Design Services
RENOVATION CONSULTING
Most people can’t afford an architect, but an architectural perspective is invaluable. I’m a Harvard-trained architectural designer with over 15 years experience and 10 years in the desert.
I’ve developed three of my own desert properties and I’m starting on my fourth. I’ve learned a lot along the way about how to create an amazing desert lifestyle in an area with many challenges.
And I’ve had success. The first property I developed is now the most popular local vacation rental on AirBnB, and generates over $20k a year.
I’ve put together a consulting ‘kit’ of services for hi-desert homeowners and developers like me. In this kit I’m offering architectural services without the high cost, the lead times and the drama. I’ll give you quick, smart design solutions for big effects on small-ish budgets.
I aim for a clean, modern look with rustic details and desert ‘style’. I use recycled and salvaged materials whenever possible. Here are some before & after pictures of my projects.
(Sonora House, Joshua Tree, ‘before & after’)
These services could mean a $20k – $50k difference in the end value of your property. And at a very reasonable cost. Fixed-fee design consulting services starting as low as $500.
Services include:
–walkthrough/brainstorm
–as-built plan (if needed)
–new schematic design, drawn in floor plan & 3d sketches
–mood board with color, texture, inspiration, materials
–punch list and phases (for bids & budgeting)
Additional services:
–tree plan
–green systems (greywater, passive solar, etc)
–outbuildings/amenities (hot tubs, raised bed gardens, etc)
–interior decorating/furniture
These services are a great way to get the insight of both a Harvard-trained architect, and a desert property-owner who’s learned the hard way how to achieve success in a tough area. I know the ins and outs of desert design, construction and lifestyle. Perfect for the renovation of hi-desert foreclosures, fixer-uppers, homesteader cabins, and spec development. Contact me.
DESIGN
I run a design studio with the mantra: Lighten Up!
My design inspiration includes the informal, small-scale, ad hoc, indigenous and archetypal typologies typically found at the fringes of society and culture.
From Egyptian tent cities to Mexican beekeeper’s huts, from restaged 60s “Happenings” to green garden sheds, my small-scale, modular projects aim to invent new ways to live lightly on the earth. In 2007 I designed, manufactured and sold the Nomad, a modern take on the Mongolian yurt, which was featured in the New York Times, was named “the countryʼs best yurt” by Dwell magazine, and was nominated for a Cooper- Hewitt “Peopleʼs Design Award.”
(The Nomad Yurt, design: Stephanie Smith/Ecoshack)
All design opportunities are welcome. But I’m especially interested in designing upscale campsites, portable shelters, outhouses, greenhouses, outbuildings, cob ovens, festival infrastructure, art & retail installations, pop-ups, ceremonial & performance spaces, eco-village site plans and infrastructure, and communes. Contact me.
STUDIOS & WORKSHOPS
I’m an occasional design instructor at SCI-Arc. My recent design studios explored ideas of fabrication, manufacturing and alternative forms of community. Course titles included “Shelter as Product: Designs for a 150 s.f. Manufactured Dwelling,” “Instant City: A Manufactured Kit for a Temporary Community” and “Unplugged: An Off-the-grid Ecovillage for 20 Surfers.”
I’ve also run fabrication studios from an offsite facility in Joshua Tree. Contact me if you’d like more information on desert-based design studios and workshops.
My background also includes seminars for graduate students at the Architectural Association (AA) and the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, and the Berlage Institute in Amsterdam. And I’ve been a critic at design schools including Harvard University Graduate School of Design, SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Design), UCLA, and Art Center College of Design.
