Last updated on May 21st, 2024 at 06:04 am
When you’re ready to build a new home, it’s important to get the construction done right from the ground up. That means finding a reputable, experienced, and reliable architect to manage the project from the first drawings through the completion while also considering your personal needs.
To help you choose the right designer equipped to handle any building requirements you and your environment might require, our team has curated a list of the best residential architects in Oregon. These firms were selected for their accreditations, certifications, and professional affiliations. We also considered the recognition each firm has received in the form of industry awards, client reviews, and press features. To make your search easier, we have laid out the range of services the firms offer, their specializations, and the length of time they have been in the industry.
Scott | Edwards Architecture LLP
2525 E. Burnside St., Portland, OR 97214
Scott | Edwards Architecture (S|EA) is an award-winning design firm with expertise in architecture, planning, and interior design. S|EA fosters a collaborative relationship between architect, client, and contractor to improve the lives of users and communities. The firm explores energy-efficient solutions that reflect the unique needs of the client, and promotes positive change by examining the diversity, equality, and inclusion aspects of all of its work.
Sid Scott, co-founder and Principal of S|EA, is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional (AP). He currently runs the company with Alden Kasiewicz, Brian Mares, Jeff Hammond, Lisa McClellan, Peter Grimm, and Rick Berry, bringing together creative, technical, and management proficiencies reflected in the firm’s portfolio. This includes Glass Link, which won an AIA Merit Award and Gold Nugget Award.
The Japanese-inspired home is designed to focus inwards around a large great room enveloped by glass doors that open on both ends of the house, from the forested front yard to the courtyard. This courtyard features a pool, spa, and dining area, and separates the two wings of the house. With the house tucked into a gentle slope, the active wing is open and airy, while the quieter areas are sheltered by the earth and the trees.
Allied Works Architecture
1532 SW Morrison St., Portland, OR 97205
Allied Works Architecture undertakes a full spectrum of creative development, from initial concepts to completion, through dialogue, sketching, modeling, and creating. The firm builds on the aspirations of its clients and their communities using a research-based approach to transform these into material, shape, and structure. Allied Works has been recognized by the AIA and the New York City Public Design Commission for its work on cultural projects, private residences, educational and sports facilities, and select commercial buildings.
Brad Cloepfil founded Allied Works in 1994 in Portland, Oregon. He draws upon 20 years of experience with a wide variety of projects ranging from creative workplaces, academic, and cultural institutions to spaces for art and interaction. Brad collaborates directly with the company’s clients, overseeing all areas of development to ensure that each project reaches its full potential. He did the same with the Portland Heights Residence.
This property constitutes a main home, a separate guest house, and a garage, as well as spacious patios, courts, and gardens that flow down the sloping site. Made of board-form concrete and Western Red Cedar, the residence unfolds as a series of interconnecting pavilions linked by concrete hearths and courtyard pockets. The indoor living rooms benefit from the warmth, light, and natural ventilation provided by these courts.
Skylab Architecture
413 SW 13th Ave. Suite 200, Portland, OR 97205
Architecture and Interiors, Skylab Architecture is a multidisciplinary firm of architects, designers, and entrepreneurs. The firm practices a regenerative approach to architecture, interior design, branded environments, and planning. As the Founder and Design Director of Skylab, Jeff Kovel is the lead creative architect within the firm.
Skylab has a history of design excellence and regenerative development. The Meschter Residence is a project that expanded organically over time to support a growing family connecting with the existing landscape and views beyond. The three wings of the timber-framed house on the ground level create circulation along the landscaped courtyard, garden, and pool. Within the original wing, the kitchen is expanded and relocated closer to the main entrance with an addition of an open dining room. The adjacent wing is a casual living area and office space with views of the horizon and pool. A new transparent staircase was designed as a key focal element of the third sleeping wing, leading to the master suite.
Emerick Architects
321 SW Fourth Ave. Suite 200, Portland, OR 97204
Melody and Brian Emerick started Emerick Architects to build places anchored in the community, environmentally conscious, and meet the standards of the Oregon Downtown Development Association. The firm specializes in residential and commercial architecture, as well as rehabilitations and historic preservations. Restoring the city’s oldest commercial building led to the company earning a Preservation in Action Award from the Architectural Heritage Center and AIA accreditation.
Melody is one of two of Emerick Architects’ co-founders whose collaborative leadership is fundamental to setting the company apart as a leading design firm. The licensed architect is a board member of the Architecture Foundation of Oregon. Acknowledged by the Portland Business Journal as a “Woman of Influence”, Melody is an inaugural winner of the Daily Journal of Commerce’s Women of Vision Award. Her 25 years of experience informs the firm’s architectural and interior design work. Meanwhile, Brian’s background in commercial design and adaptive reuse reinforces Emerick’s commitment to community stewardship. He is a past Chair of the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission and participated in the Unreinforced Masonry Seismic Retrofit Advisory, Technical, and Policy Committees.
Melody and Brian guided their team in designing and building Portland’s first LEED Gold home, the Northwood Residence. The home allows for indoor/outdoor living in the mild climate and forges strong connections to the surrounding primal Pacific Northwest rainforest.
Nathan Good Architects PC
205 Liberty St. NE Suite B, Salem, OR 97301
Nathan Good Architects partners with its clients in developing environmentally responsible projects throughout the western half of the United States. The firm has been granted awards by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, Sunset Magazine, and the National Association of Home Builders. Accentuating the unique characteristics of the site and the individuality of the client is integral to Nathan Good Architects’ creative process.
Principal Nathan Good is a Fellow of the AIA (FAIA) and was the fifth individual to receive the designation of LEED Accredited Professional by the US Green Building Council. He is certified by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). He has consciously developed a diverse body of environmentally responsible work through Nathan Good Architects; an excellent representation of which is the Live Edge Residence in Central Oregon.
The modern home achieved LEED Platinum certification, receiving First Place in Global Architecture’s “Rethinking the Future” sustainable design awards program and recognized as the Custom Green Home of the Year by Green Builder Magazine. The house was designed to weave around rock outcroppings and ragged juniper trees. Outdoor living is made possible by the home’s wide exterior terraces, which are complemented by an attached greenhouse.
Guggenheim Architecture and Design Studio, LLC
915 NW 19th Ave. Studio C, Portland, OR 97209
Guggenheim Architecture + Design Studio combines architecture, interior design, and brand direction in the areas of retail, hospitality, residential, medical, and exhibition design. Its custom-fit approach facilitates a constant dialogue with the client, and has afforded the firm awards from IIDA and AIA Portland.
Jenny Guggenheim sits as the Principal Designer and manages the business alongside Principal Architect Jeff Guggenheim. Prior to co-founding the studio, Jenny and Jeff refined their residential and commercial design abilities working at well-known architecture firms. Jenny is a LEED AP and is certified by the IIDA where she served as a board member for the Oregon Chapter. Simultaneously, Jeff is the AIA Oregon committee chair for the Small Firm Exchange and a recipient of AIA Portland’s Young Architect Award. Working as an integrated team, they have made Guggenheim Architecture + Design Studio widely admired for its well-crafted tailored spaces. One example of such work is the Wriff Residence.
This St. John’s home, situated on a fairly steep site, focuses on simplicity and site-specific elements. It has access to expansive river views from the sunken living area and covered patio. The custom fit screen wall provides a visual connection between levels while the sunken living area acts as a means of spatial separation without compromising the open-plan atmosphere.
Waechter Architecture
3928 N Williams Ave. Portland, OR 97227
Waechter Architecture (WA) provides a broad set of architecture services for its civic, cultural, mixed-use, commercial, and residential projects. Endowed with accolades from the Architectural League of New York, and the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, WA creates engaging spaces that carefully respond to the specific conditions and character of a site.
Ben Waechter is the Principal Architect of WA. A member of the AIA and a NCARB-certified architect, Ben is well-respected for his meticulous methods of exploration of concepts, distillation, and intelligent programming to arrive at striking forms. He has worked with world-renowned architect Renzo Piano in Italy and has cultivated his prowess in cultural, hospitality, commercial, and multi-family and single-family residential design.
Ben steered the practice into winning an AIA Portland Merit Award, and a Northwest and Pacific Region Citation Award for the design of the Pavilion House. The WA team dealt with the challenge of designing a glass house with privacy by strategically placing four ten-foot tall “legs” to support the body of the house and, at the same time, block unwanted views. The second level is supported by these four rectangular legs, containing stairs, kitchen, bathroom, and storage. Between these legs, the open floor plan expands to outdoor living through floor to ceiling glass and doors.
2fORM Architecture
121 Lawrence St., Eugene, OR 97401
2fORM Architecture has been recognized by the AIA with awards for the full range of architectural services it delivers to the health care, public facilities, commercial, and residential sectors, from site planning to interior design. The firm has a collaborative design process that connects people and environment, and implements sustainable practices. Throughout each project, 2fORM continually consults with its clients in evaluating design expectations, creativity, and the project’s performance.
Principal Architect Richard Shugar is a member of the AIA and a LEED AP. He is certified by NCARB, the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), and the Congress of Residential Architecture (CORA). Richard’s 24 years of experience include custom residences and remodels, commercial buildings, multifamily housing, interior design, and historic preservation. Under Richard’s leadership, 2fORM follows through on its commitment to create spaces that support each client’s unique needs, as demonstrated in the design of the Timberidge Residence.
A large part of the design challenge was to find a balance between distinct spaces and making each transition space have a purpose. Board-formed concrete walls serve as the organizing spine of the home, connecting each room to the main circulation path and leading into the landscape. The rugged material palette mimics the surrounding rough landscape and continues throughout the interior of the home.
William / Kaven Architecture
4075 N. Williams Ave. Studio 440, Portland, OR 97227
With almost two decades of architectural and interior design experience, William / Kaven Architecture has developed in-depth specialties in luxury residences, and power-saving high-rise and mixed-use buildings for corporate clients. The IIDA-accredited studio pays close attention to the input of everyone involved in the project regarding how they want to interact with the spaces. William / Kaven Architecture operates on the belief that design work should be modifiable throughout the process as new insight and information are discovered.
Brothers Daniel Kaven and Trevor William Lewis teamed up to form the firm, uniting Daniel’s painting and film-inspired architecture and Trevor’s dexterity with energy-efficient design. Daniel is the founder of Kaven + Co., which helps companies with visionary internal projects and has amassed over $100 million in development. In contrast, Trevor contributes as a member of the AIA and a NCARB-certified LEED AP. He has taken part in the design of projects for several prominent corporations in the last ten years, including Microsoft, Nike, and Converse.
As a combined interior design and architecture practice, William / Kaven Architecture has had the opportunity to design homes inside and out, like one home, the Interchange. This house is arranged around a central court rather than a simple site divided between a front and rear yard. The courtyard serves as an outdoor circulation zone and a focal point for all events. The narrow rooms borrow light and air from the glass-bounded courtyard, blurring the line between the indoors and outdoors.
Studio.e Architecture
245 West Broadway, Eugene, OR 97401
Studio.e Architecture brings over 15 years of experience in delivering a broad range of architecture, interiors, planning, and green consulting services. The firm spearheads the Passive House method in the Pacific Northwest, through the application of high-performance construction strategies that maximize energy savings, minimize carbon emissions, and put each house on track to achieve net-zero energy use. Studio.e has completed high-performance buildings in the form of built-to-suit homes, multi-family and mixed-use developments, educational institutions, and retail, hospitality, and office projects.
Jan Fillinger, AIA, the founding principal, has spent 30 years blending building science and art to create structures that combine sustainability and beauty. A LEED-Accredited Professional and Certified Passive House Consultant, he has cultivated the firm’s expertise in sustainable design, resulting in numerous award-winning projects.
The firm’s design of the Fineline House embodies many of the most exemplary features of a sustainable building, including FSC-certified wood, Passive House performance, low-VOC finishes, exceptional indoor air quality, and extremely low energy use. The house is wrapped in structural insulated panels, has triple-pane Unilux windows and doors, and utilizes a Zehnder heat recovery ventilation system. The house is four to five times more efficient than a standard US home of the same size, and has achieved the USGBC’s highest LEED-H Platinum certification.
chadbourne + doss architects
4900 Ash St., Astoria, OR 97103
chadbourne + doss architects is a client-oriented design firm that takes on residential, adaptive reuse, urban planning, and commercial projects. It applies a comprehensive approach to designing one-of-a-kind spaces that are both contextually appropriate and highly responsive to clients’ requirements and aspirations. The studio’s work has been spotlighted in Architectural Record and World New Architecture, and has received awards from the AIA and IIDA.
The firm was formed by Lisa Chadbourne and AIA member Daren Doss, merging their interest in the arts, environment, and community. Prior to forming chadbourne + doss architects, Lisa has over twenty years of experience working in architectural firms in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, whereas Daren worked as a project architect at the esteemed Suyama Peterson Deguchi. A registered architect, Lisa has taught design at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and is a visiting critic at the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning. A product of their integrity and teamwork is this completed project, The Perch.
This home encircles a beautiful courtyard that includes a lot of greenery and water enclosed by concrete walls. This central outdoor space separates the owner’s quarters from the spaces for entertaining guests into two wings. Additionally, a suspended staircase connects the two halves and overlooks the courtyard.
CBTWO Architects
500 Liberty St. SE Suite 100, Salem, OR 97301
CBTWO Architects is rooted in community involvement and improvement through architecture and land development. It offers a full-range of services including master planning, construction management, and graphic design. In addition, the CBTWO team consists of LEED APs and experts in interior design, permitting, and contract administration to help expedite the process for clients. The firm specializes in senior care, but has expanded its focus to encompass commercial, residential, and community-oriented developments.
Senior Principals Garth Brandaw and Chris Morris are both members of the AIA. Garth has managed over 250 projects across the United States and Canada as a licensed architect, and has very good command over land-use planning and approvals related to the development process. He manages CBTWO with Chris who carries 15 years of experience working on commercial projects, particularly private physician facilities and hospitals. Garth and Chris ushered the team in building the Lake Oswego Home.
For this project, CBTWO Architects rotated the garage to add more square footage to divide the house between circulation/service spaces and living space. The front living space has the image of a tower while the space facing the backyard is different, featuring wide windows and a more unique shape.
Cella Architecture, LLC
1430 SE Water Ave. Suite 207, Portland, OR 97214
Cella Architecture provides custom residential architectural services for homeowners throughout Oregon. Aside from this, project planning, bidding, and construction services are made available for clients. Utilizing state-of-the-art three-dimensional design technology, the studio is well-versed in traditional construction styles and methods, but simultaneously embraces the challenges presented by the aesthetics of modern architecture. It has completed an extensive collection of new homes, additions, remodels, and renovations of all sizes that has earned the trust of the AIA Custom Residential Architects Network.
Erich Morgan Karp worked for a number of reputable architecture firms in Eugene, Beaverton, and Portland before he started Cella Architecture. A member of the AIA, he has specialized in residential design since 1997, and is highly knowledgeable in office design which stems from his commercial architecture experience. The NCARB-certified and Oregon-registered architect has completed many projects such as this Arrow Wood House.
This project’s objective was to make any changes and additions in harmony with the charming character of the existing home. The Cella team updated the library/office space, living room, and bathrooms, as well as provided a new and larger entry along with an open staircase. Moreover, the kitchen and family room were expanded, resulting in a more direct connection between the front and back yards.
DKA Architecture + Design
780 NW York Drive Suite 201, Bend, OR 97703
DKA Architecture & Design caters to commercial, institutional, and single and multi-family residential projects, providing them with sustainable design solutions that comply with LEED standards. The firm has been the architect for many local landmark projects, like the Tower Theatre Renovation, Deschutes Brewery and Public House, and Trinity Episcopal Church Reconstruction. It holds the same level of expertise in designing homes, whether contemporary, lodge, or traditional style.
Principals John L. Kvapil and Philip R. Doza bring over 30 years of experience to building design. Accredited by NCARB, John has developed considerable skill in building conservation and facilities planning. Besides managing projects nationally and internationally, he is the Consultant Design Review Architect for several high-end planned developments in Central Oregon. John’s planning capabilities are complemented by Philip’s background in construction documentation and administration, including extensive structural detailing. Philip is a member of the AIA and a former charter member of the Building Green Council Steering Committee. The creativity of these principals is reflected in DKA’s work on the North Rim Residence.
This rustic two-story home was designed for the sloping topography of its site. Its distinguishing feature is the elevated deck that seems to float as it juts out from the mountain side. The property was built to allow homeowners to take advantage of the surrounding views through tall floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
