Welcome. We are an architecture and interiors studio that believes in the power of thoughtful design to better connect us to the built environment, the landscape, and each other. Our process is equal parts creativity and pragmatism –so that our work draws out the strongest potential of any site, the resources at hand, and ultimately, the experience of our clients. Design is both a process and an adventure; we see ourselves as both your partner and guide. We look forward to hearing from you.

Paradox House:
Paradox House

The clients for this new 4,500 SF home in Sonoma, California’s wine country are a wonderful paradox as a couple: one raised in Iran and the other in South Africa; one fiery, one cooler; one drawn to order, the other to serendipity; one operating in shades of grey, the other in bold colors.

Out of these fascinating character dialectics came opposed intuitions for the siting and design of the home: one wanted a multistory structure high above the ground to capture distant mountain views, the other gravitated towards a single-story firmly grounded in the landscape. One’s priority was a formal lawn and a pool to plunge into from their bedrooms, while the other’s was meandering paths through smaller gardens and outdoor spaces.

Work ^ In The Landscape
Green House

The original home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s protégé, Aaron Green and built by Echler Homes in 1966, is a modern masterwork in Palo Alto, California. Remaining preserved in time by its original owner until 2019, its new owners, a young couple with two young children and one on the way, needed additional space and amenities. But how to update and extend Green’s low-slung complete thought for a new era and new growing family?

Work ^ In The Grid
Twist and Turn Screen:
Leaning into a material’s latent desire to twist and turn yields unexpected beauty>

We love it when a client asks, “Have you done this before?” and then trusts us to keep going when we say, “Never!” After fretting over how to keep this wood screen ‘perfect,’ we finally leaned into the potential beauty of the imperfect. Instead of fighting nature’s latent desires, we gave into the screen’s impulse to crook, cup, bow, and twist.

Work ^ In The Studio
Christopher W. Baile, Architect:
Principal

Christopher, a licensed architect in the state of California, has been with S^A since 2015 after completing his Master of Architecture at the California College of the Arts, where he has since served as a guest instructor and juror for graduate architecture studios. His thesis work –Raum-Fiction– focused on architectural representation as a lingua franca between those in –and out of– the know. Christopher is originally from Indianapolis and holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Ball State University, where he was a fellow at the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts and an employee of the Institute for Digital Fabrication.

Practice ^ Team
Where would you hang out at the Paradox House? #customhomes #architecture #poolday #modernhome #designinspiration Architecture - @schwartzandarchitecture Photography - @brucedamonte Contractor - @dkg_construction Landscape - @arterralandscapearchitects Pool - @oxbowpoolandlandscape Cabinetry - @millwork_mgmt Artwork - @davidmaiselstudio
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