Q. Please tell us about your firm and its focus on high-end residential and commercial architecture and design.
The biggest difference between 20 years ago and now is that we used to do more retail design. Now, we do more residential work and a lot of historic preservation. Much of that is because the firm has shifted emphasis, and we have many more projects in Cincinnati, in OTR and the West End. We do historic tax credit work for a couple of different developers.
Q. How important are sustainable products when putting new life into a neglected building? Do you find marrying new and fresh products with historical rehabbing challenging?
I love traditional architectural and historical styles. What we bring is a modern sensibility to the design. It is important to preserve, but also to distinguish what’s new from what’s old when we make alterations to make the building work for the current market. Sustainability is an integral part of that. A lot of it is adapting and reusing the existing structure. But we also specify high-efficiency HVAC equipment, Energy-Star appliances and LED lighting. That’s the bulk of your energy savings in those types of projects. And they are relatively easy to do.
We’ve done LEED certification on a couple of projects. The ones where we don’t do LEED certification are similar to the ones where we do. This is partly because the building code is catching up with the LEED guidelines.
Q. Are there challenges to working in Cincinnati due to the city code?
The Cincinnati Building Department, the Urban Conservator, and the Historic
Conservation Board have always been easy to work with. When we do preservation we are respectful of the historic fabric, but just because a new building is in OTR, doesn’t mean it has to look like the traditional buildings.
I’m doing a project on Green Street now with the developer, Greg Cole. It is a new two-family, three-story building. Greg insists we don’t do the standard traditional stripped-down historic style, but something appropriate to our time. That’s coming from the developer. He’s great in that way. I have a very similar take on it.
You don’t want a historic knockoff. What ends up typically happening is some watered-down version of a historic style. I think it’s better to be true to the times. Respect things like proportion, materials, compatible material and compatible scale. In terms of detailing, I think there is room for variety. That brings life to the street in a respectful way.
Q. What sets your firm apart from others?
One characteristic is that we’re a small firm. That means we give individual attention as partners throughout all project phases. There are other small firms, too. It’s not so much that we are different. We are not entirely unique, but we are in that niche of smaller, more hands-on, partner-style firms.
Q. You like traditional architectural style. Is that your favorite, or does a client drive the style?
We are modern architects, but I do like all styles. We draw from all of them. What drives our work is the context we are working in, especially if it’s rehabilitation, as well as the client and the project.
Much of it comes from the context, but then you bring your experience and design sensibilities to that project. We like clean lines. We like simplicity. We like warm materials and a warm color pallet, natural materials. That’s what we bring, regardless of historic style.
Q. Are you registered in multiple states?
Yes, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and New York.
Q. Does this help expand your reach?
I will occasionally get a call for a house in Indiana or get an occasional project in Kentucky, but the bulk of our work is in Ohio and New York. I have started getting clients in Lebanon now that my office is located there. We’re doing a multi-family development in Loveland. We work throughout the Cincinnati area and handle jobs of all scale, from small additions to multi-family projects.