects in Costa Rica, Southern California, Dubai, Washington, D.C., and Japan.
Landry Design Group
Los Angeles
Known for: Interpretations of traditional European styles, bold expressions of modernism, and hybrid designs that harmonize disparate themes.
Highlight: The Beverly Hills Residence received multiple awards from the International Property Awards competition, including the highest recognition in its category.
Highlight: Projects underway in Dubai, Australia, and throughout the United States.
Highlight: Four Best in American Living Awards (BALA) from NAHB, including the Gold Award for Best On-the-Boards Custom Home, as well as four Gold Nugget Awards.
Highlight: Recently completed work includes two large family compounds in Rancho Santa Fe, along with several custom homes across Southern California.
In the works: Oceanside residential projects in California (Malibu, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, and Pebble Beach), Florida (Tampa Bay, Naples, and Miami), Hawaii, and Australia; a Montana home; and projects in Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai.
McClean Design
Orange
Known for: A clean aesthetic, connection with the environment, seamless boundaries between indoors and outdoors, ample light and water, and incredible views.
Highlight: Rebuilding of Pacific Palisades, with several new homes currently in design for resilient and inspiring homeowners.
Highlight: “Best Resort-Like Retreats” award from Modern Luxury.
Highlight: Birds Nest: High in the Hollywood Hills’ famed Bird Streets, this lot has one of the most commanding views available of the Los Angeles basin and the ocean beyond.
Highlight: Laurel III: Faced with a steep, narrow, and triangular site, this home transforms constraints into opportunities—maximizing views and privacy.
In the works: Projects in Nevada, Hawaii, Texas, Florida, Utah, and New Jersey, as well as Canada, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Marmol Radziner
Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York
Known for: An architect-led design-build practice known for an interdisciplinary approach that combines architecture, landscape architecture, construction, and interior design.
Highlight: In the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires, Marmol Radziner participated in two initiatives modeled after the Arts and Architecture Case Study Program: Case Study: Adapt and Case Study 2.0. The firm also led presentations and lectures, offering guidance on rebuilding with fire-resistant materials and climate-resilient strategies for communities impacted by the wildfires.
Highlight: The firm opened a construction office in Aspen.
Highlight: Lever Club awarded Best Large Commercial Interiors by Architizer.
Highlight: Projects in Santa Cruz, Venice Beach, and Malibu.
In the works: Projects in Malibu, La Jolla, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Studio City, and Cabo San Lucas.
Walker Warner
San Francisco
Known for: Work that’s grounded in sensitivity and responsibility to client and place, with a commitment to detail, harmony, and flow.
Highlight: Welcomed a new CEO and partner, Greg Mottola, to the firm.
Highlight: San Francisco Design Week, Award of Excellence; Two Luxe RED Awards, Exterior Architecture, Regional Winner; AIA Honolulu, Award of Excellence; United States Green Building Council Hawaii Sustainability Award; SARA California, Sustainability Award of Excellence; Architizer Special Mention, Architecture+Localism; Ocean Home Awards, Modern Architecture over 7,000 square feet; Ocean Home Awards, Kitchen Design
Highlight: Recently completed Hale Mau’u—a private home nestled into the lava fields of Hawaii, and the Makena Guesthouse, a casual, more playful extension of the main house.
In the works: A wide range of residential projects in the Western United States and Hawaii.
Paul Brant Williger Architect
Beverly Hills
Known for: A variety of traditional/vernacular and Classical styles including Spanish Colonial Revival, American Colonial, European Country Houses, and Shingle Style houses. No signature style but rather a look to what is appropriate to the context and the site.
Highlight: Project under construction in Beverly Hills with Nate Berkus and Associates, a couple of fire rebuilds on the beach in Malibu, a remodel and addition to Judy Garland’s former house in Bel Air.
Highlight: A jury member for the Ocean Home 2025 Awards program.
Highlight: A residence in Beverly Hills and another in Brentwood now under construction, both to be completed this year
In the works: A Malibu beach house, a Santa Barbara remodel, and a new Spanish Colonial house in the Pacific Palisades.
CONNECTICUT
Austin Patterson Disston Architecture & Design
Norwalk, Quogue, and West Palm Beach
Known for: Bespoke projects with an intimate scale, tailored interiors, and cohesion with exterior spaces, so the feeling of home expands well beyond walls; enhanced meadowscapes; unique use of glass and expansive windows to bridge structures and create indoor/outdoor spaces.
Highlight: Projects in Modern, Agrarian Modern, and Shingle Styles, incorporating traditional and modern elements into spaces that reflect the way clients live.
Highlight: Moffly A-List Award—Traditional Architecture less than 7,000 square feet; Moffly A-List Award—Traditional Kitchen; 2025 Luxe RED Awards—Outdoor Space.
In the works: Seven projects in Long Island, one in Rhode Island, and three in the non-contiguous United States.
Cardello Architects
Westport and Greenwich
Known for: Inspired and enduring contextually relevant design.
Highlight: Completion of several projects on the coast and the adoption of Revit into our workflow.
Highlight: Completion of a passive home in Greenwich.
Highlight: Finalist for a Moffly A-list award for traditional architecture.
In the works: Restoration of a historic barn on the Darien coast and a modern home on a Virginia peninsula.
Roger Ferris + Partners
Westport, New York, and Bridgehampton
Known for: Diverse projects across a broad spectrum of typologies and scales, with design explorations ranging from single-family residences to commercial mixed use to high rises.
Highlight: Construction started on 70 Hudson Yards, the largest ground-up office building to begin in the U.S. since the pandemic, and New York’s first zero-emission skyscraper.
Highlight: International Architecture Awards—Private Homes; International Architecture Awards—Mixed Use Buildings, Honorable Mention; Forbes—Top 200 Residential Architects; AIANY Design Awards—Merit.
Highlight: Completion of Fairway House at The Bridge Golf Club in Bridgehampton. Completed Heady Creek House, a single-family residence in The Hamptons.
In the works: New office in Palm Beach, with several projects there, including renovation of Phillips Point, a 450,000-square-foot office complex along Flagler Drive, and Shorecrest, a luxury condominium in downtown West Palm Beach with unparalleled waterfront living.
Mark P. Finlay Architects
Southport
Known for: Work that reflects context and client desires, with design in every style across North America.
Highlight: The firm celebrated its 41st anniversary this summer.
Highlight: Developing a master plan for South Carolina’s Country Club of Charleston.
Highlight: Master plan under construction for the Freestone Club in Texas.
Highlight: Completion of The Black Rock Waterfront Residence, a renovation in Fairfield.
Highlight: BLT Award for the Library of the History of Human Imagination. The Cherry Hills Golf Club named Clubhouse of the Year List by Golf Inc.
In the works: Projects in Greenwich, Key Largo, Fla., Westport, and Newport.
Charles Hilton Architects
Greenwich
Known for: Fine waterfront homes and estates in the Shingle Style, as well as Mediterranean, Georgian, Colonial, and Tudor styles.
Highlight: Completion of a new 16,000-square-foot Georgian home in Norman, Okla.
Highlight: New waterfront projects in Montecito, CA, and St. Croix are nearing completion.
Highlight: Moffly A-List awards for best home renovation and entryway, bringing the firm’s total design awards to more than 100.
Highlight: Recently completed renovations to historic Tudor and Colonial residences.
In the works: Renovations to a historic 1700s farm, renovations and additions to a 1930s Georgian estate, and a new stone country residence in Greenwich.
Shope Reno Wharton
Norwalk
Known for: Intentional, mindful collaborations and sensibilities from a love of the craft in blending classical and traditional stylistic languages with expansive fenestration and open floor plans—in well-proportioned, Shingle-style homes.
Highlight: Listed in the AD100, the Luxe Gold List, Links magazine, and Top 10 of Golf’s Most Impressive Clubhouses.
In the works: Projects on Cape Cod, the Hamptons, Rhode Island, South Florida, and Canada.
Vanderhorn Architects
Greenwich
Known for: A variety of styles, thoroughly planned and detailed, perfected through research within our extensive office library—regardless of site and program complexity.
Highlight: A number of substantive projects along the Connecticut coastline into Rhode Island, the Jersey Shore, and Florida.
Highlight: For the sixth consecutive year, winner of the Alice Washburn Excellence Award in New Construction.
Highlight: A Coastal Gambrel Shingle, a faithful reinterpretation of late Gilded Age resort architecture, taking full advantage inside and out of near-wraparound views, and an inspired Greek Revival residence, a state-of-the-art home surpassing the needs of its up-and-coming household.
In the works: Homes from the Rhode Island coastline to Palm Beach, with a number of waterfront homes in Greenwich, Connecticut, and neighboring towns.
Wadia Associates
New Canaan and Palm Beach
Known for: Using historical precedents in traditional architecture to inform designs and incorporating modern materials and amenities in the execution.
Highlight: Over 400 projects in the firm’s 50-year history.
Highlight: Palladio Award
Highlight: Ranked again among the Top 10 Traditional Architects in the world.
In the works: A New York French Neoclassical home, an equestrian estate in central Florida, a family compound/ranch in Colorado, a Georgian estate in New York, and a Shingle-Style home in Connecticut.
FLORIDA
Brillhart Architecture
Miami and Savannah
Known for: Prioritizing materials and structure to redefine the relationship between the building and landscape and develop more natural environments for living.
Highlight: Named to listing of Forbes’ Top 200 Residential Architects in the U.S.
Highlight: Completion of the Morningside Residence, the Loquat Residence, and the Campana Residence, all in Miami.
In the works: Several residential projects in Miami and the Caribbean.
Choeff Levy Fischman Architecture + Design
Miami and Tampa
Known for: Tropical Modern, high-end, single-family residences.
Highlight: Designed the highest price residence for sale ($285 million) in the United States, in Manalapan.
Highlight: Designed residence on North Bay Road in Miami Beach, purchased for $72.5 million by David and Victoria Beckham.
Highlight: Cover stories in Florida Design and Vie magazines.
Highlight: In the process of designing several 10,000+-square-foot residences.
Highlight: Moved Miami offices to the arts-oriented Wynwood neighborhood.
Highlight: A Florida Design Seaglass Award for the San Marino Island residence.
In the works: A 20,000-square-foot home on Miami Beach’s Star Island with a 15-car garage for a museum car collection. Several 10,000+-square-foot residences for CEOs, celebrities, and people of very high net worth.
Cronk Duch Architecture
Palm Beach, Charleston, and Jacksonville
Known for: While the firm is known for exceptional Coastal designs with traditional roots, it has recently won awards for modern architecture.
Highlight: Breaking ground for its new design studio in the historic Brooklyn suburb of Jacksonville.
Highlight: Addison Mizner Awards, Historic Preservation, American Institute of Architects.
Highlight: An oceanfront residence in Ponte Vedra Beach in close proximity to the Players Championship.
In the works: Two design commissions in the Bahamas—in Lyford Cay & Bakers Bay.
Phillip James Dodd
Palm Beach and Greenwich
Known for: Storytelling and scholarship, with designs rooted in the history, theories, and practice of traditional regional architecture.
Highlight: Invited by Julian Fellowes to attend the premiere of Season 3 of The Gilded Age screened at Tribeca Film Festival, with HBO afterparty held at the former Cunard Building.
Highlight: A gut-renovation and addition to a 1921 Colonial-Revival house designed by noted architect Paul R. Allen.
Highlight: Debuted new website.
Highlight: Photoshoots at The Breakers, The Elms, and Chateau-sur-Mer in Newport—as well as twelve other mansions across the region—for a new book titled The Mansions of The Gilded Age, due out in spring 2026.
In the works: A talk at the New York Yacht Club gala evening to celebrate its anniversary; New houses in the Hudson Valley and Greenwich.
Hughes Umbanhowar Architects
Hobe Sound, Venice, CA
Known for: A thoughtful practice that pairs innovative ideas with time-tested building methods to solve problems in a stylish, timely manner.
Highlight: Breaking ground on a vocational training center in Stuart.
Highlight: A broadened network of collaborators, deepening partnerships with planning consultants and building contractors.
Highlight: Completion of a $20 million residence on the former site of the renowned Low House by McKim, Mead & White in Bristol, R.I.
Highlight: An $8 million home on Jupiter Island featuring a moat-like water feature that engages the residence on all sides.
In the works: Several custom homes in construction across California and Florida.
Khoury Vogt Architects
Alys Beach
Known for: Rooted in the elegance of early 20th-century forms, KVA’s architecture marries classical proportion with thoughtful innovation, expressed through a modern design language that creates distinctive places to inspire, welcome, and endure.
Highlight: Starting design work on its first boutique hotel and expanding its interiors department.
Highlight: 2026 Seaside Prize.
Highlight: Its first art gallery (Kaiya Omaire) and two houses on Lake Martin in Alabama.
In the works: New residential projects in Key Largo, Jupiter, and Barbuda.
MHK Architecture
Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Colorado
Known for: Traditional and eclectic coastal style, with an MHK flair.
Highlight: Nine office locations including Naples, Palm Beach Island, Islamorada, Sanibel, Sarasota, Charleston, Greenville, Highlands, and Denver, specializing in coastal to mountain architecture.
Highlight: Continually selected as Best of the Gulfshore Architects by Gulfshore Life and again named Best Architect for 2025, plus Best Architect by SRQ magazine in Sarasota. Architect of the 2024 Southern Living Home.
Highlight: Expansive coastal experience. Expertise includes coastal design, DEP permitting and climatically responsive design in harsh coastal environments.
In the works: Dwellings in Naples, Palm Beach Island, Sanibel, and Captiva Island; Exclusive coastal homes throughout Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Maine, and the Carolinas.
Schnell Urban Design
Florida and Colorado
Known for: Architecture that is appropriate for the walkable mixed-use communities the firm designs, with homes inspired by Southern vernacular cottages and houses.
Highlight: Continued growth of Cinnamon Shore, a walkable mixed-use
community the firm designed in Port Aransas, Texas. Completed a master plan for future phases of Cinnamon Shore and designs for several houses there.
Highlight: Director of design for Cinnamon Shore, Palmilla Beach, and Sunflower Beach.
Highlight: Construction begun on master plan for a new lakeside community in Alabama.
Highlight: Work featured in the Wall Street Journal.
Highlight: Design of a home with a prominent tower that serves as a terminated vista on an important street in Cinnamon Shore.
In the works: An enclave of cottages at Cinnamon Shore, and concepts for a community in Houston.
SDH Studio Architecture + Design
Miami Beach
Known for: Contemporary, site-specific architecture infused with Tropical Modern elements to create one-of-a-kind luxury homes.
Highlight: Completing five projects in 2025—in Miami Beach, Golden Beach, and Aventura.
Highlight: Construction begun on 12 projects in Miami, Miami Beach, Bal Harbour, Coconut Grove, Hollywood, and Weston.
Highlight: A waterfront home in Golden Beach featured on the cover of Florida Design.
Highlight: Best of Houzz; Luxe Gold List Honoree; Best Architect in Miami: Expertise.com.
Highlight: 5515 Pine Tree Drive in Miami Beach, a beautiful waterfront home that creates a continuous dialogue between light and shade, interior and exterior, city and sea.
Highlight: A custom-designed waterfront home in Golden Beach.
In the Works: Residences in Miami, Miami Beach, Venetian Islands, Palm Beach, Hobe Sound, Jupiter, Naples, The Bahamas, Antigua, Jamaica, Mexico, and Panama.
STRANG
Miami
Known for: Site-driven and climate-driven design sensibilities, addressing sea-level rise, storm surges, and complex construction and permitting.
Highlight: Celebrating the firm’s 25th anniversary; named Firm of the Year by AIA Florida.
Highlight: Construction continues at the Panther National golf community in the Palm Beach area, where Max Strang serves as design architect for residences and clubhouse.
Highlight: Designs for hospitality projects underway in Abu Dhabi, Utah, and Puerto Rico.
Highlight: AIA Florida 2025 Firm of the Year; Forbes Top 200 Residential Architects; Wallpaper USA 400; AIA Miami & AIA Florida Awards for Design Excellence; Finalist in World Architecture Festival.
Highlight: Working with Architecture Sarasota on a documentary for a home in The Keys.
In the works: Luxury residences and hospitality projects across Florida, The Caribbean, and United Arab Emirates.
Studio KHORA
Miami and Greater Fort Lauderdale Area
Known for: Redefining luxury contemporary coastal homes, blending sculptural minimalism, deconstructivist theory, and environmental intelligence.
Highlight: Twelve AIA Design Awards with projects in Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, Long Island, the Bahamas, and Dubai.
Highlight: Named by Luxury Lifestyle Awards in its Top 100 Luxury Architects of the World.
Highlight: Chosen by global icon Shakira to explore concepts for a potential waterfront estate, underscoring a resonance with high-profile clients seeking visionary architecture.
Highlight: Crafting a collection of luxury factory-built homes—melding efficiency with uncompromising design—poised to redefine residential construction.
In the works: The Z House in Boca Raton, nearing completion near the Intracoastal, I House—owned by entrepreneur Howard Panes and listed at $33.5 million—together with the AIA award-winning G House, a $50 million mansion south of Miami slated for a 2026 debut.
GEORGIA
Harrison Design
Atlanta, St. Simons, Naples, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Washington, D.C.
Known for: Coastal residences that maximize the beauty, uniqueness, and potential of every location.
Highlight: Completing a historical renovation of a 1920s oceanfront home in Palm Beach.
Highlight: Addison Mizner Award.
Highlight: Selected to design luxury custom homes for an exclusive golf destination community in the Caribbean.
In the works: New Gulf-front homes in Naples and Siesta Key; new oceanfront and renovated homes in Palm Beach.
Point Office Architecture & Design
Atlanta
Known for: Warm modern architecture, often adapting vernacular styles, with a purposeful connection to the landscape.
Highlight: Named to inaugural Forbes magazine Top 200 Residential Architects in United States.
Highlight: AIA Georgia Award and a Georgia Design Award
Highlight: Coastal Residence in Wilmington, N.C., ADU in Charlottesville, Sculptural Portal in Monteagle, Tenn.
In the works: Coastal residence in Hampstead, N.C., an addition in Cashiers, N.C., and an addition in Berkeley Lake, Ga.
Hawaii
de Reus Architects
The Big Island of Hawaii in Waimea, Maui, and Sun Valley
Known for: Creating singular bespoke designs for each client, from an approach that can be defined by what the firm believes: that architecture should frame living as an art form.
Highlight: Mark de Reus participated in a design jury for Honolulu AIA for student design submissions.
Highlight: Completion of residence in Maui created around a Zen Garden at its center.
Highlight: Completed design for an idiosyncratic private flying ranch in central California with tricked-out Quonset huts for owner and guests.
Highlight: Recognized by Forbes as one of the top 200 residential architects in 2025; Received a University of Idaho, College of Art and Architecture Alumni Award.
In the works: A new surfers’ development in East Cape in Cabo, design concepts for the Makena Golf and Beach Club in Maui, new hotel amenities and residence for The Harriman in Sun Valley; several private residences in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Hawaii.
Peter Vincent Architects
Honolulu
Known for: A diverse architectural style, from modern island homes and Japanese-inspired dining spaces to contemporary residential projects that beautifully blend form, function, and locale.
Highlight: Tour and signings for first book, Island Homes: Casual Elegance in Design. Speaking in October at the at the Liljestrand Foundation Design Conversation Series.
Highlight: 2025 Oasis Award, 2025 AIA Honolulu Design Award, 2025 Ocean Home Award.
Highlight: Hale Lē‘ahi, Honolulu: A design that offers a contemporary interpretation of midcentury modern Hawaiian residential architecture, thoughtfully oriented around a large outdoor garden anchored by a majestic, 150-year-old banyan tree.
In the works: On O’ahu, North Shore Crozier Drive custom oceanfront residence, a Kailua custom oceanfront residence, and a Kahala custom oceanfront Balinese residence.
MAINE
OPAL Architecture
Belfast
Known for: Resourceful, contemporary interpretations and abstraction of a rich vernacular architectural history on the New England coast, and advanced sustainable design.
Highlight: 2025 AIA National COTE Top Ten.
Highlight: Elemental, a private residence with exceptional energy performance, an assemblage of charred cedar Shugi Ban boxes broken by continuous views.
Highlight: The Collins House dormitory for College of the Atlantic—an all-mass timber building that offers healthy, near-zero emissions living for students in a light-filled, communal environment.
In the works: Two coastal homes that face each other across the mouth of Somes Sound, flanked on either side by Acadia National Park—immersive experiences of place and a unique opportunity to work on either side of a single body of water.
Winkelman Architecture
Portland
Known for: A synergistic link between environment and structure through stylistically diverse, fresh, and creative designs distinguished by a highly collaborative, craft-driven, and open-minded approach.
Highlight: The studio grew into a new design space and workshop, which fosters creative design, collaboration, and the making of uniquely crafted things.
Highlight: 2025 AIA Maine Design Award.
Highlight: Working with new clients as well as continuing to build upon projects and relationships forged over many years.
In the works: A multigenerational family home which celebrates life on the Maine coast.
MARYLAND
Purple Cherry Architects
Annapolis, Charlottesville, Middleburg, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Known for: A thoughtful, site-responsive approach rooted in timeless design principles—and designs that foster a deep connection with the surrounding landscape, with expertise in view-oriented properties and thoughtfully composed multi-structure estates.
Highlight: Designing rooms in the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse New York and the Hamptons Designer Showhouse.
Highlight: Designs for a mountaintop estate in the Allegheny Mountains, an oceanfront home in Jensen Beach, Fla., and a modern agrarian waterfront residence in Easton, Md.
In the works: Projects in the Hamptons, upstate New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia.
MASSACHUSETTS
Patrick Ahearn Architect
Boston and Edgartown
Known for: Classic American architecture that balances the romance of traditional design with the ideals of modern living.
Highlight: Press coverage in the Wall Street Journal, House Beautiful, New England Home, Ocean Home, Cape Cod Home, and Boston Design Guide.
Highlight: Patrick was the Syracuse School of Architecture convocation speaker in May.
Highlight: A Bulfinch Award, a Best Vernacular Architect Award from Boston Home magazine, and two Ocean Home Awards for residential new construction and renovation.
Highlight: A renovation of a Shingle-Style home on the south coast of Massachusetts, a revitalized and expanded historic home on Edgartown Harbor, and a renovated former general store in Duxbury that’s now a single-family home.
In the works: Projects on Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island, and the Maine coast, along with residences in Duxbury, Oyster Harbors, and Chatham, Mass.
Catalano Architects
Boston
Known for: A refreshing use of contemporary craftsmanship and design to bring joy to our clients. A sustainable, regional response to building on the New England coast.
Highlight: Feature editorial in Boston Design Guide Prelude, the initiation of a project pursuing Phius standards and certification—and adding four new team members.
Highlight: Best of Boston—Traditional Architect, and Luxe RED Award—Best of the Rest for Interior Architecture.
Highlight: Completion of a contemporary family estate in Wellesley, a traditional New England home with a refined coastal vernacular in Hingham, and a dramatic, private waterfront residence perched at the mouth of West Bay, designed as reinterpretation of the Shingle Style on Cape Cod.
In the works: Coastal work in Florida and across New England including a master-planned campus with guest house, gathering house, green house, pavilion, and working farm.
ERT Architects
Yarmouth
Known for: A modern interpretation of classic, seaside, Shingle-style homes.
Highlight: A variety of residential projects including single and multifamily homes, both new construction and several historic renovations.
Highlight: A 129-unit independent living facility, under construction last year, is now open.
Highlight: A home on an island off the coast of Cape Cod has been completed. One of its two bunkrooms was featured in Chatham Living by the Sea magazine.
Highlight: Named one of Ocean Home’s Top Coastal Architects in two previous listings; A Gold BRICC Award from the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod for a riverfront single-family home with an indoor pool; the firm also received a Silver BRICC Award for large-scale home addition.
In the works: Several waterfront homes, and other residential and commercial projects throughout New England.
Flavin Architects
Boston
Known for: Modern and contemporary house design using our natural modern approach, which emphasizes a strong connection to the outdoors, prioritizes natural light and sustainable systems, and fosters a seamless indoor-outdoor experience.
Highlight: Editorial features in a number of print magazines and digital platforms. Among those includes a cover feature story in Northshore Home’s summer issue, of our Bluff House renovation on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
Highlight: Inclusion on Forbes America’s Top 200 Residential Architects, plus 2025 Architecture Firm of the Year, Modern Luxury Interiors.
Highlight: Completed two large-scale renovation projects this summer, one in Beacon Hill in downtown Boston and one in West Cambridge.
In the works: A new home design in Gloucester, and an interior in-town renovation of a second home by midcentury modernist Frederick Bruck in Cambridge.
Hacin
Boston
Known for: A collaborative approach and an interdisciplinary team creating innovative, contemporary residential, commercial, and hospitality projects rooted in context.
Highlight: Named a 2025 Top Mountain Architect by Mountain Living, received a Best Private Residential Design award from IIDA New England and a Preservation Achievement Award from the Boston Preservation Alliance.
Highlight: Completed Phase II of amenity improvements to Sea Crest Beach Resort in Falmouth on Cape Cod.
In the works: A standalone residential compound on Martha’s Vineyard, a wedding venue in Freetown, a host of residential renovations in Boston and its suburbs, and a new restaurant with a Michelin-starred chef.
Hutker Architects
Martha’s Vineyard, Boston, Plymouth, and Falmouth
Known for: Residential architecture crafted through narrative design that weaves together the homeowner’s story with the unique character of each location.
Highlight: As part of the book tour for New England Coastal: Homes That Tell a Story, presented a lecture at the Boston Athenaeum.
Highlight: Forbes Top 200 Residential Architecture Firms; 2025 Future House Awards; Gold, Silver BRAGB PRISM Awards; Boston magazine’s 2025 Best Architecture Firm; Best of Martha’s Vineyard Best Architectural/Residential Design; 2025 Best of Luxury Design, Best Architect: Martha’s Vineyard; 2025 Best of Luxury Design, Best Book Launch.
Highlight: Partner Jim Cappuccino authored a white paper for Forbes Listmakers.
Highlight: Nantucket Pool House featured as “Hidden Gem” in Ocean Home.
In the works: Projects in Greater Boston, Cape Cod and the Islands, New England, New York, Washington, D.C., Colorado, and Montana.
LDa Architecture & Interiors
Boston
Known for: Finding inspiration in the power of place for each of its coastal projects, with each site revealing a unique narrative.
Highlight: LDa became an ESOP and expanded its services to Washington, D.C.
Highlight: Two interior designers and firm associates, Brianna Boidi and Paola Mondino, recognized by Interior Design magazine as part of their “30 Under 30” program in Boston.
Highlight: Principal & Cofounder Treff LaFleche named IFDA Architect of the Year.
Highlight: Principal Kimberly Barnett in Boston Business Journal’s “Women on the Move.”
Highlight: LDa honored as a Best of Luxury Design winner for “Best Rebrand or Relaunch” in Modern Luxury magazine.
Highlight: A coastal home on Cape Cod pays homage to the historic architectural style of Cape Cod, but with a contemporary twist.
In the works: Multiple residential projects in Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Northern California, and Southern California.
Morehouse MacDonald and Associates
Melrose
Known for: Designs tailored to the clients’ needs, dreams, location, and context, with Shingle-Style architecture playing a role in many projects.
Highlight: Two new coastal projects on Nevis in the West Indies, two coastal renovations in Gloucester, a new Shingle-Style home in Rhode Island, a renovation in Stowe, Vt., two oceanfront homes in Maine, and an Arts and Crafts renovation in Concord.
Highlight: PRISM Award for Best Home over 6,000 square feet and a 2024 winner for “Best Destination Architect” in Modern Luxury’s “Best in Luxury Design” issue.
In the works: A contemporary home nearing completion on Nevis, and restoration of a period home in Topsfield and a Caribbean estate on Nevis slated for year-end construction.
Doreve Nicholaeff Architecture
Osterville
Known for: Architecture that’s deeply connected to its surroundings, designed for challenging coastal sites that are greater than trend or time.
Highlight: Rebranding the firm after nearly 40 years and creating a new website featuring new projects.
Highlight: Completed a contemporary golfer’s dream home, an urban waterfront condo renovation, and coastal family homes ranging in size from 3,500 to 10,000 square feet.
In the works: Compact coastal homes that take advantage of upper-level living and a classical home on 12 acres of farmland.
Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders
Cape Cod
Known for: Creating special custom homes, synthesizing modernism, Shingle Style, and New England vernacular architecture, through a fully integrated process of architecture, landscape architecture, construction, and property services.
Highlight: Completing a number of very successful coastal projects and starting on the design of new projects that range from traditional to contemporary.
Highlight: Multiple PRISM Awards for architecture, construction, and landscape design.
Highlight: A 2025 Gold IPPY Award in the U.S. Northeast—Best Regional Non-Fiction category—for the firm’s fourth book, The Art of Creating Houses.
Highlight: Expansive new waterfront homes and large-scale renovations/additions on Cape Cod, along with several complex historic renovations/additions.
In the works: New seaside construction homes and renovations/additions on Cape Cod and throughout southeastern Massachusetts.
Schneeberger Collective
Cape Cod
Known for: Carefully crafted design to create beautiful, comfortable, sustainable environments for a life well-lived.
Highlight: Expanded scope of work from Massachusetts to the greater New England area.
Highlight: Expanded team; senior project manager Julieta Ohri promoted to associate.
Highlight: Completed a renovation and addition to a 19th century home in Chatham; Completed a renovation to a coastal home in Chatham; Completed a condo expansion in Boston’s Beacon Hill; Renovation to a historic Boston Back Bay Rowhouse.
In the works: Coastal homes and pool houses throughout Cape Cod, a new construction project in Greenwich, lakefront and boathouse projects in the New Hampshire Lakes region, renovations and additions to local Conservation Trust offices and community facilities, and renovations and additions and new construction to a multi-building, single-family waterfront estate on Cape Cod.
SV Design
Beverly, Chatham, and Winchester
Known for: Designing spaces of beauty and integrity that are timeless in style, highly functional, and thoughtfully placed in the landscape.
Highlight: The Chatham office’s 10th anniversary celebration.
Highlight: Modern Luxury Interiors’ Best of Luxury Design, Best Architect, Cape Cod.
Highlight: Completion of several renovations and new construction homes on the North Shore, Cape Cod, and Greater Boston.
In the works: Custom architectural and interior design projects in Winchester, Wellesley, Hyannis Port, Chatham, Wood’s Hole, Manchester-by-the-sea, Gloucester, Marblehead, Rockport, Boston, Cambridge, and Camden.
MONTANA
Pearson Design Group
Bozeman
Known for: Architecture inspired by regional materials, exceptional landscapes, and meaningful relationships between structure and environment; Projects that are personal and broadly based, luxurious and functional, as well as forward-thinking and traditional.
Highlight: Project in Moss Beach, California, inspired by oceanfront outdoor living, a home that spills out into the adjacent ecosystem which is a Grasslands/Marine Preserve. Exterior materials were selected for their ability to naturally weather and patina, allowing the home, while modern, to intimately situate itself into a plot of land at the edge of the sea.
Highlight: Eight photo shoots of newly completed projects, with a new website queued up to feature them.
Highlight: Featured in Architectural Digest, Luxe, Mountain Living, and Elle Decor.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
TMS Architects / Interiors
Portsmouth
Known for: Treating timeless residences that exemplify the classic New England architectural vernacular, blending beauty, functionality, and place.
Highlight: Stories: New England Home, Maine Home & Design, and New Hampshire Home.
Highlight: Modern Luxury Interiors New England named TMS Best NH Architect, 2025; New Hampshire Preservation Alliance named cofounder John Merkle winner of 2025 Award for Preservation, Planning, and Civic Engagement; New Hampshire Home Award 2025 Remodeling/Renovation.
Highlight: Newly finished projects include the renovation and addition of an 1800s-era carriage house, completion of a 985-square-foor shingle-style guest cottage on the coast of Maine, and a rustic timber-framed lake home in the New Hampshire Lakes Region.
In the works: Projects on the New England coast and region, and in the New Hampshire Lakes Region.
NEW YORK
Bates Masi + Architects
New York, East Hampton
Known for: Quality of craft and combination of materials in modern structures, while referencing historic roots.
Highlight: Expanding its reach through education: In May, Paul Masi was hosted by the Dallas Architecture Forum for guest lecture at the Dallas Art Museum.
Highlight: The Shinnecock residence was selected as the 2025 Luxe RED National Winner in the Exterior Architecture category.
In the works: Homes designed for clients and their families to enjoy for generations.
Ferguson & Shamamian Architects
New York
Known for: Design of custom homes that embody a mastery of traditional architectural vocabularies, an unmatched dedication to craftsmanship, and an understanding of the collaboration between clients, architecture, interiors, landscape, and construction.
Highlight: A new book to be published by Rizzoli in fall 2026.
Highlight: New principals: Alexandra VanOrsdale, Jason Bibens, and Joseph Zvejnieks.
Highlight: 2024 McKim, Mead & White Award for Residential Architecture, New Construction over 5,000 square feet for the “New Equestrian Estate.”
Highlight: Completing projects on Long Island, in the Lowcountry, fhe Hamptons, New York City, and Southern California.
In the works: Projects in New York, the Hamptons, Southern California, Palm Beach, Miami, Nantucket, Maine, the Rockies, and the Midwest.
Alexander Gorlin Architects
New York
Known for: Timeless modern design that creates sanctuaries of living and wellness, characterized by clean lines and natural materials that are radiant with natural light.
Highlight: Our reimagining of Bell Laboratories in New Jersey is the setting of the Lumon Headquarters for the hit Apple TV show Severance.
Highlight: Its award-winning affordable housing project, El Borinquen Residence, was featured in the book Dual Cities— Social Housing in London + New York.
Highlight: Completed the renovation of new offices for prestigious book publisher Rizzoli.
In the works: Design of an oceanfront house in Golden Beach, Florida; A house with an expansive view of the sunset over Long Island Sound in East Hampton; A house in Springs, in the Hamptons, an area known as the legendary artists’ colony of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning; Market-rate condos in Elkhart, Ind.; And housing on the Hudson River in Hudson, New York.
Andre Kikoski Architect
New York
Known for: Creating architecture that brings people together by engaging memory, activating senses, and fostering emotional connections.
Highlight: Expansion of coastal residential work from the Hamptons to the Caribbean, including a new climate-resilient home in St. Lucia.
Highlight: Completing a sculptural residence in Water Mill, N.Y., that redefines indoor-outdoor living on the East End.
Highlight: The Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design—Editors’ Pick: Unbuilt— Commercial.
Highlight: Completing an 11-acre hydroponic greenhouse in Saudi Arabia as part of a larger climate-resilient agricultural complex that’s expected to produce almost 2,000 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables each year.
In the works: A series of high-performance coastal residences, including a Beverly Hills residence with sweeping vistas of the Pacific.
Kligerman Architecture & Design
New York and Westerly, R.I.
Known for: Distinctive design rooted in tradition but modern in sculptural forms, taut detailing, glass expanses, and often a touch of whimsy, with projects realized through traditional handicraft and cutting-edge processes.
Highlight: Launch of a book from Monacelli, in spring 2026, on historic houses of the Rhode Island coast.
Highlight: Included on the Elle Decor A-List, recognizing the most influential designers shaping today’s interiors.
Highlight: Completion of a Riverside Drive project, two in Southampton, one in East Hampton, and one in Dallas.
In the works: Projects in Texas, Pennsylvania, Maine, and the Bahamas.
LaGuardia Design Group
Water Mill and New York
Known for: High-end residential projects that balance bold architectural geometries with thoughtfully integrated native plantings and meadows, creating a seamless connection between the home and its surrounding landscape.
Highlight: Featured in publications including Luxe, Architectural Digest, Hamptons magazine, and Cottages & Gardens. Projects showcased in Gardens of the Hamptons.
Highlight: Celebrated the opening of our Children’s Museum of the East End playground.
Highlight: National Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Highlight: A Sag Harbor Bay project that integrates architecture with a restored landscape, and an oceanfront residence in Quogue that celebrates the coastal ecology.
In the works: Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University, Wellington Lifestyle Partners Development in Florida, and private residences in Palm Beach, Antigua, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York City.
Leroy Street Studio Architecture
New York
Known for: Emphasizing craft in construction and a collaborative design process that creates authentic designs centered on the human experience.
Highlight: Eight coastal houses started design or construction; Cherry Lane Theatre open to public after renovations; Queens Broadway Library open to public after renovations.
Highlight: Hosted an after-hours event for the Architectural League of New York; 140 Jane Street in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg; Upper West Side Townhouse in Galerie.
Highlight: Two AIANY Interiors Committee Residential Review Finalists; Queens Chamber of Commerce Award; Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award; SARA National Merit Awards; Interior Design magazine Best of Year Honoree.
In the works: Oceanfront homes in New York, New Jersey, Florida, and California; Condominiums in the West Village; Renovation of a stable into mass-timber townhouse; Penthouse duplex on Central Park; Headhouse, greenhouses in Van Cortlandt Park.
Martin Architects
Bridgehampton
Known for: A refined modernism grounded in a deep sense of place. Homes that are warm timeless, sustainable, and in harmony with their surroundings.
Highlight: Two awards at the 60th AIA Long Island ARCHI Awards for the Montauk Surfside and Azurest Legacy projects.
Highlight: Completed the Shinnecock Bay Residence, a quiet retreat embracing the rhythms of the shoreline through durable, resilient materials and expansive glazing.
Highlight: The Atlantic Beach project explores the intersection of minimalist form and ecological mindfulness to craft a living environment that is both elevated and elemental.
In the works: Several organic modern homes in progress, shaped by a response to form, materiality, and the surrounding landscape; A transitional residence skillfully blends traditional heritage with contemporary luxury; A value-minded modular home elevates a panelized construction system through inventive architecture.
Peter Pennoyer Architects
New York, Miami, and Palm Beach
Known for: Sophisticated detail, high-quality craftsmanship, and a nimble balance between comfort, beauty, modernity, and continuity with the past.
Highlight: A new Palm Beach office opening in fall 2025.
Highlight: Peter Pennoyer contributed to a new book about Rosario Candela, published this year by Rizzoli.
Highlight: 2025 Soane Honor from Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation; and a 2025 Publication Award and New York State Assembly Citation from Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District Awards for Rosario Candela & The New York Apartment: 1927–1937.
Highlight: Recently completed projects include renovation of Guild Hall in East Hampton, a new house in Palm Beach, a new house in Dallas, and multiple projects on Long Island.
In the works: Projects in New York, San Francisco, Manila, Bridgehampton, Greenwich, and Palm Beach.
SAWYER | BERSON
New York
Known for: New homes, townhouses, apartments, interiors, landscapes, and gardens in a wide variety of styles spanning traditional and modern, informed by history and context and developed in close collaboration with clients and design teams.
Highlight: Work featured in Iconic Rooms, the Kips Bay New York Decorator Show House book celebrating 50 years of the show house.
Highlight: Architectural Digest AD100 2025
Highlight: A family “camp” in the Adirondack Mountains.
In the works: A residence in Paget, Bermuda.
Robert A.M. Stern Architects
New York
Known for: Designing extraordinary houses and apartments suffused with a deep understanding of traditional architectural values as they accommodate and enhance clients’ needs and aspirations.
Highlight: 2024 McKim, Mead & White Award for Residential Architecture—Ancillary Structures for the “New England Guest House & Cabin.”
Highlight: Featured in Elle Decor (two features and one cover story), Town & Country, House Beautiful, and Homes & Gardens.
Highlight: Recently completed projects in New England, Palm Beach, Los Angeles, Florida, New York City, Massachusetts, and on the Gold Coast of Lake Michigan.
In the works: Projects in New York, Palm Beach, New England, the Midwest, the Rocky Mountains, Turkey, and Hong Kong.
Schafer Buccellato Architects
New York, South Bend, Indiana
Known for: Houses designed to evoke emotion and make tradition livable for a modern lifestyle through seamless integration of architecture, interior decoration, and landscape design.
Highlight: Laura Welsh and Carl Carfi named principals of the firm.
Highlight: Gil Schafer named to Elle Decor’s A-List.
Highlight: 2025 Palladio Award for the restoration and renovation of The American Boathouse; 2025 Bulfinch Award.
Highlight: A recently completed family retreat on Lake Champlain, a new oceanfront house and two residences in Southampton, a new residence in Rhode Island, and a new family estate in the South.
In the works: Projects in Vermont, Virginia, Florida, Maine, New York, New Hampshire, California, and the Hamptons.
TenBerke
New York
Known for: Deeply rooted, place-specific modern houses that enrich and elevate everyday life with timeless designs that are at once warm and elegant.
Highlight: Completion of the reimagination of an 1884 East Hampton boarding house as a single-family home, an Eastern Long Island House nestled alongside a waterfront preserve, and the completion of The Albee Foundation artist residency in Montauk.
Highlight: 2024 AIA Connecticut Excellence Award in Residential Architecture; AD100 Hall of Fame; Elle Decor A-List Titan; Wallpaper USA 400.
Highlight: Founding principal Deborah Berke awarded the AIA Gold Medal.
In the works: Homes in Coastal Connecticut, Eastern Long Island, and Martha’s Vineyard.
Workshop/APD
New York, Minneapolis, Greenwich, Nantucket, and South Florida
Known for: Warm modernism, a passion for pavilion-style architecture that thoughtfully delineates space for the way clients live and integrates indoor and outdoor spaces, and extraordinary attention to detail.
Highlight: Three new principals: Andrew Kline, Jonah Kaplan and Nicole Ficano.
Highlight: An expanded Workshop Collection offering, with a third collection of to-the-trade furnishings called At Ease, and a collection of outdoor furnishings with Sutherland.
Highlight: Named to Elle Decor A-List, Interior Design Giants, Mountain Living Top Mountain Architects, Ocean Home Top Coastal Architects, HD Wave of The Future, HD Awards, Luxe Gold List, and Luxe RED Award.
In the works: Residences in New England, New York, Florida, Maine, Texas, New Jersey, Jamaica, Uruguay, and Costa Rica
NORTH CAROLINA
Kersting Architecture
Wilmington
Known for: A regionally tempered modernism.
Highlight: Celebration of the 30th anniversary for the firm.
Highlight: Completion of “Home@9,” a 4,000-square-foot home in Wrightsville Beach.
Highlight: Completion of the Coral Bay Club, a 35,000-square-foot private beach club in Atlantic Beach. Construction started on several other waterfront homes.
Highlight: Named one of America’s Top 200 Residential Architects by Forbes magazine, plus two AIA design awards.
Highlight: The Edgewater Lane renovation brought new life to a home in a waterfront community; The Commodore Club was a venture into the field of floating architecture.
In the works: An extensive renovation for new owners of a home that the firm designed 20 years ago, plus projects in Wilmington, on Figure Eight Island and Wrightsville Beach—and homes on the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast of North Carolina, and South Carolina,
OREGON
Daniel Toole Architecture
Portland and Seattle
Known for: Contemporary and crafted buildings that connect deeply to their physical and cultural context with careful attention to material, detail, and the shaping of light.
Highlight: Began working in California, Montana, and Florida
Highlight: Completion of the firm’s first multifamily building in Portland.
Highlight: Preparing to begin construction of a house near Seattle on Anderson Island overlooking South Puget Sound, and an off-grid desert retreat in Joshua Tree.
In the works: A half block of weathering steel-clad courtyard buildings, mass-timber live/work lofts building in Portland, and a lakeside heavy timber house in Seattle.
PENNSYLVANIA
Asher Slaunwhite + Partners
Jenkintown
Known for: Timeless designs that aren’t limited to a specific style or feature but are based on balance, composition, and surroundings.
Highlight: Heirloom homes in the most exclusive towns up and down the New Jersey Coast.
Highlight: Expertise in designing homes situated within delicate, strictly regulated environmental settings.
Highlight: Completion of a modern beachfront home that features a unique, ground-level covered pool terrace and wraparound porches and decks on all three levels.
Highlight: Completion of a home situated at the southern tip of New Jersey’s Seven Mile Island, a timeless coastal residence, thoughtfully designed to embrace seaside views.
In the works: Estate homes underway in Haddonfield and on the Main Line in Pennsylvania.
Peter Architects
Berwyn
Known for: An approach that incorporates traditional and timeless styles, embracing the firm’s philosophy as a classical architecture design studio.
Highlight: Continued growth, with expansion into new states for licensure and the addition of talented new designers and architects to the studio team.
Highlight: New projects in Lewes, Del.; Northeast Harbor, Maine; Falmouth, Mass.; and Chester County, Penn.
In the works: Projects in Cape Cod; Nantucket; Northeast Harbor and Camden, Maine; Buffalo Creek Colorado; Haverford and Malvern; Greenville and Wilmington, Delaware, and Locust Valley, New York.
RHODE ISLAND
Andreozzi Architecture
Barrington
Known for: A new traditional architecture that’s modern in design but religiously honors history and local context.
Highlight: Appointed member of U.S. General Services Administration’s National Register of Peer Professionals, a group relied upon to help steward the design of future government buildings.
Highlight: Named one of Top 50 Traditional Architects in the World by the Institute of Traditional Architecture.
Highlight: Restoring an historic home that abuts the Issac Bell House in Newport.
In the works: Projects in Westport, Narragansett, Bristol, Barrington, Middletown, Providence, and Jamestown.
TEXAS
Curtis & Windham Architects
Houston, Texas
Known for: Skillfully blending traditional architectural principles with a keen awareness of modern living and a collaborative, client-focused process that results in spaces that are both contextually appropriate and individually tailored.
Highlight: A new book, Building on Tradition, published by Rizzoli in October.
Highlight: 2025 PaperCity Design Award for “Best in Architecture.”
Highlight: Recently completed projects include new houses in Martha’s Vineyard, Southern California, Houston, Seaside, and England.
In the works: Projects in the Bahamas, the Cotswolds, North Carolina, Texas, and elsewhere around the United States.
Michael G. Imber Architects
San Antonio and Santa Barbara
Known for: Architecture with historical and cultural significance, connecting local building traditions to place and modern lifestyles.
Highlight: Michael Imber gave the annual McKim lecture for the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art in March.
Highlight: The firm is the subject of a new video series, Behind the Design, sponsored by the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, to be released this fall.
Highlight: 2025 AIA Residential Design Awards for the T-Anchor and Turnberry residences; 2025 Palladio Award for the Casa Blanca residence
Highlight: Two new mixed-use buildings that complete the Alys Beach Town Center on the Florida coast’s Highway 30-A, and a new hilltop estate in Montecito.
In the works: A new book to be published by Rizzoli in spring, 2027. Projects in Florida, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Utah, Washington D.C., Arkansas, and Texas.
SHM Architects
Dallas, Crested Butte, Colo., and Savannah
Known for: A philosophy centered on guiding its clients home, seeking to create a retreat, a hideaway, and to execute our client’s vision. Driven by good design, inclusive of all styles.
Highlight: The firm is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Highlight: AIA Dallas Tour of Homes, D Home Best Architect, Luxe RED Awards, and Dallas Architect Best Architect.
Highlight: Featured in Architectural Digest, Luxe, D Home, and Southern Living.
Highlight: Coastal project in Saint Simons, Ga.
In the works: “In-town” projects throughout Texas, and in the Southeast (Palmetto Bluff, Highway 30A, and Saint Simon’s Island) as well as lake houses at Freestone Lake and Golf.
WASHINGTON
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Wilkes-Barre
Known for: Designing to the nature of each circumstance, resulting in architecture that inspires connection and wonder.
Highlight: A new residential book to be published in 2026.
Highlight: Architizer A+Award, RDAA Honor Award from Residential Design magazine.
Highlight: A new winery in Sonoma, CA, as well as residences in the San Juan Islands and Santa Fe.
In the works: New residences in Key Biscayne, San Francisco, Tahoe, and Hawaii.
Cutler Anderson Architects
Bainbridge Island
Known for: Designs based on a sensitivity and understanding of the client’s program, the place and the materials of each project—and spending time to understand the land and reflect its essence and spirit in every design.
Highlight: Nearing completion of a large wellness resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Facilities include 75 individual cabins, a dining hall, event center, meeting hall, plus two separate schools and a spa. Self-contained, the project has a net-zero goal.
Highlight: Beginning schematic design of a new home on the storm-ravaged coast of Scarborough, Maine.
Highlight: Construction about to begin of a new single-family residence above the Pacific Ocean near Pacifica, Calif.
In the works: Construction continues on a waterfront guest house tucked into a dense forest within a remote area west of Vancouver Island.
GO’C
Seattle
Known for: Creating sustainable projects that are deeply connected to their sites, built to last for generations, and shaped through a process that is as rigorous as it is daring.
Highlight: iolair, a new artist studio/gallery/residence on Orcas Island, has been completed and photographed.
Highlight: 2025 Honor Award—Residential Design Architecture Awards for Ceramics Studio, a new creative space for art studio and additional dwelling in Seattle.
Highlight: 2025 Citation Award—Residential Design Architecture Awards for Blatto Boat, a floating-on-water residence on Seattle’s Lake Union.
In the works: A singular cabin with multiple campsites, each with its own custom-designed bathhouse, at the north edge of Olympic National Park overlooking the Salish Sea; A new residence just outside Walla Walla with panoramic views of Oregon’s Blue Mountains; And a new house and shop space nestled in a wooded lot in the hills near Ashland, Ore.
Heliotrope Architects
Seattle
Known for: Bespoke residential and commercial projects that leave a lasting impact, with a focus on sustainable, low-impact design that enhances each site and its surroundings.
Highlight: Multiple island projects featured in the New York Times.
Highlight: The firm celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.
Highlight: Commission for a cultural institution in Seattle.
Highlight: National AIA Housing Award.
In the works: Multiple residential projects in the San Juan Islands, metropolitan Seattle, Southern California, and New Zealand, as well as commercial and cultural commissions.
Olson Kundig
Seattle, Chicago, and New York
Known for: A collaborative global design practice whose work expands the context of built and natural landscapes.
Highlight: Tom Kundig’s Complete Houses, published by Monacelli, released October 15.
Highlight: One of 54 firms selected to exhibit at PORCH, the U.S. exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
Highlight: Named architect of the Bay FC Training Facility.
Highlight: Broke ground on new Moody Center Complex for Student Life at Rice University.
Highlight: Architectural Digest AD100 List; AIA National COTE Top Ten Award; AIA National Housing Award; The Architect’s Newspaper Best of Practice Award; Architizer A+ Award for Best Large Firm and Residential Adaptive Reuse Project; Chicago Athenaeum Award.
In the works: Private and multifamily residential, hospitality, cultural, sports, and museum projects in North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and the Bahamas.
THE CARIBBEAN
John Doak Architecture
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Known for: An architecture that’s “of this place Cayman” and demonstrates a respect for the culture, history, and locale of buildings in Cayman and across the Caribbean.
Highlight: Beach residences and boutique apartments for families from all over the world who fall in love with the tropics and the hospitality of the Caymanian people.
Highlight: 2025 is Doak’s 45th year as a leading architect in the Caribbean.
Highlight: 2025 is a year of projects being commenced rather than completed.
In the works: Several beach residences on the shores of Grand Cayman and Little Cayman, and a bespoke boutique resort that will feature overwater accommodations.