The Top Coastal Architects of 2023, from Ocean Home

The current issue of Ocean Home magazine is featuring a cover story I compiled on the Top Coastal Architects now practicing across the country and in the Caribbean. The feature starts in Alabama with Christopher Architects and Interiors and finishes up in Grand Cayman with John Doak Architecture. In between are more than 60 firms’ excellent designs for traditional and contemporary homes on the coast. A+A is pleased to list a few here today, with a link to the entire listing at the end of this post:

ALABAMA

Christopher Architecture & Interiors

Birmingham 

Known for: Blending responsive architecture and thoughtful interiors to create a cohesive environment to complement each client’s specific needs.
Highlight: Its retail store, Christopher Collection, celebrated its first full year of selling luxury home furnishings, décor, and art.
Highlight: AIA and IIDA awards for an historic adaptive reuse project.
Highlight: A Luxe RED Award for Exterior Architecture.
In the works: Projects in San Francisco, upstate New York, Colorado, and Florida.

christopherai.com

Jeffrey Dungan Architects 

Mountain Brook 

Known for: A clean and modern approach to traditional vernaculars and classical architecture.
Highlight: Featured in Luxe Interiors + DesignMansion GlobalTatler Homes Singapore, and Homes and Estates.
Highlight: Two Palladio Awards from Traditional Building magazine.
In the works: Two homes under construction on the California coast and two more under construction on the South Carolina coast.

jeffreydungan.com

CALIFORNIA 

Appleton Partners

Santa Barbara

Known for: A style that’s contemporary and traditional, diverse and eclectic, with an appreciation for place and time.
Highlight: Completion of renovations to Montecito’s San Ysidro Ranch.
Highlight: 2022 ICAA Arthur Award and Luxe RED Award.
Highlight: Completion of oceanfront homes in Southern California, Rosewood Miramar Beach, Biltmore, as well as the Carpinteria Beach House, Morrow Residence, Isla Mar, Casa Del Monte, Vineyard Residence and Jameson Residence.

appleton-architects.com

Burdge Architects

Malibu

Known for: A design approach that seamlessly adapts to an extensive range of design styles ranging from coastal modern to contemporary to Spanish, to its trademark “rustern” (rustic modern) style. 
Highlight: Expanding work in the mountain states, and leveraging expertise in designing with the natural beauty of coastal sites.
In the works: The upcoming completion of “Zero 2,” the second in a series of four Zero Carbon homes being developed in the Marisol community.

buaia.com

Butler Armsden Architects 

San Francisco 

Known for: Creating timeless, immersive homes that inspire, and projects that build memories, imbued with the essence of their clients’ lives.
Highlight: Two 10-year anniversaries for senior project managers, hiring three junior designers, and increasing staff by 10 percent. 
Highlight: Luxe RED Award. 
Highlight: New projects in San Francisco and across the U.S. 
Highlight: Completion of homes in Portola Valley and Belvedere.
In the works: Houses in Sea Cliff and Stinson Beach.

butlerarmsden.com

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: Designing residential, gallery, retail, and office spaces from London to Athens to Buenos Aires to Cabo. 
Highlight: Transforming a private residence in Palermo Chico, Buenos Aires, a classic Beaux-Arts home by Alejandro Bustillo, into a glamorous, modern space for a prominent publishing family.

kallosturin.com

For more, go here.