I started my practice in 1986 after ten years of apprenticeship with architectural firms in Boston and award-winning Centerbrook Architects in Connecticut, working on a variety of projects including the King Khalid Military City in Saudi Arabia, public libraries, facilities for IBM, a new student center at Colby College, and private residences from Washington DC to Cape Cod. It was during this time that I was first drawn to the challenges and rewards of residential architecture. Since opening my practice I have personally served my clients throughout all phases of their projects because I believe my personal attention to my client’s needs is the key for getting the best results. This is especially true for residential architecture that operates frequently at a very individual and intimate level. I recognize that my residential clients want their personal demands and preferences attended to with care.
In 2006 I partnered with a talented builder (and longtime friend) to form a design-build company, Essex Squared LLC. Prior I had seen that my most successful projects resulted when teams of owner, architect and builder were formed early on. In essence that team approach is the design-build model. With decreasing frequency I use the design-bid-build process that is familiar to many. My preference is for design-build with its many advantages: cost control, efficiency, and design continuity to name some. Design-build allows a much less stressful approach by balancing owner expectations for a design with its costs from early conceptual sketches to construction-ready documents.
In any project my approach is to work with my clients to find the right design for them whether for me it means working in a style of their preference, blending a addition seamlessly into an existing house, or creating a design that is unique to their needs and their site. I want my clients look to me for expert advice and guidance while they feel welcome to be active participants in the design of their homes if they so choose. Ultimately, I want to create houses with lasting beauty, and that I believe comes from taking advantage of opportunities to weed out the unnecessary in order to strengthen the essence of a design. And, houses should be well built with good materials as lasting tributes to the efforts made to create them.
Whitney Huber, AIA
Services Provided
3D Rendering, Architectural Design, Architectural Drawings, Barn Design & Construction, Basement Design, Basement Remodeling, Bathroom Design, Building Design, Deck Design, Energy-Efficient Homes, Floor Plans, Green Building, Historic Building Conservation, Home Additions, Home Extensions, Home Remodeling, House Plans, Kitchen Design, Kitchen Remodeling, Landscape Plans, Laundry Room Design, New Home Construction, Site Preparation, Space Planning, Sustainable Design, Universal Design, Custom Homes, Construction Drawings, Design/build
Areas Served
Centerbrook, Chester, Chester Center, Clinton, Deep River, Deep River Center, East Haddam, East Lyme, Essex, Essex Village, Fenwick, Haddam, Hadlyme, Higganum, Ivoryton, Killingworth, Niantic, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Old Saybrook Center, Salem, Saybrook Manor, South Lyme, Westbrook, Westbrook Center, Lyme, Waterford, New London, Groton, Stonington, Mystic, New Haven, Fairfield, Westport, Greenwich, Wallingford, Middletown, Portland
Awards
Master of Architecture, Princeton University, 1976
Member of American Institute of Architects since 1978
Certificate with National Council of Architectural Registration Boards
2001 House of the Year, Country Living Magazine
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