Cunningham | Quill Architects

FineCraft has had the pleasure of collaborating with Angela Yu of Cunningham | Quill Architects, and our experience working together has been excellent. Angela brings a thoughtful, disciplined approach to architecture with a strong sensitivity to context, scale, and detail. Her designs are refined and purposeful, balancing creativity with clarity and restraint. There is a clear intent behind her work, and it translates well from concept through construction. From a builder’s perspective, Angela is professional, prepared, and collaborative. Her drawings are well coordinated, communication is clear, and she is responsive when questions arise in the field. She approaches challenges constructively and works through them with a focus on maintaining design integrity while respecting real-world conditions. What stands out most is Angela’s ability to collaborate effectively while advocating for the homeowner’s vision. She understands that successful projects rely on strong partnerships, and that mindset contributes to smoother processes and stronger results. We value our working relationship with Angela Yu and Cunningham | Quill Architects and look forward to continued collaboration. We would confidently recommend her to homeowners and professionals seeking an architect who is thoughtful, composed, and a true partner throughout the building process.

We partnered with Cunningham and Quill in 2005 to transform our not-so center-hall colonial in anticipation of a growing and active family. When we first met with Ralph Cunningham he immediately understood our needs and vision for our home. We had lived in our house for a number of years and knew what we wanted but Ralph exceeded our expectations from both a design and function standpoint. After a thorough design process, Ralph, Maria Casarella and Angela Yu oversaw an extensive gutting, repurposing, and expansion of our Chevy Chase home. The process was seamless and well administered from demolition to move in day, and beyond.

We loved every aspect of working with Cunnigham Quill on our Kitchen and basement remodel. They designed my dream kitchen -- listening to our needs, priorities and budget -- and shepherded the project from conception and design through construction and completion. The aesthetic and quality were exactly what we wanted and the end result is beautiful as well as completely functional. As for the basement, they managed to take an 80-year old wet and filthy space and turn it into a comfortable and enticing recreation area for the entire family -- andon a shoe-string budget!

Over the last few years, I've had the privilege to work on numerous beautiful projects with this team of stellar Architects. They are truly one of the best in the industry and I would highly recommend this talented group to anyone. In addition to being a pleasure to work with, these Architects are team players with a refined eye for design. Each project is unique with an added functional appeal. In my opinion, one of their greatest strengths is their ability to combine color and texture. No two jobs end up looking alike. Highly recommended! Karen Hourigan, CKD Kitchen & Bath Studios

We were fortunate enough to use Cunningham/ Quill for the renovation of a home we bought in Cathedral Heights in Washington, DC. They totally transformed the home - in terms of layout, look, functionality, and style. They (Maria Casaralla headed up their team) listened carefully to our wishes, determined what we needed in the way of function, and designed a home that went way beyond our expectations for beauty, design, great pricing, and attention to every detail. They were always accessible and communicated throughout the process. They had so many great ideas that we would never have thought of - ideas that, when implemented, made our home unique and beautiful while still easy to maintain. We love our home and every day are reminded of the care C/Q took to give us a home that meets our needs beautifully and has so much elegance and ease. Thank you, Cunningham and Quill, and Maria!

We used Cunningham Quill to design our weekend home in the countryside west of Washington, DC. It was a great experience from start to finish. Ralph Cunningham led the design process for our house and had a very capable team supporting him. I think Ralph has a fantastic eye for pretty much any type of aesthetic, but our assignment was to design a highly contemporary house that fit into the natural, rolling land on which it would be situated. The design they ultimately came up with, after soliciting lots of feedback from us, is clean, smart and elegant. And it fits its environment exquisitely. I have seen other projects designed by CQA and while I have to admit to a bit of bias, each and every one is almost as good as ours. I recommend them without hesitation or qualification.

Cunningham | Quill designed our home several years ago. Their work was outstanding and reflected an uncanny ability to combine superior aesthetics with utter practicality, resulting in a home that is lovely to look at, wonderful to spend time in, fabulous for entertaining, and which is surprisingly compatible with the logistical challenges confronted by a family with three active young children. (To say nothing of the world-class carport.) Each year we spend here makes us appreciate their work more. While as with any project there are a few decisions we wish we had back, we are extremely pleased with the outcome. A+ work. Our core team consisted of Maria Casarella, Angie Yu, and Ralph Cunningham. All are extremely talented, very responsive, and pleasant to work with. Highly recommended.

Cunningham/Quill did an outstanding job on the renovation and addition for our DC townhouse. While respecting the traditional character of the house and neighborhood, Ralph Cunningham, along with Oksana Ramos, designed a beautiful modern space with clean lines and usable rooms. They can be very practical and pulled me back from a few crazy ideas. But they are also creative and flexible and indulged our wish for an urban pool and garden, drawing an elegant, whimsical plan. They are lovely to work with and we are thrilled with the result.

I write very few reviews but the service I received from Cunningham | Quill Architects was so extraordinary that I feel compelled to share my experience. Ralph and his team worked with my family for almost two years to create our dream home. Through dozens and dozens of meetings, every member of the Cunningham | Quill team guided, listen and applied their remarkable talents to crafting our rough concepts into the most extraordinary residence. Every detail we ever imagined and many many more that we could not have dreamt of were flawlessly crafted by this team into a place that we hope to call home for the rest of our lives. Ralph oversaw the entire project from beginning to end and added his unique creativity throughout the process of creating the plans and then, on a weekly basis, through the 14 month construction. Cunningham | Quill were on site, every week, working in lock step with the GC to make sure that what we'd seen on paper was exactly what was built. The job was extensive, lengthy and complicated and Ralph delivered every step of the way with professionalism and innovation. When there were questions about billings, he was reasonable and always cared most about pleasing us, his clients. I recommend Cunningham | Quill unequivocally.