Designing a new home, or significantly remodeling or expanding an existing home is a process of inquiry and discovery. At NSPJ Architects, we work with each client to discover the essence of each new place and the family for which it is intended.

We believe creating a new home, or remodeling an existing one is a process of making a place that feels both new and old; new, in so far that it is a fresh response to the existing conditions of it’s neighborhood, site, climate, program and budget; and old, in that it contains deep and familiar qualities that, regardless of location, budget, and size, makes a place a Home.

Working in conjunction with our Landscape Architecture department, we believe correctly inhabiting the site is a critical first step. In some sense, the house must participate in the larger whole: a whole that includes views, the path of the sun, the presence of neighbors, sound, and roads, topography and unique natural features such as trees, rock outcrops and drainage ways. If you inhabit the site right, the rest of the design will flow smoothly from that understanding of the site.

The Home is an assembly of parts, materials, and spaces – entry, roof, garage, kitchen, bedrooms, etc. We strive to blend these spaces together in a graceful and rhythmic way so that all of these parts add up to an orderly and sensible whole. By creating a flow to the design of these parts; beginning at the arrival to the site and continuing through the house and spilling into the surrounding grounds, we foster a sense of movement through the home. This movement creates opportunities to capture light and views, incorporate private and communal areas, create indoor & outdoor rooms and, utilizing the immense talent of our Interior Design department, propose materials, colors and textures that will resonate with each client’s unique personality and lifestyle. We believe a home will feel comfortable only when all its parts are in good proportion to each other and make up a balanced, harmonious whole.

At NSPJ Architects, we apply these timeless Architectural qualities to create the unique essence of Home for each of our Single Family projects.