Top 10 Coastal Architects

Ocean Modern is proud to announce our first annual spotlight of superior architectural firms located throughout the coastal U.S. Here we are introducing ten award-winning firms recognized for their commitment to excellence, innovative design, and sustainable building practices. Each firm represents best-in-class architects with forward-thinking designs for building the spaces of the future. Join us in celebrating these firms and their teams for their wonderful contributions to modern and contemporary design.

BURDGE & ASSOCIATES

Douglas W. Burdge AIA and his team of designers are recognized for their diverse architectural styles, including Spanish Mediterranean, Traditional, “Rustic-Modern”, and cutting-edge Contemporary, from Malibu to Sun Valley to Los Cabos, Mexico. Burdge has become the preeminent architect of Malibu, having designed and built over 300 projects in the region for notable clients including entertainment moguls and Fortune 500 CEOs.

In addition to their work in Malibu and across California, the firm has also been responsible for a number of builds around the country, ranging from residential to commercial. Sun Valley, Idaho and Big Sky, Montana are two standout destinations that have contributed to Douglas W. Burdge AIA’s impeccable record and nationally acclaimed good name. The firm’s work has been published widely, from references in The Malibu Times to features in Architect Magazine. View website

CUTLER ANDERSON ARCHITECTS

Cutler Anderson Architects Photographer Art Grice

Based out of Bainbridge Island, WA, Cutler Anderson Architects’ mindful incorporation of the world around them has been an integral part of their project design. With over 42 years in business, numerous awards, and deep-rooted knowledge, their designs truly set them apart. The incredible sleek, eco-friendly design that has hallmarked the firm is what truly sets them apart. Their quintessentially modernist approach to their work, which includes responding to and incorporating nature in all their builds, has become revered not just in Washington, but around the country, with some buzz internationally.

Sustainability, focusing on conservation of energy and resources, is the primary ethos of the firm, but function and form are a close second. Cutler Anderson Architects’ work has included both residential and commercial design, both of new builds and redesigns of existing buildings. Their work is noted for its worldwide influence; their many builds over the last forty-two years have spanned three continents. As the company’s website notes, these builds have included “custom cabins, residences, libraries, resorts, churches and government ventures such as the modernization of the Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, Oregon; a LEED Platinum high-rise.” View website

DE REUS ARCHITECTS

Interior Design: Jacques St. Dizier Landscape: David Tamura Photography: Joe Fletcher

De Reus Architects is an award-winning architectural studio based in Hawaii that specializes in designing resorts and residences of unique distinction. True to place, the firm crafts resorts and residences that both work with and enhance their surroundings through enduring design and an appreciation for location, wherever that may be. With their fluid design philosophy to guide them, no project is too grand.

De Reus also has offices in Sun Valley, Idaho, where they focus on integrating residential builds with the natural world. The firm’s bread and butter is residences and luxury resorts, including such incredible designs as Oahu’s Four Seasons Resort. The firm’s website quotes their mission as responding daily to a “search is for the artistic expression of nature, culture, structure and purpose… and the experience of wholeness that comes from their integration.” View website

HUGHES UMBANHOWAR ARCHITECTS

Photo by: Robin Hill

Hughes Umbanhowar architects is an architectural firm with studios in Los Angeles and South Florida. They create buildings, objects, and projects for discriminating and engaged clients. The work they do is a reflection of their passionate interest in craft, form, and building technology, all in response to the contemporary condition. The firm’s work includes luxury storefronts like a Monique L’Huillier Boutique as well as incredible contemporary residences across California.

Founded by Scott Hughes, Hughes Umbanhowar is focused on providing their clients with the best experience and most personal homes possible. Their website quotes their mission as “continuously exchang[ing] views and opinions with their clients regarding strategic options, and…continually refocus[ing their] efforts on making the design and construction process through which each client must navigate as intuitive, seamless, and stress-free as possible.” View website

SDH_STUDIO

Photo by: Libertad Rodriguez

SDH Studio, based in North Miami Beach, is an award winning Architecture and Interior Design Studio distinguished by its innovative and dedicated approach to design and project development. SDH strives to develop designs that encapsulate the heart and individuality of each client.

Founded by highly educated and sought-after Venezuelan architect Stephanie Halfen, SDH Studio has quickly positioned itself as a premier design studio in Florida and across the Southeast. After relocating to Miami in 2009, Halfen decided to explore opening her own firm. Accolades quickly poured in, celebrating her for her incredible ability to “ explore in depth the dialogue between landscape and architectural form, which enabled her to develop innovative ways to live in a tropical climate.” View website

SILBERSTEIN ARCHITECTURE

Located in Florida, Silberstein Architecture has designed schools, museums, religious communities, historic renovations, restaurants, multi-family housing and private residences. Silberstein’s aesthetic is influenced by its founder’s diverse cultural upbringing. Principal and founder, Jefferey Silberstein, was raised in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, was educated in New York city and Boston, and has traveled all over the world. This series of experiences has enabled his unique approach to design, which has evolved out of an informed and experienced understanding of art and architecture.

The studio has received over 18 professional architectural awards. The firm has been awarded the American Institute of Architects Award for Excellence in Design several times and is publicly lauded as one of the best and most exciting firms in the entire country, let along Florida. With residences primarily in Florida and the Netherlands, Silberstein Architecture’s work has been featured and published in such major publications as Florida Design, Ocean Home, Florida Designs Miami, Home & Design, and many others. View website

STELLE LOMONT ROUHANI

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects is an award winning and widely published firm with over 30 years of experience designing modern, environmentally-sensitive houses. The firm is recognized for its timeless, well-detailed, and innovative designs that emphasize and celebrate their local surroundings enhancing their client’s way of life. Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects is comprised of an experienced team of architects and designers working together in a collaborative studio environment towards the success of each project.

An interiors and architecture firm specializing in stunning contemporary builds, Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects expresses its mission on its website as “striving to create a rewarding design and building experience for [thei]r clients…[with] each project [a] unique and a response to the client’s program, budget, schedule and site.” Their projects are primarily coastal, with sharp lines and local materials frequently used in their inspired design. View website

[STRANG] ARCHITECTURE

Strang is a Florida-based architectural, interiors, and landscape design firm well known for its pre-eminent environmental modernist designs and tropical landscapes. The firm’s projects can be found in Florida as well as the Florida Keys, Colorado, The Bahamas, The Dominican Republic, The Caribbean and United Arab Emirates. Focusing on “regional modernism,” the firm puts sustainability first. Using primarily natural and local materials in the design and construction of their builds, Strang has been noted for its exceptional commitment to sustainability and eco-conscious design.

The firm’s website notes its commitment to designing for Floridians but also notes its forays into international design. The site describes how their “distinguished body of work is deeply connected to Florida, yet also includes projects across the Caribbean Sea and beyond.The firm continues to reap awards and international acclaim under the dynamic leadership of its partners, associates, and directors.” View website

ZEROENERGY DESIGN

Architecture by ZeroEnergy Design Eric Roth Photography

ZeroEnergy Design (ZED) is an architecture and mechanical design firm out of Boston, Massachusetts specializing in high performance homes and buildings. Their commitment to innovative and ecologically sensible design is reflected in their multidisciplinary knowledge base, which spans architecture, mechanical design and financial analysis. With this shared expertise, ZED originates designs that are tailored to a client’s way of life, environmental values, and unique sense of style.

The company focuses on “green design,” echoing a growing trend towards sustainability and true modernism, which endorses a connection to nature and attempts to honor it while meeting the needs of those the builds are designed for. The company not only designs eco-friendly luxury residences for the wealthy, but also engages with local zoning and gubernatorial officials to design affordable housing. View website

Z.W. JAROSZ ARCHITECTURE

Based in Miami. Z.W. Jarosz Architect, P.A. and Jarosz Development, Corporation staff is comprised of designers, project managers, superintendents, carpenters and support personnel. Both companies have built many projects over the years and are known for its quality of design, construction, timely delivery of projects, and compliance with required budgets. By forming these organizations, Z.W Jarosz is able to work on their projects from beginning to end, and controls the process, arriving to a much satisfying end product.

The firm is currently staffed by over thirty incredible professionals, all of whom have contributed to Z.W. Jarosz Architect, PA’s fast-paced success over the years. By working both in architecture and development, Jarosz is able to supervise the entire process for clients, putting them first in all aspects of each project. The designer’s profile on Archinet describes this well-knit way of working, noting that by “forming these organizations, Jarosz is able to work on his projects from beginning to end. He evolves and controls the process, arriving to a much satisfying end product.” View website

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