About Swaback Architects + Planners

SWABACK has been delivering services in special case architectural design, community planning and development, interior design, environmental design, and graphic design since 1978. With over 41 years of study and preparation, Swaback was founded to create an Architectural and Planning practice that would provide individualized work for various clients. The firm’s collective experience has included a significant number of award-winning custom residential designs, residential developments, private clubs and spas, resorts, hotels, and restaurants. Additionally, the firm has a strong base in sustainable building practices. It is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards such as the 2020 NAHB Best in American Living – Best Custom Home over 8,000 square feet for the Sedona Moongate Residence and the 2019 Tahoe Quarterly Mountain Home Awards – Merit Award.

Featured here is the proposed Museum Square development in Old Town Scottsdale. Plans include a hotel with structures stretching 150 feet high — The Arizonan — accompanied by 190 rooms and 300-plus residential housing units divided up into four separate buildings. The residential component is made up of both an apartment complex and condominium units.

About Cuningham Group

Cuningham was founded in 1968 by John Cuningham and is based on a very inclusive architecture paradigm that includes substantial client, consultant, engineer, and contractor input. The firm celebrated 50 years of development, new initiatives, and collaborative client and partner partnerships in 2018.

With a wide array of multifamily projects within and outside Arizona, Cuningham Group is dedicated to accomplishing multifamily projects that create a beautiful, balanced world. An example of their work is Union at Berkley Riverfront Park is a mixed-use project with residences, retail space, and a 440-stall parking garage. The property’s residential component consists of two four-story buildings with 400 market-rate flats. Parking and well-appointed courtyards divide the buildings, which have an above-ground connection to adjoining residential structures. On the first level, retail space is distributed to the corners of the buildings, with a two-story restaurant on the property’s west end.

About CCBG Architects, Inc.

CCBG Architects, Inc. has been constructing stunningly unusual and inventive structures and places since 1965. They have a great grasp of the present “Urban Growth” sweeping over the city and believe that their history and skills make them the finest firm for the task. The firm is headquartered in the Warehouse District in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. They also have a San Diego office and have worked on projects in the western United States and Canada, giving them a thorough understanding of many architectural styles and histories.

An example of their work is the Roosevelt Row district, one of two developments sistered on the north and south sides of Roosevelt at 3rd Street. The project caters to the demands of young professionals with 104 rental units over street level retail. Majority of works on their portfolio have been featured by various press such as Architectural Lighting Magazine, Home Magazine, AZ Big Media, and more.

About SmithGroup

Established in 1853, SmithGroup is one of the country’s oldest architectural firms. It is also one of the first to offer integrated architecture and engineering – a strategy that positioned the firm at the forefront of the industry and led to its role developing groundbreaking facilities such as Ford’s first manufacturing plants. Today, SmithGroup is an award winning integrated design firm with more than a thousand design experts and specialists in 15 offices working together to Design A Better Future.

In Phoenix, the skyline is changing dramatically and the future Adeline development is key to Downtown’s exciting evolution. Designed by SmithGroup, Adeline is a 25-story luxury rental residential high-rise in the heart of Phoenix that will be one of the tallest buildings in Arizona. The 480,000 square foot tower includes 379 units and features spectacular city and mountain views, contemporary interior design and exclusive amenities including a rooftop dog park, bike storage, a coffee bar and concierge service. Named for Adeline Gray, one of the city’s first female leaders, the Adeline is rooted in history while establishing the future of Phoenix.

About DAVIS

Founded in 1991, DAVIS is an Architecture, Interiors and Urban Design firm specializing in high-end commercial and residential mixed-use properties for the nation’s best corporations and developers. They create inspired architecture for everyday life, and have designed 75 million square feet of highly successful business, residential and social environments with a value of $20 Billion.

DAVIS has been honored with numerous awards for outstanding architecture and interior design. Among these are the 2017 NEWHonors Award for Best Multi-Family Public Space, the 2018 Gold Nugget Award for Best Multi-Family Housing Community (30-60 du/acre), and the most recently the 2021 Red Award for Best Office Project with more than 150,000 square feet. They have also been featured in various media in Arizona like AZRE, AZ Big Media, and Arizona Business Magazine.

About Merge Architectural Group

Merge Architectural Group (MAG) is an award-winning architectural business based in Phoenix, Arizona, that specializes in architectural, planning, and interior design. It boasts a wide portfolio of exceptional community, education, government, higher education, hospitality, and multifamily buildings, co-founded by Carlos Murrieta and Clarisa del Castillo. Its principals Clarisa del Castillo & Carlos A. Murrieta has garnered many certifications and achievements over the years, leading the company to become dedicated in developing excellence through a client-centered collaborative design process that ensures each customer receives the most responsive, accurate, and cost-effective solution possible.

MAG was lauded for the Tuba City Multifamily Complex – TCRHCC. The client began the project on a site with existing infrastructure in order to address the growing need for affordable, accessible homes. The design team came up with a layout for three two-story structures that would house one and two-bedroom apartments. Four different floor designs were created to give potential tenants a greater range of choices. The structures are made of wood and have a single membrane roof and a synthetic stucco exterior. The structure also includes high-end interior finishes and fittings, balconies, and shade structures.

About Motley Design

Motley Design Group LLC is an architecture and planning firm based in Phoenix, Arizona, that was created in 2006. The firm is heavily involved in adaptive reuse, historic preservation, and urban revitalization projects in the city core. In the Southwest U.S., the firm is well-known for its expertise in historic preservation, local architectural history, old construction materials and techniques, and the application of contemporary codes to older buildings. The firm also offers historic preservation tax credit applications, preservation agency approvals, and LEED certification in addition to design services.

One of the establishments in which the firm takes pride is the Arizona Opera Center. For Arizona’s leading opera company, this project is a new black box practice hall and performance facility. It was constructed with the intention of opening up to a huge public courtyard for outside performances.

About K&I Architects & Interiors, LLC

Garnering 20 years in the industry, K & I Architects & Interiors, LLC, situated in Phoenix, Arizona, is an award-winning full-service architectural and interior design firm. All site planning, exterior and interior design, and construction administration services are available through K&I Architects & Interiors, LLC. Retail, office, multi-family, and commercial centers are their areas of expertise as well as revitalization work. This firm has been widely recognized by Red Magazine, AZ Big Media, and AZBEX among many others.

About DPA Architects

DPA stands for “Designers of Progressive Architecture” and was founded in 1991. Their focus on progress extends beyond design and architecture to include quality, budget, timeliness, and administration. They believe all of these are necessary components for a successful project. As they expand their portfolio with projects mostly found in Arizona, they continually take advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate their talents, qualifications, interests, and dedicated spirit to their clients. With projects like this, the firm garnered numerous features in the City AZ Magazine and AZ Big Media.

About Architekton

Experts in sustainability and environmentally conscious design, Architekton is a 25-person firm in Tempe led by founding Principals John Kane, Joe Salvatore, and Doug Brown. The three are all AIA members and LEED-Accredited Professionals. Seeking to design structures that fit into the regional urban context and are environmentally sustainable, Architekton has been recognized by AIA for its green design efforts as well as its excellence in architecture, especially for its academic and commercial facility projects. Additionally, many of its projects have been featured in publication rankings such as Engineering News-Record’s Best Specialty Project and Best of the Best Small Project.

Featured Projects

Architekton designed the 62,000-square-foot Sun Devil Fitness Complex + Health Services Facility at Arizona State University’s West Campus. The beautiful glass and stone building is a LEED Gold-certified project and serves as an uplifting and healthy space for students and faculty. The complete structure includes running tracks, a huge pool, a bike co-op, and a game room. For another work, Architekton designed one of the most distinctive and creative buildings in the Phoenix metro area, the Tempe Center For The Arts perched on the banks of Tempe Town Lake. The design and its location pay tribute to the ancient cultures and dramatic natural features of Arizona. The building, all glass, and flying, jutting angles, was inspired by Anasazi villages with their kivas and plazas, as well as the towering rock monuments of Monument Valley and Tempe’s iconic Hayden Butte.

About Cawley Architects

Showcasing over 500 high-value design and construction projects in its portfolio, Cawley Architects has a strong reputation as a comprehensive firm serving Arizona’s diverse markets for over two decades. Throughout the Valley, the company has completed multi-awarded commercial projects, a product of its highly collaborative team of professionals whose focus is squarely on elevating every architecture’s form, function, and value. Some of its most recent awards include the 2019 AZ Big Media Real Estate Architects award for founding principal Sherman Cawley, AIA, SIOR, and the 2019 People and Projects to Know awards. Ranking Arizona also listed the firm for its #1 Rank for the Small Architecture Office awards for two consecutive years since 2018. Aside from its excellent reputation as a designer and a provider of innovative architectures, the company is also commended for its advocacy to deliver eco-friendly and highly sustainable structures in the region and beyond. LEED projects, for the Gold and Platinum certifications, can be found in its commercial, corporate, and healthcare portfolio. Phoenix Business Journal has featured some of the company’s memorable projects.

Featured Projects

For the corporate commercial office, the company has completed several projects not just in the city but in other major Arizona areas. One of the firm’s design projects was for 2005 N. Central Avenue in Phoenix. The seven-story, 90,000-square-foot project was a collaboration with other leading contractors and companies in the field to rehabilitate and modernize the outdated structure and transform it into a state-of-the-art office complex. Adjacent to the site, a parking structure that can house 400 parking spaces was installed. In Chandler, the company executed its skills in mixed-use development in the city’s downtown area. The commercial building features a movie theater-slash-gastropub, Flix Brewhouse’s flagship store, and a first location in the state. The structure was designed to attract a diverse demographic, with commercial spaces for restaurants, fitness centers, shopping areas, and office spaces. In Tempe, the firm led the architectural team for a notable client, a contemporary retail furniture store located in the city’s most luxurious commercial avenues.

About CCBG Architects Inc.

For more than 50 years, CCBG Architects has been designing distinctive buildings around the Phoenix metro area, including many churches, recreation centers, and residential structures. The firm of 13 architects has two locations, one in Phoenix and another in San Diego. Both studios are very active in urban infill and adaptive reuse. In the past, the firm designed two chic urban apartment complexes in downtown Phoenix’s popular Roosevelt Row neighborhood. CCBG and its president, Brian Cassidy, are also deeply involved in the redesign and redevelopment of Phoenix’s historic Warehouse District as a new hub for tech start-ups. Cassidy has served as the president of the firm since 1988. He is a past president of AIA Arizona and was awarded the AIA Arizona Architects Medal in 2014. He is a member of the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art, and Architecture, and sits on the National Council of Architectural Registration Board. A graduate of Arizona State University’s College of Architecture, Cassidy sits on the board of directors of the Phoenix Community Alliance and the Downtown Community Development Corporation.

Featured Projects

Once integral to a regional shipping and storage economy, the mountains of red-brick old warehouses south of downtown Phoenix that had been sitting dilapidated for generations are now magnets for tech start-ups, event companies, and young urban professionals looking for a bit of style and history. CCBG, which has its own offices in the historic Warehouse District, has designed several sleek, modern offices and other spaces here without sacrificing the warmth and inspiration from those historic, old bones.

About Corgan

Stellar customer services and lifelong relationships with its clients make Corgan one of the most client-centric companies in the region. For many decades, the company’s goal has centered around providing evidence-based, data-driven, and experiential research solutions to its markets. That process allows the firm to explore and fully understand the needs, desires, and dreams of its clientele in order to deliver designs that embody the brands of project owners and represent their companies’ mission and vision. The result is a portfolio of projects that have established their presence around the world. Each of the firm’s studios is led by principal architects and designers that have an average of 19 years of services in the industry. Its President, Steve Hulsey, is a member of the AIA and has been with the firm since 1989. Publications and industry organizations have constantly commended the firm for its contributions to the commercial, corporate, academic, and technology sectors, among others. Building Design + Construction Magazine listed it as the Top 1 firm for the Data Center Architecture category. ENR Texas and Lousianna recognized it for many of its education building design projects. In Arizona, the Indeed Regional Office design earned the Interior Project of the Year award given by The Real Estate and Development Award (RED) committee.

Featured Projects

Some of its most unforgettable interior architecture and building architecture projects can be found in Arizona. A commercial office building named The Grid, found in Phoenix, is a 16,000-square-foot structure located at the center of the city’s Uptown corridor. Once a vacant building, it has been transformed into a hub that serves as a home for entrepreneurs and the area’s booming coworking spaces. Conference rooms, multi-purpose rooms, and other collaborative spaces are decorated with local art. The modern building features special acoustic sound mitigation and a tech-friendly app for the community’s members. In 2018, Interior Design Magazine featured the project and awarded it with the Honoree for Best Co-working Space recognition. The company also completed another Phoenix-based project For Zillow Group’s Zillow Offers, this time as an interior architect for the online real estate company’s sub-department. The building was designed to adhere to its home industry’s technology-based and highly collaborative start-up environment. The floor plan, divided into three partitions, features meeting spaces, break rooms, work sections, among others.

About DWL Architects

Leaders in energy-efficient design, with more than 50 percent of its architects LEED-certified, DWL Architects opened in 1949 and has worked on many recognizable buildings around the Phoenix metro area, including stadiums, airports, libraries, and education spaces. As one of the oldest locally-owned architectural firms in Phoenix, DWL has completed around 200 projects through the support and expertise of its 50 staff. The firm is led by President Sandra Kukla. Kukla, a licensed pilot, concentrates her career on designing airport facilities. Her interest in aviation as well as her background in retail allowed her to complete full-scale and comprehensive architecture projects from design through construction administration. The firm’s work has been featured widely in local, regional, and national publications and has won numerous awards for design and architectural excellence.

Featured Projects

DWL Architects is the prime architect and design team lead for the 1.9 million-square-foot Phoenix Sky Harbor Terminal 3 modernization project, a valuable and monumental effort to revitalize and expand one of the Southwest’s busiest airports. The project opens up the 30-year-old terminal and connects it to the rest of the city. Included in its redesign are 14 new skylights that will wash the interior in desert light. The revitalization also introduces a more expansive façade added to connect the airport to the rest of Phoenix by providing views of downtown and rugged desert mountains surrounding the city. The firm was also commissioned to partner with the local Salt River Indian Community to expand and remodel the Gric Huhugam Heritage Center. The project includes the transformation of the 6,800 square feet of unused space into a museum that will showcase the community’s long history of living and thriving in the region’s desert environment.

About Gensler

A huge and celebrated international firm consistently recognized for its sustainability efforts, Gensler maintains a busy office in Phoenix staffed by a team of designers that has delivered many large academic, civic, athletic, and cultural buildings around the metro area and the Southwest. The local office is led by Design Principal Jay Silverberg, an acclaimed architect with more than 25 years in the business. Widely published and sought after as an architectural critic and lecturer, Silverberg earned his Bachelor and Master of Architecture at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Gensler’s Phoenix office is also led by Co-Managing Directors and Principals Dawn Hart and Martha dePlazaola Abbott. Hart is a registered architect with experience in large-scale projects and serves as the Vice-Chair of the Tempe Historic Preservation Foundation. Abbott, on the other hand, has been named one of AZ|RE’s Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate.

Featured Projects

Through a collaboration with local firm Arkitecton, Gensler’s Phoenix office designed College Avenue Commons, a 137,000-square-foot, five-story, state-of-the-art building that houses classrooms, retail, offices, labs, and a pedestrian-friendly outdoor space at Arizona State University in Tempe. The $54-million project is a model of sustainable design. Its forecourts and atriums are flooded with desert light while still providing shade for recreation and shopping, as well as many elegant interior details. Gensler’s Phoenix office has also contributed to the city’s well-known baseball culture by designing a complete remodel of the Hohokam Stadium Spring Training Facility and practice fields for the Oakland A’s. The company was also commissioned along with several other firms to redesign the Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix.

About Jones Studio

Recognized leaders in green design, Jones Studio was founded by architect and principal Eddie Jones in 1979. He was later joined by his brother, fellow architect and principal Neal Jones. Brian Farling and Jacob Benyi are also principals and partners in the firm. With years of expertise in efficient and sustainable environmental design, Jones Studio has won more than 190 awards for its projects and has been recognized by Architect Magazine as one of the industry’s Top 50 firms and a leader in sustainability. The firm is supported by a team of architects and has completed a diverse range of commercial, residential, education, repurpose, and government projects, including the 54-acre Mariposa Land Port of Entry at the US-Mexico Border and Arizona’s moving 9/11 Memorial.

Featured Projects

Jones Studio designed the 260,000-square-foot, $93-million Beus Center for Law & Society at Arizona State University, a six-story building in downtown Phoenix’s urban core for the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law offices and other commercial and academic facilities. State-of-the-art when it comes to energy efficiency and sustainability, the building is open and roomy, connected by breezeways and outdoor spaces. Made of Arizona sandstone, aluminum, and glass, the building has a 400-seat lecture hall that becomes a unique outdoor space when the 50 by 50-foot glass door is open. In an interesting redevelopment project, Jones Studio was commissioned to design a unique community garden, performance space, and mixed-use development in the disused Monroe St. Abbey in downtown Phoenix. Once built for religious gathering, the old structure was constructed in 1929 in the Spanish Renaissance style. It had been unused and moldering since a fire in the 1980s.

About Marlene Imirzian & Associates

Architect Marlene Imirzian opened Marlene Imirzian & Associates in Phoenix in 1995. To start her career in the field, she attended the University of Michigan, where she received her bachelor’s degree and Master of Architecture before apprenticing with Detroit-based Modernists Gunnar Birkerts and William Kessler. Known for its sustainable design practices, Marlene Imirzian & Associates was named No. 18 on Architecture Magazine’s 2016 list of the Top 50 firms in the country, and has received AIA Arizona’s Firm of the Year Award. An AIA Fellow, Imirzian also has an office in Escondido, California, and she is a faculty associate at the School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture at Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design. The firm has completed a wide variety of regional projects for commercial, civic, educational, and residential clients.

Featured Projects

One of the firm’s biggest commercial projects in Phoenix is the Bob & Renee Parsons Leadership Center for Girls and Women at Camp South Mountain. The 14.5-acre work included programming, master planning, and design. The new facilities included in the design accommodates lodging, activity, and training. These new buildings will include structural elements and landscaping that follow sustainable standards and will ultimately be a symbol of pride for the Girl Scouts. The resulting design and building won ENR’s 2017 Southwest Project of the Year and Southwest Best Project. It was also recognized by the AIA Western Mountain Region and AIA Arizona Award in 2010. Another project was also a winner of an AIA Western Mountain Region Citation Award and the Arizona Architects Medal, the wondrous Life Science Building at Paradise Valley Community College integrates sustainable practices throughout, including two large, rain-harvesting towers that feed into an underground cistern, which collects water for all of the site’s desert-adapted vegetation. The metal-and-stone building is made up of a series of individual pods covered by a large roof and serves as an inspiring space for art classes and science labs.

About Richärd + Bauer Architecture

Led by principal architect James A. Richärd and architect Stephen J. Kennedy, this highly acclaimed firm concentrates on sustainable design and is known for several amazing libraries and education facilities around the state. That collection includes the evocative Tree Ring Laboratory located at the principal’s alma mater, the University of Arizona in Tucson. The company was formerly known as Richärd + Bauer Architecture and opened in 1996. Along with many local, regional, and national awards for its design projects, Richärd Kennedy Architects has received an AIA National Honor Award and the Firm of the Year honor from AIA Arizona. The company’s work has been recognized by the Architectural Record, Contract Magazine, and the Architectural League of New York, which once called the firm an “emerging voice” in the field.

Featured Projects

One of the firm’s biggest projects for the commercial sector was for the initial phase of the Park Central Development work. The project, located in Phoenix, was commissioned by the Holualoa Companies. It required the firm’s master planning, architecture, interior design, and programming expertise to deliver the 46-acre work. The firm focused on conceptualizing a dynamic, sustainable, and vibrant mixed-use facility designed to encourage a healthy work-life balance. The design was characterized by clarity and simplicity, and a deep connection between its indoor and outdoor environment through tempered landscape spaces. Another recent project designed by Richärd + Bauer is the Scottsdale Community College Library. The work highlighted the integration of state-of-the-art design in a massive remodel of a more than 40-year-old building into a technology-based library and community meeting space. The interior now has an elegant, modern, and refreshing look and feel that will inspire students to learn and create.

About SmithGroupJJR

A global leader in environmental and sustainable design, the huge international architectural firm SmithGroupJJR has been a major contributor to the decades-long resurgence of Phoenix’s desert-urban style. As one of the most celebrated architectural firms around, SmithGroupJJR has won more than 400 design awards in recent years. The firm first opened its Phoenix office in 1978 and has since won acclaim for diverse projects such as the Chandler City Hall, Gateway Community College’s Integrated Education Building. The firm also earned the respect of the industry for its role as a design lead for the exterior, lighting, landscape, and sustainability work for the recent redevelopment of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Terminal 3. Brad Woodman leads the firm’s Phoenix office as vice president and director. The firm’s Phoenix office has been honored with numerous awards from AIA Arizona, including the APS Energy Award and the SRP Sustainable Award. The office has also received an Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects, and a Pride Award from the International Interior Design Association.

Featured Projects

Perhaps SmithGroupJJR’s most famous and recognizable structure in Phoenix is the high-rise, skyline-defining Freeport-MacMoran Center downtown. The landmark is one of the true beating hearts of the area’s urban renewal and is the headquarters of a global mining giant that greatly contributed to the development of Arizona’s mining industry. The modest glass-and-steel skyscraper has 26 floors and clocks in at 341 feet high. It is one of the tallest buildings in the state. It also has a luxury hotel, offices, and retail space. One of the many state-of-art features of this design is a “curtain wall system” that cuts down on heat gain while still providing views of the mountain ranges that surround Phoenix. SmithGroupJJR’s Phoenix office took another giant step into the future of sustainable design with DPR Construction’s regional headquarters. The firm also took on an old adult-entertainment shop in Phoenix, redesigning it into the first net-zero energy building in Arizona, and the largest net-zero energy building in the world.

About Weddle Gilmore Architects

Philip Weddle and Michael Gilmore, co-founders of Weddle Gilmore Architects Black Rock Studio in Scottsdale, have designed buildings all over the world; however, their imaginations seem to especially thrive when negotiating the relationship between Phoenix’s high urban style and challenging desert realities. Working on projects as diverse as desert-adapted trailhead structures in Phoenix and high-end residences and retail buildings in New York and Europe, Weddle Gilmore has been recognized by AIA Arizona for two major awards: Firm of the Year and Sustainable Firm of the Year. The firm has also won the AIA Western Mountain Region Honor Award three times. Weddle Gilmore’s work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Landscape Architecture Magazine, and many other publications. Weddle, an AIA Fellow, founded the firm with Gilmore in 1999.

Featured Projects

Weddle Gilmore Architects designed several commercial, private academic, and urban structures in the city. The firm led the architecture work for a unique student housing complex for a small private college in Prescott, Arizona, a mountain suburb of Phoenix. The school concentrates on environmental education, and the firm took this to heart when designing the 33,000-square-foot student village. Stylish rust-colored metal buildings surround a courtyard with rainwater harvesting, solar energy production, and even edible landscaping, turning this living space into a “living laboratory” of sustainable education. Weddle Gilmore was also commissioned to collaborate with other firms on a design for the Mesa City Center, a major project to build a multi-dimensional and green-centric urban core in the sprawling city that melds with Phoenix and other municipalities to create the Valley of the Sun. The project is meant to provide Mesa with a defining space for festivals, events, commercial activities, and daily outdoor urban life.

About Two Hawks Design & Development

The boutique design-build firm Two Hawks Design & Development has been turning heads in the Phoenix metro area in recent years with its gorgeous contemporary designs and laser-like attention to all the elegant details that make high-end custom homes worth the price. Led by the young dynamic duo of Brett Kalinis and Arash Hoss, both graduates of Arizona State University and recipients of a Best of Houzz Award, Two Hawks has worked on new spec homes and large remodels of kitchens, bathrooms, and yards. The team concentrates primarily on the upscale Arcadia neighborhood but is also working on custom-home and remodel projects throughout Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Paradise Valley. Two Hawks’ work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and other publications.

Featured Projects

Two Hawks Design & Development worked with well-known valley custom-home architect David Dick on the upscale Arcadia Heights development, a collection of four large and stylish two-story homes in the popular neighborhood near Scottsdale. The homes have a lot of room, being just over 4,000-square-feet each, and feature all the refined and contemporary details for which Two Hawks is known, including large and open kitchens, high ceilings, red-brick exterior touches, and plenty of large windows and long views. Among Two Hawks’ many other valley projects, the firm designed a 4,600-square-foot, 1.9M luxury pad for Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star Mark Trumbo on a three-quarter-acre lot in Phoenix with fantastic views of Camelback Mountain. Realtor.com described the home as “truly a work of art.”

About Build Inc. Design + Build

Architect and general contractor Richard D. Fairbourn heads Build Inc. Design + Build, which designs and builds singular residential and commercial projects around the Phoenix metro area. A graduate of Tulane University, Fairbourn has worked in Phoenix since the 1980s. Fairbourn is perhaps best known for designing and building jaw-dropping luxury homes in the upscale areas of Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, but he has also worked on innovative and beautiful homes in Tempe, Phoenix, and elsewhere. While the firm’s many projects are typically both designed and built by Fairbourn, Build Inc. often partners with other local architecture firms, providing an architect’s sensibility and sensitivity to the construction process.

Featured Projects

Build Inc. Design + Build’s “Equestrian Manor,” a draw-dropping private residence in Scottsdale, is the ideal desert retreat, peaking out from its thick surrounding desert vegetation, and featuring high glass walls, a stately hallway that doubles as an art gallery, and plenty of outdoor spaces with water features. Another of Build Inc. Design + Build’s awe-inspiring private residences in the Phoenix metro area is “Dreamy Draw,” a collaboration with the architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch. The modern desert sanctuary near Piestewa Peak has the indoor-outdoor spaces common to the best desert luxury homes, as well as a two-story glass wall and loft on the second story from which to enjoy the expansive desert views.

About Sever Design Group

The Sever Design Group is committed to constructing the buildings that it designs so it can realize the vision and goals of the architect. This shows in the stylish, innovative, and eye-catching luxury homes the firm builds in the Phoenix metro area. The firm’s principal architect is Mark A. Sever, who has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Florida. The firm has won the Pace Setter Award for Innovation from Custom Home Magazine and a Best Architectural Design Award from the Desert Living Luxury Home Show, and its work has been featured in many publications.

Featured Projects

Sever Design Group recently designed and built a “personal resort”-style home in North Scottsdale for a couple of Indiana retirees. The spacious, sleek, and modern home on a 2.5-acre desert lot has amazing views of the desert, as well as luxury and style around every clean line and secluded corner. It is exactly what you’d expect to find in a small, exclusive desert resort, with lots of glass walls and glass-like water, making a staycation and comfortable outdoor living both easy and necessary. On a boulder-strewn desert lot in North Scottsdale, Sever Design Group designed and built a luxury home that was featured in one of Phoenix’s AIA Architecture Week Home Tours. The $4M, 10k-square-foot home is perfectly suited to its tricky lot. It features a second-floor outdoor pool that hangs over the boulder garden, and 10-foot sliding glass doors along two sides providing stunning views.

About HL Design Build

Combining high craftsmanship with superior, innovative design, HL Design Build opened in Phoenix in 2002. Concentrating on saving clients money, time, and headaches by offering a “single source of responsibility,” HL Design Build provides architecture, construction, interior design, and real estate development services for commercial and residential projects. HL Design Build works all over Arizona, including designing and building homes and other buildings in the forested highlands of northern Arizona, in small towns such as Payson, Pinetop, and Prescott. HL Design Build is also active in many high-end Phoenix metro communities and neighborhoods, including Paradise Valley, Arcadia, and Biltmore. The firm is led by owner and AIA Fellow R. Nicholas “Ryc” Loope, a graduate of Yale University and the Harvard Business School and a tenured member of the faculty of Arizona State University. Ryc was also the Principal Architect and President of Taliesin Architects the continuation of the practice of Architecture begun by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1893.   HL Design Build’s work and ideas have been featured in Residential Architect, Architectural Record, Life Magazine, and many other local and national publications.

“For us, it is about where craft and design combine and remaining hyper-focused on the Clients expectations by “making the entire experience memorable and meaningful.” – Nicholas Loope, FAIA

Featured Projects

Recently, the firm worked on a project to remodel and enlarge the popular Jade Bar at the luxury Scottsdale resort The Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain. Enhancing the upscale lounge’s already amazing views of the desert valley, HL Design Build added a removable glass wall that creates an indoor-outdoor space perfect for the cool desert nights. The expansion included an 850-square-foot patio with a fireplace. The firm also worked on complete remodel of a mid century-influenced home on a large lot with excellent views of Camelback and Mummy Mountains, revamping the space with inspiring details and relaxing, serene surfaces and colors to create a unique desert sanctuary.

About Tennen Studio

Tennen Studio is a boutique design-build firm with a surplus of style. The firm designs everything from buildings and landscapes to furniture and objets d’Art. The firm embraces simplicity and balance, and also cutting-edge technologies and techniques. For founders Sarah Swartz Wessel and Ethan Wessel, the fine line between designing a structure and constructing it is definitely, as they say, “blurred.” The firm includes Tennen Studio and Tennen Construction. The construction company builds and the studio designs the atmosphere — the furniture, the objects, and, consequently, the lifestyle of the building’s inhabitants. The firm’s work and ideas have been featured in Luxe Interiors + Design, Architectural Digest, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications.

Featured Projects

One of the studio’s most celebrated projects in Phoenix is the Wessel’s own Desert Residence. The sleek and modern showcase sits on a rare half-acre desert lot, with a wash that flows during the rainy season, but it’s also within walking distance of urban amenities. Keeping the semi-wild desert landscaping and adding a low-slung roof to match the many midcentury-style homes in the neighborhood, the home has a H-shaped floor plan that divides the house for privacy without sacrificing an open and communal space for the whole family. The enviable outdoor spaces include several courtyards, a garden, and even a “skateboard bowl.” The home has been featured in Dwell and the Wall Street Journal. Tennen Studio also designed and built the Syddan Residence, a breathtaking luxury home in a dramatic desert setting. Made of block and glass and with an open indoor-outdoor form, the Syddan Residence is a desert-adapted standout.

About Koss Design + Build

A busy design-build firm with expertise in green design, Koss Design + Build believes that having one firm doing it all is the best way to create beautiful, modern, and sustainable homes. The firm likes to point out that while it has over the years saved some 84,678 gallons of water annually with its sustainable designs, there has been zero “finger pointing between architect and builder.” Architect and contractor Erik Koss started the firm. He has a master’s degree in architecture and construction management from Arizona State University, and a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before opening Koss Design + Build, Koss worked for Phoenix-based architecture firms Richard & Bauer Architecture, Nelsen Partners, and Sever Design Group.

Featured Projects

Koss Design + Build is currently working on a breathtaking luxury home near Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley. With an innovative “butterfly” roof covering its length, the home features a vaulted ceiling, a large pool and patio with a two-sided fireplace, polished concrete and wood floors, commanding views of the desert, and a rain-harvesting scupper on the roof. But Koss Design + Build isn’t just about building mansions in the hills. The firm is equally adept at elegant remodels, including a recent project to expand and remodel a bathroom in one of Phoenix’s many midcentury-style homes. Expanding the bathroom by 12 square feet, Koss added a new bathtub, a double sink and vanity, and a glass-enclosed shower with a niche-shelf. All wood and glass and tile, the bathroom is supremely stylish and inviting.

About Carmel Homes Design Build

Led by Jamie Vaughn, Carmel Home Design has been building and remodeling luxury homes in the Phoenix metro area since 1986. Carmel Homes builds homes in high-end developments and neighborhoods in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Arcadia, and Phoenix. The firm has been Named Builder of the Year by Custom Builder magazine. Its work has appeared in Luxury Home magazine, Exceptional Properties magazine, and other publications. The busy design-build firm offers a full range of services, allowing clients to stick with the same partners from conception to completion. Carmel Homes is also very active in the remodeling sector, specializing in kitchens, bathrooms, home additions, interior design, and outdoor spaces.

Featured Projects

Carmel Homes concentrates on building luxury homes in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley’s high-end developments and neighborhoods such as Gainey Ranch and Clearwater Hills. In Clearwater Hills the firm built a beautiful, open modern hillside villa, mixing native and modern forms to create a truly memorable luxury nest that seems to hang over and command the desert spreading out beneath it. The home, which Carmel Homes built on spec, recently sold for $6.5M. Carmel Homes also built a wonderful European-style estate in Paradise Valley for artist Dale Terbush, who designed the home in a style he calls “comfortable grandeur.” The home features front exterior gardens lined with palm trees and a central fountain.

About Form Third Design Build

Experts with infill and adaptive reuse, Form Third Design Build is a major player in the revitalization and re-imagining of Phoenix’s downtown and central corridors. Winner of awards from the AIA and Urban Land Institute, Canadian architect Robert Des Rosiers opened Form Third Design Build in 2008. Shawn Goetzinger, a real estate professional who has managed over $75M and 265k-square-feet of projects for Fortune 500 companies, joined the firm in 2011 as partner and director of development. While Form Third has worked on several projects in the popular and up-and-coming Roosevelt Row neighborhood downtown where the firm has its own offices, De Rosiers and Goetzinger are also involved in unique infill and reuse projects in the suburbs around the Phoenix metro area.

Featured Projects

Form Third Design Build is currently working with AV3 Design Studio on a 6,000-square-foot adaptive reuse project in Roosevelt Row. The firms are transforming the Flowers Building into a marquee mixed-use development in the revitalizing urban neighborhood, a once dilapidated area that was rediscovered by artists in the late 1990s and has been undergoing various phases of gentrification ever since. Along with working on several innovative condo and apartment projects in downtown Phoenix, Paradise Valley and elsewhere, Form Third has been remodeling, retrofitting, and updating several of the famous mid-century ranch houses in the upscale Arcadia neighborhood. The 2,800-square-foot “GK” residence is one of the firm’s best, adding a 1,000 square-foot addition, new bathrooms in all three bedrooms, and open plan that brings the outdoors inside through large sliding-glass doors. The warm and elegant urban-desert home features limestone flooring, walnut-wood touches, and an indoor-outdoor fireplace.

About 180 degrees

180 degrees is a creative design-build firm that has constructed homes designed by some of the Phoenix metro area’s top architectural talent, including Will Bruder’s “Pond House” and the “Xeros residence” designed by Blank Studio. The firm opened its construction arm in 2001 with an emphasis on craftsmanship and helping architects realize their ideas, and added a design studio in 2007. The firm’s principal, architect James Trahan, received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Louisiana State University. He has worked on a diverse range of design and construction projects for residential and commercial clients in 18 states. Among many honors, 180 degrees has won a Home of the Year award from AIA Arizona, and a Contractor of the Year award from AIA Western Mountain Region. The firm’s work has been featured in Desert Living, Southwest Contractor, Dwell, Sources + Design, and many other publications.

Featured Projects

One of the simplest ways to build and live more sustainably in the desert is to choose to renovate an existing home rather than build a new one. Many of the best residential architecture firms in Phoenix are experts at turning the valley’s mid-century ranch homes into brand new works of art. The team at 180 degrees created a masterful example of what can be done with good bones and imagination with the “Berland Residence”. The design-build project completely transformed a 4,200-square-foot 1960s structure, adding nearly 1,000 square feet, to create a thrilling L-shaped home with metal roofs and shade structures, and a dramatic window-wall that frames Camelback Mountain in the distance. For the the gorgeous and innovative “Martinek Residence” in Tempe, 180 degrees replaced the old existing house with a contemporary indoor-outdoor-living gem. All concrete-brick and glass, it’s a straight-lined monument abounding with inner courtyards and glass doors that erase the line between inside and out.

About Benjamin Hall Design + Build

Benjamin Hall, principal of Benjamin Hall Design + Build, is using models from the past to forge a new path in Phoenix’s built environment. Hall, who worked with the great Will Bruder + Associates before starting his own firm in 2012, is committed to the “lost profession of master builder,” a throwback ideal that really gets to the heart of the design-build concept: a total immersion in the project, with a borderless blending of imagination and vision with craftsmanship and real-world wisdom. Hall has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Arizona in Tucson, and studied at the Danish International School in Copenhagen. Among other honors, the firm has won the Distinguished Building Honor Award from AIA Arizona. Benjamin Hall Design + Build’s work has been featured in Luxe, Dwell, Architectural Record, Architecture Daily, and elsewhere.

Featured Projects

Called “Home Brew”, Hall’s masterful transformation of a historic red-brick bungalow in a downtown Phoenix neighborhood is indeed a brew of several styles common to the valley’s best homes, making this project a true example of a native blend. Keeping and updating the 1,300-square-foot historic portion, with its original craftsman oak floors and designer tiles, Hall added a 500-square-foot addition in the back, a sleek structure with polished concrete floors and one large glass wall that looks out on a private courtyard with desert landscaping. And in the midst of these married styles, a new living room with elegant mid century modern touches. This kind of combined remodel-rebuild project may well represent the future of residential architecture in the Phoenix metro area, with its concentration on saving and reusing while creating a new, more sustainable and stylish future. Hall has also demonstrated how great designers and builders can provide stylish and thoughtful urban living in the desert without a Scottsdale-size price tag. With his award-winning infill project in downtown Phoenix called White Stone Studios, Hall created a sophisticated, modern apartment building with plenty of style and substance, featuring 450-square-foot apartments each with 200-square-feet of outdoor space. The living spaces feature abundant natural light, and the whole clean-lined structure is shaded with raw steel awnings and built of polished white concrete masonry units, which have the same finish inside and out, and are filled with energy-efficient foam.

About ALINE Architecture Concepts

ALINE Architecture Concepts concentrates on local restaurant, hotel, commercial and residential projects. The firm has designed several excellent and popular spaces in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and around the valley. In recent years, the company won several accolades from the industry’s most respected entities. These include the Architecture Press Release 2020 Global Design Awards, Wayfair National Tastemaker Award for Best Hospitality Space, NEWH Award for Best Hospitality Space, and the Scottsdale Spirit Awards.  Principal Brian Krob, a hospitality-design specialist, has a master’s degree in architecture from the University of California Los Angeles and a bachelor’s degree in design from Arizona State University. Principal Brian Laubenthal, whose interests are focused on creating sustainable and healthy spaces for restaurant and commercial clients, has a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in architecture from Arizona State University.

Featured Projects

The firm is community-driven and has completed multiple projects for the restaurant sector. One of its most notable works for community volunteer work is the Ronald McDonald House of Phoenix. The company enhanced the central dining facilities for children and families facing difficult medical issues. Still in Phoenix, with a more design-focused approach, is Arizona Wilderness DTPHX, a restaurant architecture project that has been featured by the Food Network Best Restaurants of Phoenix and Phoenix Magazine’s Roosevelt Row, among others. The location, operated as a flower shop warehouse for over three decades, was transformed into a local landmark for dining and socializing. The company gave the old structure new life by adding a large urban patio, a generous landscaping redesign, and a new steel structure. The added shipping container serves as an outdoor bar. The firm is also known for Bourbon and Bones, The Clayton House venue, Pitch Pizzeria, and Fate Brewing Company. The firm’s upcoming project is Born and Raised Hospitality’s newest Broth and Bao South Scottsdale location.

About Allen + Philip Partners

Specializing in restaurants, hotels and resorts, senior living facilities, and residential spaces, Scottsdale-based Allen + Philp has worked with big-name clients such as Ritz Carlton, Marriott International, and Starwood, among others, designing hospitality spaces in Phoenix and internationally in China, Spain, Mexico, and the Bahamas. The firm focuses on using leading-edge technology and brings its full experience and know-how to each project. Principal Kenneth Allen, president, and founding partner graduated from Arizona State University’s architecture program, where both he and fellow Sun Devil and founding partner Mark Philp serve as guest lecturers and critics. Partner Dino Ortis serves as the firm’s director of operations and has worked in the design industry for more than 30 years. Before joining Allen + Philip he was a principal with Cornoyer-Hendrick Architects for 18 years. The firm has won more than 50 awards for design and worked on the remodel of the iconic midcentury Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale.

Featured Projects

Allen + Philp worked on the upscale Centro Lounge in Paradise Valley, a mixture of Mediterranean style and futuristic-chic. Among many restaurant projects in Scottsdale, some of them no longer operating, Allen + Philp worked on the old world club-style Upstairs Lounge, with its subdued lighting, leather bar chairs, and dark wood vigas. Other restaurant projects designed by the firm include the wood-and-stone, western-style El Paso BBQ company in Scottsdale, the former elegant and high-style Scottsdale-scene highlight called the Canal Restaurant, the former Hops Bistro & Brewery, and the once-wonderful Trader Vics Restaurant in Scottsdale. Despite not making it in the cut-throat and fickle upscale valley restaurant scene, each of these restaurants had a distinctive style and atmosphere created with creativity and elegance by Allen + Philip.

About Cawley Architects

Hundreds of high-value projects represent Cawley Architects’s contribution to a wide spectrum of industries, including the healthcare, academic, corporate, industrial, commercial, and restaurant markets. Since its inception in 1994, the firm has relied on a collaborative approach of design and construction to provide design-build and architecture solutions that respond to the modern demands of living, working, healing, and dining. The results are award-winning projects that continue to elevate the firm’s reputation as one of Phoenix’s leading professionals. The accolades the firm earned in 2019 are a testament to the company’s rising success. Ranking Arizona put the firm top one of its Small Architecture Office listings in 2018 and 2019. Sherman Cawley, the firm’s principal architect and founder, was named among AZ Big Media Real Estate Architects and was featured in the 2019 People and Projects to Know. Commercial projects that adhere to the strict USGBC LEED certification standards—as well as RED awards and NAIOP awards—populate the firm’s extensive project list.

Featured Projects

As a restaurant architect and designer, the firm completed local landmarks that continue to grace Phoenix’s vibrant communities. The Doughbird project, for instance, is a 4,575-square-foot design commissioned by Fox Restaurant Concepts. The aim of the venue is to offer casual dining to the city’s patrons, regardless of demographics, and provide a warm and friendly dining experience partnered with a delectable selection of savory cuisine. With the help of the renowned designer, Judy Testani of Testani Design Troupe, the company was able to produce a standout structure that became a local celebrity resto overnight. In Scottsdale, the company delivered Bottled Blonde, another restaurant design, this time through a collaboration with AV3 Design Studio. The project involved creating a dining space that exudes the rustic and vintage vibe of Italian design and culinary elements: picnic-style tables, craft beer, and of course, signature wood-fired pizzas.

About FM Group Inc.

FM Group Inc. is a Scottsdale-based firm with international reach. Headed by President and founder Michael T. Fries, FM Group has worked on projects in all 50 states and 27 countries. Fries started FM Group in 1995. He has over three decades of experience working in high-value projects, ranging from large-scale, mixed-use developments to hotels and restaurants. Fries has a bachelor’s degree in environmental design from Miami University in Ohio, and a master’s in architecture from the University of Texas at Austin.

Featured Projects

While the company is based in Scottsdale, the firm has completed projects in Phoenix, especially for the restaurant sector. The Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, for instance, is a restaurant design that posed the challenge of creating a space that adheres to the franchise’s corporate prototype. The firm allowed the franchisee to have a clearer picture of the process and the resulting space through its 3D modeling software. The firm also designed the casual but sophisticated Lush Burger in North Scottsdale, a hip hangout featuring lots of deep reds, disco-ball hanging lights, a diner-style counter with cowhide seat-backs, and a comfortable and shady patio. The firm has also worked on several foodservice projects for Arizona State University in Tempe, including the Engrained Cafe in the university’s Memorial Union. Winner of the local Environmental Excellence Merit Award for Historic Preservation, the cafe features a host of energy-efficient and environmentally conscious details, including recycled materials used for the restaurant’s countertops and chairs.

About Hayes Inc. Architecture/Interiors

Though Hayes Inc. has experience working with a diverse range of clientele, from residential and offices to retail and adaptive reuse, the firm has a stellar portfolio of hospitality and restaurant designs. The firm seeks to enhance lives, families, and communities by designing inspiring hotels and restaurants. Its long list of clients includes corporations and developers from Phoenix area’s biggest resorts, including the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain and the Hotel Valley Ho. Principal Architect Catherine Hayes leads the company’s everyday operations. Hayes attended the L’Ecole Des Beaux-Arts in Versailles, France, and received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. The firm’s works have been featured in Luxe, Architectural Digest, and other publications. In the past, the company has been honored with an AIA Phoenix Home of the Year Award, a Residential Design & Build Magazine Design Excellence Award, and many other laurels.

Featured Projects

Residents of the Phoenix metro area love to drive about two hours north to enjoy the relatively cool and otherworldly landscapes of Sedona, and valley designers have been putting their stamp on the unique and world-famous resort town for a long time. From its Phoenix location, Hayes Inc. continued this tradition with the amazing upscale restaurant The Hudson, which the firm worked on with Mark and Lisa Shugrue and Executive Chef Jeff Storcz. The “neighborhood restaurant” is popular with locals and tourists alike for its inventive food, colorful and contemporary interiors, and its wonderful patio space with perfect views of those famous red cliffs soaking up under the sun in the near distance. Back in Scottsdale, Hayes Inc. worked with local RIOT Hospitality Group and contractor LGE Design Build on Farm & Craft Scottsdale on a fresh concept in the city’s popular Old Town district. Hayes designed a kind of urban farmhouse, reusing the building’s original framing and opening up the ceilings to expose the joists and ductwork, creating an unfinished, rustic look that’s softened by the stylish hanging wood-beam lighting and the huge photographs of crops and fields adorning the walls.

About Ideation Design Group

If you think designing one restaurant seems like a daunting task, try designing five or ten at a time. Ideation Design Group, experts in foodservice design, creates satisfying and comfortable dining experiences for travelers and shoppers, and they work with some of the top companies and brands in the industry. Their primary focus is on designing and implementing restaurants in mall food courts and airports. Led by Principals Carl F. Schaffer and Jennifer A. Reynolds, Ideation opened in Phoenix in 2004 and has since worked with brands such as Sheraton, Pei Wei, and Starbucks. With over three decades in the industry, Schaffer has worked on more than 2,000 restaurant projects; Reynolds has worked in restaurant design for more than 20 years. With a staff of 36, Ideation has designed in 48 states, as well as in China and South America.

Featured Projects

In collaboration with airport foodservice giant HMSHost, the firm worked on the transformation of the dining options in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Terminal 4. Ideation also partnered with HMSHost on new retail and restaurant designs for Dallas Love Field Airport and designed the PGA Tour Grill at the San Diego International Airport. Ideation also completely remodeled and reimagined a tired and gaudy food court at Tempe’s Arizona Mills Mall. Working with New Jersey-based restaurant franchiser Villa Enterprises, Ideation created the 13,262-square-foot space called The Food Hall By Villa, a more refined food-court experience than usual, with faux-wood tiles, earthy colors, stone columns, and exposed vigas.

About LGE Design Build

A leader in designing and building commercial, retail, office, and restaurant spaces in the Phoenix metro area, LGE Design Build has designed and built some 18 million square feet since it opened in 1994. The firm is led by President and CEO David E. Sellers. The company’s design arm, LGE Design group, is headed by Vice President and Principal Architect Ben Mcrae. Among many awards over more than 20 years in the Phoenix market, LGE Design Build has been honored numerous times by the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), including with awards for Retail Project of the Year, Tenant Improvement Contractor of the Year, Redevelopment Project of the Year, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certified Project of the Year.

Featured Projects

LGE Design Build has worked with the Scottsdale-based and Phoenix-based restaurants in the past. Its work for development leader Evening Entertainment Group (EEG) to design several high-concept, trendy and stylish restaurants in Scottsdale’s popular entertainment district, for instance, remains some of its most memorable. Bottled Blonde, a 9,000-square-foot restaurant and bar, features well-designed outdoor spaces, including a beer garden, an upper-floor patio, and a large outdoor fire pit. In Phoenix, the firm completed a 4,215-square-foot design for the American gastropub, Stock & Stable. The restaurant is a part of the city’s hospitality landmark “The Colony.” Some of the most interesting elements of this design are the main dining space that accommodates indoor and outdoor seating. Natural lighting, warm palette, and a mild Tuscan style give this restaurant an elevated experience for dining and socializing. The company also took an extensive remodel work for Steak 44, located in the city. From an old chophouse building built in 1978, the company upgraded the place to produce an upscale urban steakhouse and offers locals an award-winning social venue that has consistently been placed on several “best of” lists.

About Nelsen Partners

While Nelsen Partners is headquartered in Scottsdale, this architecture and planning firm has a huge presence in the region and beyond, allowing it to serve Texas and Arizona’s most dynamic metropolitan and residential areas. To make such projects possible, the firm relies on a group of creatives and problem-solvers that share a collective understanding of the real world and how design can transform everyday experiences. Authentic and enduring architectures make up the company’s portfolio of office, restaurant, hospitality, residential, and mixed-use structures. Since its founding over 30 years ago, the firm has produced highly-commended projects recognized through the AZ RED Awards, Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Awards, and Domain ATX Architecture awards, to name a few. Behind the success of this design firm is president and principal architect, Brad Nelsen, AIA, RAIA. Under his leadership, the firm follows a philosophy that focuses on listening and understanding the design problem of every project, regardless of size, complexity, or value.

Featured Projects

The restaurant sector has benefited from the firm’s profound understanding of design and its ability to transform and enhance the experiences of its users. Across Texas, Arizona, and California, you’ll find beautiful restaurants and dining spaces that embody the company’s passion for architecture. For one of its most notable works in Scottsdale, for instance, the firm collaborated with Nelsen Henrich Interiors, to work on one of the locations of the nationally-renowned, health-focused restaurant chain, True Food Kitchen. The partnership delivered the design and documentation services for the 7,800-square-foot restaurant. The place’s interiors feature an open layout that introduces a kitchen and preparation area that serves as the center stage where fresh food, the restaurant’s signature products, are made. The enclosed dining area presents an open, expansive space that sets a refreshing ambiance. The brand of “freshness” is further emphasized through its nature-toned palette. The project was commissioned by Fox Restaurant Concepts and was completed in 2010.

About Patrick Hayes Architecture

Architect Patrick C. Hayes opened Patrick Hayes Architecture in 1999 and has since designed many offices and corporate headquarters in Phoenix, as well as industrial, retail, medical, and restaurant spaces across the valley and elsewhere. Focused on sustainable and LEED design, as well as using technology-based design practices, Hayes earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Oregon and has been recognized as a leading designer with an award-winning portfolio. These include AZRE Magazine Real Estate Development Awards for Best Office Project and Best Redevelopment Project. He has also received several honors from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and was named an architect of the year by Arizona Business Magazine.

Featured Projects

Architects and designers from the Phoenix metro area are drawn to the red rocks of Sedona, which is about a two-hour drive from the valley. After all, here is a landscape that begs to be made an integral part of any design. Patrick Hayes Architecture remodeled the Sedona-based, Sonoran-style Mexican restaurant 89 Agave with all the crayons in the box, creating a fun and festive atmosphere. But the highlight here is the patio overlooking uptown Sedona and the famous red cliffs. When the sunset plugs in you realize that all the colors in the cantina are also there in the sky and the rocks. The firm also worked on the fusion restaurant SumoMaya, a Mexican-Asian restaurant in Scottsdale. The warm and inviting space, with its diner-style bar and tree growing in the middle of the dining room, blurs the line between indoor and outdoor. The design also features elegant wood-strip ceilings, perfect lighting, and gorgeous splashes of green.

About RSP Architects

Based in Minneapolis, with offices in Phoenix, Dallas, and around the world, the international firm RSP has worked on several restaurant projects in the Phoenix Metro Area. RSP’s Phoenix office is led by Joe Tyndall, who studied architecture at Arizona State University. Under his leadership, the firm has worked on a diverse list of projects for retail, hospitality, and education clients, among others. The firm’s Phoenix office has received an Interior Architecture Firm of the Year Award from NAIOP Arizona.

Featured Projects

RSP Architects has worked on several masterpieces of adaptive reuse in the Phoenix metro area. For one, they took a building that housed a motorcycle shop in the 1950s and turned it into an urban-chic, mixed-use Millennial playground called The Yard, for which the firm also designed the restaurant Culinary Dropout. Working with leading Arizona restaurant developer Fox Restaurant Concepts, RSP kept some of the motorcycle themes in its wonderful designs for the 4,000-square-foot gastropub, which also has more than 3,000 square feet of patio space. Moss-green, medium-dark wood, and industrial metal dominate the large space, which features candelabra-style chandeliers hanging from exposed rafters next to ductwork, and a wide-open plan, with an exposed kitchen and indoor-outdoor details like deep living room couches next to firepits. In another innovative adaptive-reuse project, RSP worked with Z’Tejas Inc. and Scottsdale-based Henrich Design to transform an abandoned Methodist church in Phoenix into the Mexican gastropub Taco Guild. The 4,100-square-foot project reused and repurposed much of the old church, using the pews for banquettes and keeping the stained glass, the entrance, and the heavy wood beams.

About triARC Architecture and Design

triARC Architecture & Design is a Phoenix-based firm with a diverse portfolio of medical, office, retail, industrial, and restaurant projects around the metro area. The firm was founded in 2006 by Jill Hamblen and Marlene Seitz, two former project heads at the St. Louis-based firm. Hamblen holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Drury University in Missouri. She was a project leader for Arcturis for seven years before founding triARC. Seitz earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Ball State University in Indiana, and a master’s degree in architecture from Clemson University in South Carolina. She was a project manager at Arcturis for three years and also managed projects for Stein-Cox Group in Phoenix for seven years.

Featured Projects

Recently, triARC Architecture & Design has worked with the Utah-based restaurant chain Even Stevens Sandwiches. The firm helped the popular sandwich shop, which donates one sandwich for every one purchased, to open several locations across the Phoenix metro area. The firm is also active in Phoenix’s busy adaptive reuse scene. In a fantastic example of collaborative re-use, triARC kept a lot of the funky artistic flourishes and folk-architecture elements left behind by former tenants of the downtown Roosevelt Row New American restaurant Bliss/Rebar, including a huge metal buddha face over the entrance and a steel “tree of life” on the patio. triARC treads lightly yet indelibly on the space, adding many memorable and elegant touches to reenergize the space while not disregarding or disrespecting what came before.

About Wendell Burnette Architects

Wendell Burnette, FAIA,  worked with Will Bruder for about a decade and then opened Wendell Burnette Architects in 1996. He attended the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin West in the 1980s. From there, he traveled all over the world, discovering new traditions and fresh ideas about design. Burnette has been recognized by the Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Institute of Architects (AIA); his work and ideas have been exhibited locally at Arizona State University, as well as in New York City and Barcelona, Spain. The firm has been featured in numerous publications, including Dwell, The Phaidon Atlas, and Luxe. An AIA Fellow, Burnette has designed buildings all over the world, from libraries to resorts and restaurants.

Featured Projects

Wendell Burnette received a prestigious James Beard Award nomination for restaurant design for the St. Francis Restaurant in Phoenix. Working with Chef Aaron Chamberlin, the firm remodeled a 1955 building that once housed the studio of architect Harold Eckman. The restaurant has an inviting indoor-outdoor bar and a large glass door facing the street. Wendell Burnette also designed the wonderful SOI 4 Bangkok Eatery, a popular Thai restaurant in the Shops at Gainey Village in Scottsdale. Burnette took an old space in a strip mall and turned it into an exquisite and vaguely exotic aesthetic experience. A modern, open space with lots of sleek surfaces and subdued lighting, the atmosphere is miles away from the ordinary, but not intimidating. The interior benefits from details like the throw-pillows in various pastel colors that line the inside of the big front windows. And of course, the patio, which is an absolute must-have in Scottsdale’s crowded upscale dining scene, is welcoming and comfortable.

About CCBG Architects Inc.

For almost five decades, CCBG Architects have been designing structures in the Phoenix metro area. Its extensive portfolio includes projects for the religious sector, recreation centers, and homes. The firm’s team of architects and designers also expands its services to California through its San Diego office. These two locations allow it to take on other work and services, including urban infill and adaptive reuse. With this caliber, the company has helped deliver Phoenix’s popular new office destination in the Warehouse District south of downtown, designed to attract emerging young and creative startups and tech companies. Under the leadership of Brian Cassidy, the company is involved in the redesign and redevelopment of the Warehouse District. Cassidy has been president of the firm since 1988. He was a former president of the AIA Arizona and was awarded the AIA Arizona Architects Medal in 2014.

Featured Projects

CCBG, which has its own offices in the Historic Warehouse District, has designed several sleek, modern offices and other spaces in the historic brick buildings that once were the center of Phoenix’s shipping industry. To create new collaborative and inspiring offices for the public relations and communication firm R&R Partners, the firm transformed a produce warehouse listed on the National Historic Register. While holding to the historic look of the red-brick facade of the 1926 building, which originally houses the Ong Yut Geong Wholesale Market, the designers created a modern and creative interior for the staff, with exposed rafters, metal and concrete surfaces, and a lot of open spaces. CCBG also created an office space in the same area of the Warehouse District for Seedspot, a social entrepreneur incubator. The 4,500-square-foot space, with its open layout, red brick tapestry, high ceilings, exposed wood rafters, and concrete floors, is consistent with the elegant-industrial aesthetic that’s making this area so popular with creative entrepreneurs.

About Davis

Architect Mike Davis and interior designer Lisa Davis opened Davis in 1991. Since then, the pair has designed distinctive and unforgettable hotels, retail, and multi-family projects in Phoenix and its surrounding cities. While the firm is known for its residential and commercial works, it also excels in large-scale, high-end office projects. Based on the firm’s extensive portfolio, it is proud to have designed about a third of the “Class A business environments” in Metro Phoenix over the last 25 years. The firm has won numerous awards for its work, including a Real Estate Development Award from AZRE magazine. The success of the firm today can be attributed to the early experience of its founders. Davis graduated from the College of Architecture at the University of Arizona and has worked in the state for 40 years.

Featured Projects

The firm has designed several mixed-used structures in Phoenix, many of which are designed to accommodate modern workspaces for the city’s growing workforce. The Phoenix Center Station mixed-use, multi-family residential urban design work, for instance, supports an area of 500,000 square feet for a dedicated office tower, complemented with commercial units such as retails and restaurants. Its more specific office architecture works can be found in other Arizona cities. The Marina Heights office project in Tempe is a city-defining development that has been recognized as one of the more important valley office projects in recent years because of its potential to draw new companies and talent to the budding tech and start-up hub. The project was also one of the largest office development deals in the state’s history. Comprising five buildings on 20 acres on Tempe Town Lake, the mixed-use development was described as a series of “minimalist stainless steel tower monoliths.” The project does certainly look futuristic and shiny, and the project gives the college city a shimmering polish that just screams innovation and creativity.

About Deutsch Architecture Group

As one of the most established firms in Phoenix, Deutsch Architecture Group has been transforming lives and landscapes since its inception decades ago. Its crew is made up of architects, designers, and professionals that have been with the company since its founding—a proof of its commitment to building a community of talents that truly understand the local needs of the community that it serves. Its multi-awarded portfolio comes in different sizes and values, with complexities that range from small-scale office facilities to huge, high-level industrial and sports venues. These projects have won the recognition of SARA, NAIOP, ASID, and have been featured by multiple publications listings such as ENR’s Best Projects and Ranking Arizona. Bernie Deutsch, the firm’s president, has guided the company since 1981. Part of his work history is the local and national clientele that has constantly relied on the company’s expertise in architecture, interior architecture, planning, and sustainable, LEED-accredited design services.

Featured Projects

As an office architect in Phoenix, the firm has completed multiple projects for the area. Its work for Amazon’s Routing Center, for instance, is a massive 54,730-square-foot architecture design. The company also took care of the building’s programming and space planning, furniture coordination, finish and lighting selections, high-tech video coordination, and construction administration. The result is a modern building, imbued with an industrial vibe. The overall layout champions a highly-collaborative environment through open spaces and visually and structurally unobstructed setting. Another project in the city is the Freelife International Corporate Headquarters, this time, a bigger 75,000 square feet of design. The facility needed to be modern and adhere to a LEED-Silver certification standard—which the firm delivered through its full architecture, interior design, electrical engineering, plumbing, and mechanical expertise.

About Gensler

The leading global architecture firm Gensler is composed of a talented and innovative group of designers and professionals that have helped transform the country’s architectural landscapes. Its contributions to the industry’s green design movement and its role in designing some of the most iconic structures have not gone unnoticed. AIA, Interior Design Magazine, ENR, and SARA, among others, commended the firm through different design and sustainability awards. Its Phoenix office has worked on many large office projects and corporate headquarters, as well as large academic, civic, athletic, and cultural buildings around the metro area and across the Southwest. The local office is led by Design Principal Jay Silverberg, an architect with more than 25 years of practice in the business. Widely published and sought after as an architectural critic and lecturer, Silverberg earned his Bachelor and Master of Architecture at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

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Gensler’s Phoenix studio worked with travel website Booking.com to design an office architecture that serves as an ode to Arizona’s past and future. Hoping to capture the “essence of Arizona and the Sonoran Desert” in the 2,800-square-foot facility, the designers added many playful Southwestern touches, including cactus and swinging saloon doors. It also used locally sourced and reclaimed materials. The firm also collaborated with local professionals to complete modern workspaces. For the new 65,000-square-foot law offices for Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, Gensler’s Phoenix crew did a modern riff on the staid old law office, with an emphasis on collaboration and efficiency. The resulting project is stylish and warm with wood floors and a gallery’s worth of art throughout. With creative layout details like a combined lounge and library with rotating bookshelves, this office answers to the functional and professional needs of its tenants.

About HDR Architecture

HDR Architecture is a large international architecture firm with over 200 offices and 10,000 employees all over the world. The firm has been ranked in the past as one of the Top 100 Global Global Design Firms by Building Design magazine and the Top 300 Architecture Firms by Architectural Record. Douglas S. Wignall leads the company’s Architecture services as its president. Wignall, is an AIA Fellow, a LEED-Accredited Professional, and a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). He first came to the company as a designer-intern in 1991 and made his way up, redefined his career as an architect, and established his mark in the industry. Under his leadership, the firm has expanded to beyond the US and reached major markets in Canada, Asia, Australia, and Germany.

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Taking solid and stately old buildings and creating something new and exciting from their bones, the firm’s Phoenix office played a significant role in revitalizing downtown Phoenix. The project helped redefine the nature and practice of work with its take on the corporate workplace design. The firm’s work for The Department, a co-working space for freelancers and entrepreneurs, won an AIA Design Award. The ultramodern and ultracool space uses salvaged materials and features unique furniture designed by a local artist. The same kind of stylish, sleek, and modern style, with lots of natural light and exposed ductwork, pervades the MarketplaceONE offices for an investment firm located in the same building. The company’s design team salvaged one of the most interesting elements of its design, the acoustical panels from Phoenix Children’s Museum. The resulting project was named one of the “10 Top Coolest Offices” by AZ Business Magazine.

About KQ Architects

Residential, commercial, and healthcare architecture take up a large percentage of KQ Architects’ rich portfolio but it also serves other submarkets, including the corporate sector in need of spaces that answer to the modern working and professional demands of younger and more dynamic industries. Before the firm’s rise as a preferred architect and designer for Phoenix’s client base, it was once a small studio founded by AIA members Hugh Knoell and Philip Quidort in 1978. Sandra Evans Seward, ASID, later joined the firm in 1997, a milestone that expanded the firm’s services to include interior design. As a company, its primary goal is to create spaces that have a profound sensitivity to the needs of its users and communities, without being limited to the stylistic conventions of the present. Today, the company stays true to the vision of its pioneers and the result is an award-winning project list recognized by the NCARB, AIA, ASID, and Luxe Magazine. The firm has also won multiple Gold Nugget awards for many of its residential projects.

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Aside from its success in the residential and healthcare sectors, the firm is also a leader in the workplace architecture market. Some of its relevant contributions to the Phoenix’s workplace landscapes include the two-story, 52,000-square-foot 4040 East Camelback commercial building, the Arcadia Medical Office Building, and the 1616 Medical Office Building. The 1616 Medical Office Building sits among two major local areas, retail development, and a residential community. The structure was designed to blend with the dynamism of a commercial neighborhood and the vibrant environment of a lively community. The result is a contemporary architecture, commended for its 100% energy-efficient design, its stunning integral colored masonry, and of course, the facility’s notable reputation as a progressive-thinking OBGYN medical center.

About LGE Design Build

Part of Phoenix’s active LGE Design-Build Company, the LGE Design group opened in 2014. The design studio’s over ten years of operations have already produced a major impact on the valley’s office space design environment. The group is led by President and CEO David Sellers. Sellers joined the firm in 2000 and throughout his career, he has completed over 15,000 square feet of development. He is a NAIOP awardee for the Best General Contractor and Tenant Improvements General Contractor of the Year categories. Phoenix Business Journal also included Seller in its 40 under 40 ranking. Principal architect and vice president Ben McRae won the National Association of Industrial and Office (NAIOP) Properties awards and a Real Estate Development Awards from AZRE Magazine.

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LGE Design Group worked on a new headquarters for Garmin International located at the Chandler Corporate Center. The project, which earned the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certified Project of the Year award, is a two-story, 60,000-square-foot model of environmental and sustainable design for the company’s staff of about 300. LEED Gold-certified, the office building has photovoltaic solar panels installed over 175 parking spaces and is close to achieving a net-zero energy use mark. The office spaces are very inviting and stylish inside, with a lot of high-end wood paneling, open spaces and glass, and the got-to-have perks of the new workspace such as a “beach” volleyball court. The firm also designed the Scheduling Institute, a NAIOP Re-Development Project of the Year-winning facility for the largest dental training company in the world. LGE converted a historic fruit and vegetable warehouse into a 23,000-square-foot medical and dental facility in Phoenix’s up-and-coming business hub known as the Warehouse District. The project included a complete remodel of the warehouse building and a 7,000-square-foot addition.

About McCarthy Nordburg

Founded in 1986, McCarthy Nordburg is a leading local firm that has designed buildings and interiors for corporate, education, and medical clients, among others. When designing its award-winning office projects, McCarthy Nordburg focuses on the specific needs of its clients and works on how to incorporate its brand, work culture, values, and priorities into the design. The firm believes that “culture and work style go hand in hand,” and that great office design can enhance a company’s relationship with its industry and its customers. Winner of the Interior Architect of the Year award from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), the firm’s work has been featured in many publications. The success of this studio can be attributed to the efforts of its Managing Partner Jennifer Wallace-Sasek. Wallace-Sasek earned her bachelor’s degree in interior architecture from Columbia College Chicago.

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Its influence in the corporate workplace markets is not only limited to its projects completed in Phoenix. In Scottsdale, for instance, the company was commissioned to design the YAM Worldwide Center, a 36,000-square-foot, $7.9-million office. Characterized by its industrial chic with bright splashes of color, exposed ductwork, and steel everywhere, the cutting-edge space features collaboration areas with bench seating. The firm also designed an “anti-office” for Mindspace in Tempe, a 5,500-square-foot collaborative workspace that looks more like a restaurant and lounge than an office—because of the absence of traditional dedicated workspaces. McCarthy Nordburg also designed a 113,000-square-foot office in Tempe, for a Fortune 500 global shipping giant. This is the second project that the firm has completed for the company. Focusing on attracting and keeping the best employees, the company wanted an upscale office design, including a stylish employee lounge, up-to-the-minute technology, and an open and collaborative plan.

About Patrick Hayes Architecture

A local leader in sustainable, LEED design and cutting-edge, technology-based design practices, Patrick C. Hayes opened his firm in 1999. Since then, Hayes has designed many offices and corporate headquarters in Phoenix, as well as industrial, retail, and medical spaces across the valley. Hayes earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Oregon and has been recognized as a leading designer with numerous awards, including AZRE Magazine Real Estate Development Awards for best office project, best redevelopment project, and several honors from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. He was also named an architect of the year by Arizona Business Magazine.

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Patrick Hayes Architecture is one of several design firms in the Phoenix metro area that is helping to put the city and the nearby college town of Tempe on the map as one of the country’s emerging technology hubs. The firm designed one of Tempe’s most distinctive and talked-about office spaces in the GoDaddy Global Technology Center, a new site for the Scottsdale-based web-domain company. The 15,000-square-foot, $27-million complex can accommodate about 1,100 employees. A playful, interesting, and fun workplace, the new GoDaddy offices have a yoga room; a game center; basketball, volleyball, and soccer spaces; a go-cart track; and even a slide that goes from the second-floor offices to the kitchen. Near GoDaddy in the Arizona State University Research Park, the company also designed a Tempe headquarters for Amkor Technology, a company that packages and tests semiconductors. The 101,949-square-foot, the two-story office has a popular and innovative open concept for the company’s 350 employees.

About RSP Architects

Based in Minneapolis and with offices in Phoenix, Dallas, Miami, Baltimore, Rochester, and in India’s Bangalore, the international firm RSP Architects remains one of the most established firms in the region. RSP’s locations typically work on around 1,000 projects every year—a record-breaking annual average that continues to grow since the company was established almost 40 years ago. As an architect for the corporate workplace sector, the company has worked on several office projects in the Phoenix metro area. Its local office has its own multi-awarded reputation. It has received an Interior Architecture Firm of the Year Award from NAIOP Arizona. Joe Tyndall, a graduate of Arizona State University who has been with the firm for more than 15 years, leads the Phoenix location.

Featured Projects

RSP Architects’ Phoenix office won the Award of Merit of Interior/Tenant Improvement Design from ENR Magazine for its work on the corporate headquarters for Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Markets. The 80,000-square-foot office includes a front porch-style design and has four stories, with each representing a different design theme. One of the major parts of this build is the office’s commercial kitchen. RSP Architects also designed the Wentworth Property Company Corporate Office, a 14,740-square-foot space that features a bar and cafe on the first of its three floors. Other areas also accommodate a game room and patio. The project highlights collaborative workspaces and private offices and is the picture of the ultramodern office. For another project, the company worked on the 34,119-square-foot, $2.5-million office project for Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm. The two floors utilize uniquely designed desks for sitting or standing, a mix of collaborative and private spaces, a dramatic lobby, and a restaurant and bar for taking out clients and socializing.

About SmithGroupJJR

SmithGroupJJR is one of the biggest international architecture and design firms in the country. Its efforts in sustainability have been recognized nationwide, and its standards in design excellence can be seen across its works found in many US locations, including Phoenix. SmithGroupJJR has contributed greatly to the city’s built environment. Through its years of operations in the region, it has worked on several landmarks, including Chandler City Hall, Gateway Community College’s Integrated Education Building, and the Freeport-McMoRan Center downtown. One of its biggest works was for the recent redevelopment of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Terminal 3.

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SmithGroupJJR’s Phoenix office delivered a model of sustainable design through its project on DPR Construction’s regional headquarters, a 16,533-square-foot, net-zero energy office in a once-dilapidated neighborhood. Originally a windowless shop, the firm transformed the building into the first net-zero energy building in Arizona, and the largest net-zero energy building in the world. The stylish office has all kinds of up-to-the-minute green features, such as an 87-foot solar chimney that allows for passive cooling. The designers almost eliminated the need for artificial lighting with solar optical tubes, and the photovoltaic canopies in the parking lot provide shade for cars and power for the building. In this “workplace of the future,” sharing is paramount. There are no private offices, but there is a Zen room, a wine bar, and a relaxing courtyard with lots of cool greenery. The project won the AIA Western Mountain Distinguished Building Award, an award from the Sustainable Buildings Industry, an Energy Award from the AIA, and an Arizona Commercial Real Estate Award from AZRE Magazine. SmithGroupJJR’s Phoenix office also designed a new Tempe office for the engineering company Southland Industries, a 10,000-square-foot office complex with state-of-the-art working hubs to encourage creativity and collaboration, along with writable surfaces, a spacious, open plan, and artful wood, and glass throughout.

About WORKSBUREAU

When famed local firm Will Bruder and Partners said farewell to the Arizona design scene, WORKSBUREAU took its first breath as an emerging powerhouse in the region’s architecture industry. Over the years, it has designed offices and civic, commercial, education, and mixed-use spaces across the Phoenix metro area and all over the world. The firm is led by Principals Rob Gaspard, Richard Jensen, and Ben Nesbeitt. Gaspard holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Louisiana State University. Jensen earned his Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia and has lectured at Arizona State University, the University of Virginia, and elsewhere. Widely published and exhibited, Jensen is the author of Clark and Menefee, a monograph published by Princeton Architectural Press. Nesbeitt has a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has taught design classes at the University of Illinois and Arizona State University and has been a guest critic at Yale.

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WORKSBUREAU’s influence in the corporate office design scene can be observed not just in Phoenix but also in its surrounding cities. For instance, the firm designed 979 Playa Del Norte, a 111,000-square-foot complex of Class A offices on a 1.75-acre site in Tempe. The firm included the latest sustainable design techniques and technology features into the office building, creating an innovative and efficient workspace with inspiring views of downtown Phoenix, Tempe town lake, and the desert mountains across the Valley of the Sun. While the WORKSBUREAU team was still affiliated with Will Bruder, it designed the distinctive Henkel North American Headquarters, a 348,000-square-foot office building in Scottsdale. The four-story building features a unique “glass curtain wall” and is constructed of aluminum and native sandstone from Ashfork, Arizona

About K&Q Interiors

A dynamic interior design firm in Scottsdale, K&Q Interiors is led by three talented designers, Kacie Lilley, Stacy Scharf, and Marlis Kapellusch. Lilley has a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Arizona State University and 15 years of experience with top local design firms. Scharf earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from ASU and a interior design degree from Scottsdale Community College, and she has been in the interior design field for nearly 19 years. Kapellusch has a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from ASU, and her work has been featured in many publications, including the Arizona Republic and Scottsdale Magazine.

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The firm recently won an ASID Design Excellence Award for Residence over 6,000 square feet. The interiors for a family of eleven’s “mountain retreat” needed to be tough and able to withstand the comings and goings of nine children, but the parents also wanted the upscale residence to be sophisticated and stylish. Using stone, heavy wood, and metal, K&Q Interiors created a beautiful home that is functional, durable, and inspiring. Natural wood was used throughout as a central design feature, with woods of different colors creating their own unique, rustic paneling. Couches, beds, and much of the kitchen remodel were inspired from a soft grey color palette, making the home minimalist yet soothing. Deep browns and vibrant reds were used in another Phoenix residence, with a plethora of secondary colors really making the space pop. The home was infused with slight nods to nature, with the artwork, centerpieces, and real and fake flowers on countertops and bookcases. These touches perfectly blend with the greenery just outside the expansive windows.

About Joi Prater Interiors

Studio head Joi Prater has been an interior designer for 30 years, dividing her attention among residential and commercial interior design projects in the Phoenix metro area and in San Diego, California. She has also worked on projects in Hawaii, Nevada, New York, and Canada. Her interior design work has been featured in Desert Design Magazine, Phoenix Home & Garden, and other publications. Her work has also been shown at the San Diego Museum of Art. Prater studied landscape architecture at the University of Arizona in Tucson and received a degree in interior design from San Diego Mesa College.

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Particularly suited to a region with a large population of retirees, Joi Prater won an ASID Design Excellence Award for “Aging in Place,” for an ADA-compliant bathroom addition. The redesign includes a four-foot-wide, walk-in shower with a 40-inch-wide entrance, textured floors to prevent slips, a magnified makeup mirror, and sliding doors. And yet for all its increased functionality, the space still looks elegant and inviting. Prater also won a recent ASID Design Excellence Award for Public or Educational Facilities for her interior work on the Brynn Smith Memorial Campus for Foothills Animal Rescue in Scottsdale. Prater designed the gorgeous animal sanctuary with an eye not only on the animals’ comfort, but also on the limited budget of the client. Prater was able to obtain donated materials, including furniture, wood, and granite, to create a stylish interior that fits perfectly with the building’s modern style. The center garnered ASID Design Excellence Award, 1st Place, for a Public Facility, and a National Golden Nugget Award for Excellence in Architecture and Design.

About IMI Design Studio

A leading interior design and interior architecture firm in Scottsdale’s luxury home scene, IMI Design Studio opened its doors in 1992. CEO and Lead Designer Anita Lang has won many awards for her designs, including a number of Design Excellence Awards and Best in Show Awards from the ASID’s Arizona North Chapter. The firm’s work has been featured in Luxe, Modern Luxury Scottsdale Magazine, and JetSet Magazine, as well as in several interior design books, including Spectacular Homes of the Southwest. Lang has appeared on many Phoenix-area television shows to talk about design and lifestyle subjects.

Featured Projects

The IMI Design team won an ASID Design Excellence Award for designing a commercial studio for two fellow designers. The studio includes a stylish, clean-lined custom oak reception area with a built-in screen that displays the designers’ portfolio. Lang and team also won a recent ASID Design Excellence Award for Singular Space for their “luxury master retreat” project. The wonderful space is indeed a retreat, featuring a sleek and contemporary master bedroom with limestone floors and custom wood bed, nightstands, and cabinets that flows easily into a luxurious bathroom.

About Davis

Mike and Lisa Davis opened their interior design firm, Davis, in 1991. Mike, a graduate of the College of Architecture at the University of Arizona, has worked in the state for 40 years. Davis has designed the architecture and interiors for distinctive and unforgettable hotels, retail, and multi-family projects in Phoenix and elsewhere. The firm has won numerous awards for its work, including a Real Estate Development Award from AZRE magazine.

Featured Projects

The team at Davis recently got a lot of attention for the interiors of a unique 105-room boutique hotel in downtown Phoenix called Found:RE. Featured in Architectural Digest and elsewhere, and the winner of a Real Estate and Development Award from AZRE Magazine, the adaptive-reuse project transformed the closed-down Lexington Hotel into a hip and cutting-edge hotel with an industrial-chic and local art-inspired style that fits with the revitalizing urban neighborhood in which it is located. Art, especially in the form of large photo-realistic faces lining the walls, is used to great effect throughout the space, which features shiny exposed ductwork, and contemporary wood and metal details. Perhaps the most innovative thing about the design is that it expresses a Phoenix style that has really nothing to do with the Southwest as it was, and everything to do with this metro area’s new kind of urbanity. The Davis team also designed the Marina Heights office project in Tempe, a city-defining development that has been recognized as one of the more important valley office projects in recent years because of its potential to draw new companies and talent to the budding tech and startup hub.

About Esther Boivin Interiors

Esther Boivin, head of Esther Boivin Interiors in Scottsdale, is not only an award-winning interior designer, she’s also a classical musician and opera singer. She describes her style as “traditional elegance with a warm contemporary sensibility.” Creative, sophisticated and a world traveler, she has been inspired by interiors and style since she was a kid growing up in Montreal, Canada. The firm has won numerous ASID awards, including Design Excellence awards for a residence under 3,500 square feet, retail space, repurposed design, fixture, and furniture. She has also won an ASID award for Green Design. Her work has been featured in Scottsdale Modern Luxury Magazine, Phoenix Home and Garden, the Arizona Republic, and Arizona Foothill Magazine, among others.

Featured Projects

The Boivin team won an ASID award for green design for an upscale townhouse project for which they had a budget of $25k and just 12 days to finish. The net-zero home was an infill project that used a host of green and renewable building techniques. Boivin chose neutral colors such as white, gray, and beige, and used more vibrant splashes and art pieces to create little dramas throughout this innovative home. Another of Boivin’s many projects in the Phoenix metro area is a four-bedroom, eight-fireplace “bachelor pad” in Scottsdale’s upscale Desert Mountain neighborhood. With the architecture of the home being a bit of contemporary Southwestern, Boivin used “patternless” fabrics to contrast with the straight lines and the client’s extensive art collection, adding strong pops of color such as the vibrant blue chairs in the vodka room, as well as a lot of creative and surprising details throughout the large, sumptuous home.

About Cox James Architects

For nearly 30 years, Cox James Architects has been designing creative and inspiring interiors for hotels, restaurants, accounting firms, banks, and most of the major law firms in Arizona. The firm was founded by Brian Cox. Cox has taught courses at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and he sponsors an annual Design Excellence Scholarship at Arizona State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture. The firm has won numerous Design Excellence Awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), as well as Interior Design Awards of Excellence from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Cox’s work has been featured in many local and national publications, including Architectural Record, Designers West, Interior Design, and Restaurant and Hotel Design. Cox has also designed furniture for Bernhardt.

Featured Projects

Brian Cox won an ASID Design Excellence Award for Adaptive Use – Commercial for his redesign of Bowman & Brooke’s law offices in Phoenix. The sleek and sophisticated design replaced all the light fixtures with LED and installed glass “sidelights” to create a bright but subdued and professional atmosphere. Cox also added video-conferencing rooms and reworked the office cafe and restrooms, creating an efficient and contemporary space. The firm also won a recent ASID Design Excellence Award for Special Function Space for a warm, indoor-outdoor structure in Paradise Valley that it calls an “Entertainment Casita.” Cox designed the new structure in the same style as the main house, and included a covered porch with a grill and pizza oven, a 15-seat movie theater, and a stylish main room with hickory floors and a full bar and kitchen. This singular playhouse is connected to a pool area by a bridge that spans a wash.

About Ashley P. Design

Since opening Ashley P. Design in Scottsdale in 1978, founder and lead designer Paula Den Boer has worked on many award-winning local, national, and international interior design projects. The firm works in styles ranging from Old World to Modern to Contemporary, not to mention Southwestern, a style in which Den Boer has been declared a “master” by Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine. Den Boer earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in interior design at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has worked on projects in France, Switzerland, and Mexico, as well as in California, Colorado, and Nevada. The firm’s design work has won numerous awards, including gold and platinum Best in American Living Awards from the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). The firm’s work has been featured in Cowgirl, Luxe, Estates West, and other publications.

Featured Projects

The Den Boer team’s diverse work can be found in may of the Phoenix metro area’s stylish and upscale neighborhoods like Desert Mountain, Troon, DC Ranch, Paradise Valley, and others. De Boer’s recent work on a high-end, contemporary Southwest home shows exactly why she’s been named a “Master of the Southwest.” The home’s warm interiors feature exquisite examples of familiar Native American and Mexican elements, while the more contemporary furnishings and artwork, which don’t seem out of place at all, manage to update and add a sophisticated touch to a well-worn style. In another recent project identified as a “Curved Contemporary Scottsdale Home,” the team created a gorgeous and sleek interior with subtle colors of cream, beige, and brown, accentuating the home’s unique curves. The modern furnishings are a mixture of rustic-chic and simple elegance, and whole interior works together in an open space that’s sleek and cool without being cold.

About Phoenix Design One Inc.

Since the firm opened in 1984, Phoenix Design One Inc. has worked on some 1.5M-square-feet of space per year and has designed a total of more 45M square feet around the Southwest. The firm has several times been named an Interior Architect of the Year by the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and has won numerous other local and national awards. The firm designs interior architecture for all manner of projects, specializing in commercial office buildings, corporate headquarters, medical offices, and more. Founding Partner and Principal Fred Messner has a bachelor’s degree in interior architecture from Arizona State University and more than 30 years of experience as a designer. Design One’s work has been featured in Interior Graphic and Design Standards, Interiors and Sources, and many other publications.

Featured Projects

Phoenix Design One worked with Cushman & Wakefield, one of the Phoenix metro area’s top brokerage firms, on the design for its new offices. The offices features sophisticated and subdued earth-tones throughout, as well as granite surfaces and brushed nickel accents, creating a refined international style that instills confidence and calm. Among dozens of other projects, Phoenix Design One also worked on 4,499-square-foot design update for Tower II of the Camelback Esplanade, a high-end office and mixed-used complex in central Phoenix. The firm added “upscale elegance” to the dated space by using natural stone and tiles, a palette of silver and gray with surprising touches of green and plaid. They also updated the lighting by, among other things, bringing in more natural light.

About Bar Napkin Productions

A leader in hospitality design, Bar Napkin Productions has been named a “hospitality giant” by Interior Design Magazine and one of the “elite next generation of hospitality design leaders” by Hospitality Design Magazine. The firm works in interiors and architecture, branding and identity, product design, web design, and events. Founding owner and designer Haley Balzano has been working in architecture and interior design for 20 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and her work has been featured in many publications, including the book Best of Hospitality Design Architecture and Interiors. Jeffrey Rausch is also a founding owner of the firm. An internationally known designer, Rausch has more than 35 years of experience and has been involved in more than 1,000 restaurant, bar, nightclub, and hotel projects around the world.

Featured Projects

The firm is currently working with Phoenix’s NFL team, the Arizona Cardinals, on major interior design changes to the University of Arizona Stadium in Glendale, a project that combines elements of luxury with cutting-edge technology. The project is scheduled to be complete by the 2018 football season. Along with working on projects with big-name companies such as P.F. Chang’s, Marriott, Hilton, and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Bar Napkin recently helped Phoenix-based Harkin’s Theaters change the look of the local favorite Harkins Camelview Theatre into creative and up-to-the-minute design experience.

About Est Est Inc.

One of Arizona’s original and oldest interior design firms, Est Est Inc. opened in Scottsdale in 1959. The company worked with the Maytag family on the first layout and design for the Phoenix Zoo, and they designed the “Southwest Room” for the 1965 New York World’s Fair. Owner and principal designer Tony Sutton has led the firm since 1984. The firm regularly works with clients throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe on a diverse range of residential, commercial, and hospitality projects. Sutton earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the University of Illinois. He has been featured in the book Who’s Who in Interior Design International and has been named a “Master of the Southwest” by Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine. The firm’s work has been featured in many local and national publications, including Architectural Digest, Western Interiors, and Luxe Interiors + Design.

Featured Projects

Est Est recently won 10 Design Excellence honors, including three first-place awards, from the ASID. The firm’s colorful and sophisticated “Mountainside Retreat” project in Paradise Valley, on which they collaborated with Cullum Homes and Creative Environments, won them a Design Excellence Award for custom homes under $3M. The firm also won a Marketing and Merchandising Excellence (MAME) Award for custom Home of the year under $3M for a luxury private residence at Desert Mountain. Among their design elements for this expansive home is a sophisticated “man cave” with framed putters, an outdoor putt putt green, a pool with cascading fountain elements, and a designated vanity room. Both luxury homes display the firm’s signature mix of regional and international sophistication and style.