Land+Shelter has always allowed for remote work, but since March 2020, it’s been happening at a different scale. At first I thought the architecture studio would be lost without pin-up walls and shared office space. But it’s actually been working well, and it’s been eye opening. It got me thinking […]

I’m writing an update to let you know how you can find the Land+Shelter studio right now. At the moment everyone is working from home with the option of appointment use of our Carbondale studio space.

Our Carbondale studio is at 16 N. 4th Street, just around the corner from the […]

I’ll start with an admission.  I sometimes provide multiple options when I don’t have a clear, zesty idea. It can be a crutch. Design clients want great ideas, not more ideas.

Providing options is often a useful tool, but just not always. There’s a few circumstances I’d like to talk about […]

Words like traditional, contemporary, ultra-modern, even green, get used all the time and I don’t think we know what these words mean to one another. This is the trouble with language in […]

When a renovation project involves challenging preexisting conditions, our team embraces the creative tools at our disposal–and inspiration from the natural world leads the charge. A recent brick facade renovation in downtown Carbondale inspired me to begin the design by walking around a Grand Junction brickyard last July. […]

Welcome to Shelter Journal, a newsletter about practicing architecture in Aspen. Posts are about once a month and topics cover the local design, architecture, and development scene. I bring my personal experience running an architecture studio and working on development in our mountain communities to you with Shelter Journal.

Today’s post […]

Pitkin County’s proposed updated energy code is aimed at regulating what our design culture does not organically address: energy efficiency. More and more clients demand this of architects, but it’s still not the baseline. Not always.

With the recent proposed updates to Pitkin County’s REMP (renewable energy mitigation program), new construction […]

I have returned to a question on the company name from time to time. When I first joined the company, I loved the people and the energy – but not the name.

It just didn’t say visionary architecture. I was OK with that because of the rest of fantastic work we […]

Sea glass is the most beautiful trash in the world. What a test for the creation of new materials, to be such beautiful detritus. An aspiration if not a fair test for the materials we use in homes, perhaps. The glass test.

I met a woman named Beth who collects sea […]

About every other year I go heli-skiing in Alaska. And if skiing on a snowy moon appeals to you, this is worth the investment.  It’s sublime. Over the years I’ve become friends with the owner. His present expansion plans would allow guests to stay in private lodgings and secure private […]