Architecture Awards 2020

88 2020 Architecture Awards BUILD Jul20248 Best Boutique Luxury Home Design Firm - Pacific Coast aguna Beach is a truly outstanding resort community, overlooking the Pacific Ocean with dramatic hills rising above the beaches. Michael Blakemore Architects was established to concentrate on the exciting residential design opportunities of this beautiful location. Every project that the firm undertakes is unique and individual, whether it be working with traditional architecture, contemporary architecture, or historic restoration. Since being founded, Michael Blakemore Architects has designed and completed more than fifty homes in Laguna Beach, with construction budgets ranging between one and four million US dollars. Growing geographically, the firm is now designing custom homes in Northern California, Nevada, Utah, and Georgia, as well as international work with custom homes in Cabo San Lucas, BCS Mexico, and mainland Mexico. One of the most exciting projects that Michael Blakemore Architects is working on right now is a custom home in Mexico built with shipping containers. The client is a young professional who has a degree in graphic design for action sports, and this shipping container building will be her home base with fishing, kite boarding, and mountain biking opportunities just outside her door. The entire project is being designed with the client’s desire for a minimal environmental impact. At Michael Blakemore Architects’ historic studio, the team is also working on the rehabilitation of a historically significant 1920 Spanish Revival home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The owners have requested a home that preserves all of the original details and architectural character, but thoroughly updates the internal plan for a young and growing family. Any project that Michael Blakemore Architects works on starts with the premise that a functional floor plan is essential to a project’s success. It spends a great deal of time with its clients in an open studio-style process for design. As the initial plans and building massing is developed, the client has a great deal of hands- on involvement directly with the architect. Michael Blakemore Architects takes great pride in the fact that it still hand sketches concepts and hand builds early concept architectural models. It is common to see architectural models, watercolours and coloured pencil drawings illustrating ideas and piles of hand sketches at any given moment in the studio. This same level of client interaction and careful attention to detail is what sets Michael Blakemore Architects apart from its competition, including the amount of one-on-one time that every L client receives. The firm carefully evaluates each project before committing to designing it, to assure that each client and project will receive complete attention throughout the development. For the team, this means a time commitment of between three and four years from the start of design until occupancy. In a world where commodities move fast and things are generally faster than they have ever been, taking the time to commit to a project wholly for three to four years is something special from Michael Blakemore Architects. Looking ahead, the future looks very bright for Michael Blakemore Architects, despite the recent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on societies all over the United States and the wider world. The firm continues to take on interesting residential commissions, and every new clients brings a unique challenge that keeps the work fresh, original, and truly one-of-a-kind. With the firm’s new offices in Savannah, Georgia, Michael Blakemore Architects plans to expand its historic and traditional architecture studios whilst continuing its contemporary architecture work in Southern California. Wherever the firm may be, it will no doubt continue to deliver excellence of the highest calibre in the world of architecture. Company: Michael Blakemore Architects Contact: Michael Blakemore Address: 105 South Crescent Bay Drive Suite M, Laguna Beach, California 92651 Telephone: 949 376 4319 Website: www.blakemorearchitects.com Founded in Laguna Beach in 2000, Michael Blakemore Architects has grown from a small home design firm into a bi-coastal firm of talented designers and professionals who believe in creating inspirational projects. Through its designs, the firm strives to find the perfect balance between comfort, practicality, and beauty. Creating stunning structures and improving environments, discover what makes Michael Blakemore Architects the Best Boutique Luxury Home Design Firm on the Pacific Coast.