Richard puts human well-being first.

                                              ~ William Tripp, AIA

***

Architecture is one of those disciplines that lies in-between. It’s partly art and partly science. A priori, a building must be structurally sound and functional. At the same time, we want buildings — our homes, offices, shops, and public edifices, even our industrial structures — to be easy on the eye at the very least, and beautiful whenever possible. This requires the architect to bridge the gap between aesthetics and mathematics. The caliber of an architect is a reflection on how well he or she is able to integrate functionality with good design.

Recently, I was introduced to the work of Portland architect Richard Brown, AIA, and found a practitioner who graciously harmonizes the dual demands of his profession.

Brown grew up in Arizona but by temperament is more a native of the Pacific Northwest, which he has called home since the early 1970s. He’s soft-spoken, a bit reserved until you get to know him, unassuming, and humble, qualities not pervasive among a group of professionals who are regularly referred to as master builders and starchitects. The region’s most accessible building material, wood, was a natural fit with Richard’s sensibilities.

He did his undergraduate studies in Arizona. During a summer internship in San Francisco, his employer and mentor, architect John Bolles, FAIA, encouraged Brown to continue his education at an Ivy League school and covered a year of tuition to make sure it happened. Brown earned a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania during the time that Louis Kahn, a world-renowned architect known for buildings of exceptional beauty and gravitas, was there.

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An opportunity to work for sculptor Lee Kelly and his wife, Bonnie Bronson, helping with installations and cutting and finishing metal, brought him to the Portland area. After eighteen months he moved into the city, where he, like so many aspiring architects, ended up working for ZGF, a firm most recently acclaimed for its renovation of the Portland airport. He opened an office of his own in 1989.

Another formative experience for Brown was the five years he lived at a Buddhist monastery in northern California. More pragmatic than metaphysical, the knowledge he gained there gave him skills and maturity that became an important resource throughout his career. He learned how to construct a traditional religious building with contemporary means, manage a cabinetry and sacred art workshop, and successfully negotiate the demands of a strong-willed client who knew what he wanted.

Over the span of his career, Brown has designed homes, houses of worship, wineries, an origami-like cabin in the woods, ADUs, retail structures, offices, and historic renovations. Though each project is unique, what unites them all is their responsiveness to pre-existing conditions — whether it’s a wooded lot, a house designed by a famous architect, or a client’s large family — attention to detail, and harmony of parts. A few highlights below illuminate his talents.

From Bunker to Synagogue

After twenty years since its founding, the members of the Havurah Shalom congregation decided they needed a permanent home, and all they could afford were two small concrete warehouses in Northwest Portland that had been built to store and protect flammable celluloid film cannisters from fire and environmental damage.

Bulked up and ungainly, they would require substantial alteration to become a single structure that housed a modest sanctuary, classrooms, and an area for gathering. Brown gave them what they wanted and more.

The transformation, completed over multiple phases, provided flexibility, cost-conscious solutions for adding warmth and daylight, and a handsome facade to greet the neighborhood streetscape.

Understated Sophistication

“Over the years our firm designed religious, winery and institutional structures, but my passion was always working with clients on the design of their homes,” Brown declared.

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When budget considerations are not paramount, an architect could easily get carried away with unnecessary flourishes and luxurious details to make a house stand out. But to design a house for an affluent client that is at once beautiful and discrete requires a lot more from an architect — a judicious sensibility and a refined eye. Brown has both, and succeeded in creating an elegant, graceful home for his client.

Advantageously sited in Portland’s West Hills, the house gives clues about what lies inside from the outside with its sheltering roof line, cedar façade, refined stonework along the entryway, and Leroy Setziol carved doors. Details matter.

Inside, a carefully calibrated entry sequence leads to a spacious main room with exposed beams and a stately stone fireplace. The use of recycled timbers and regional woods —maple, western red cedar, walnut, and Douglas fir — coupled with stone and bronze detailing creates a distinctly Northwest feel that is warm and inviting. Generous and carefully placed windows take advantage of the views, Mt. Hood included. All of the client’s needs were met, including capacity for guests, play areas for grandchildren, offices, an open kitchen, and sustainability features (the house received gold and platinum LEED certifications).  

Walls of Substance

Brown developed a fondness for thick walls while living in Arizona. Those hefty stucco walls offered energy efficiency, durability, and substance to a building. He looked for something comparable for clients who sought an old-world feel for their Columbia River Gorge house, something akin to an old stone house in southern Europe.  

Brown found the perfect solution, a product he’s used in several residential projects. It’s called Rastra block, a formwork for concrete that is manufactured from recycled foam plastics, binder, and cement. Add rebar and grout with concrete and you’ve got a wall up to 12 inches thick.

In addition to their aesthetic appeal, Brown loves the acoustic and thermal insulating properties of the blocks, which create a quiet, comfortable interior.

Posts and beams, doors and cabinets, and other exposed wood elements sourced from two dismantled Yamhill County barns bring additional warmth and character to the inside of the family vacation home.

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Respect What’s There

In 1993-4 Neil Matteucci and Norm Kalbfleisch purchased a house that had been designed in 1949 by Portland’s most illustrious architect, Pietro Belluschi. When they wanted to make some additions, they interviewed three architects. They chose Brown for the job because of his experience with Buddhist temples and his penchant for simplicity. They wanted their interventions to blend harmoniously with the original structure.

They also wanted to preserve an especially beautiful Japanese maple tree they’d planted, which had grown above the house. This required ingenuity. To save the tree, Richard came up with a strategy that employed a nontraditional, floating foundation.

According to Brown, “(t)he best results come from careful attention to clients and trusting my intuition. But it was an owner’s deep and enthusiastic involvement that frequently made the results exceptional.”

Along with designing the new wing ,which housed the master bedroom, bath, and sitting area, Brown also renovated the kitchen and designed the garage to complement Belluschi’s original, and was awarded an American Institute of Architects award for his efforts.

The Art of Collaboration

In addition to the needs and desires of the client and the conditions of a site, architecture requires the integration of a host of other disciplines and actors, including contractors, engineers, electricians, plumbers, permit officers, landscape architects, and a range of specialists. Being open to input from other professionals, knowing who to bring in on any given project, and knowing how to negotiate conflicting demands are all part of a good architect’s tool kit.

Speaking with associates and clients of Brown, I heard again and again praise for his collaborative skills.

“He listened well and came back with thoughtful solutions to our requirements.”

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“He’s modest, collaborative, and easy to work with.”

“It was great to work with Richard. He nails things quickly and listens carefully. We worked together as a team.”

“Richard is particularly good at fulfilling his clients’ hopes and dreams. He gives them what they want and need. He puts their well-being first.”

“He’s a good designer, a good communicator, and takes care of his clients. He’s also a very good space designer. He can make a space feel open and intimate at the same time.”

“Richard is attentive to his clients. And resourceful. It’s not just about what he wants.”

Working Within Limits

It is a well-known adage among visual artists that having limitations enhances output rather than diminishing creativity. Artists will often set up strict parameters for their visual problem-solving explorations.

The same holds true for architecture. One particularly lovely home built along the shores of Lake Oswego was realized on a small site governed by strict zoning regulations.  

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Brown made the most of the views the site afforded while foregoing balconies, used simple materials that were finished with precision, satisfied the client’s desire for large eaves typical of a plantation house in Hawaii, and collaborated with a designer with a gift for interiors to craft a unique stone and plaster fireplace the sits at the center of the home.

“Designing was never an abstract exercise for me. It was an intuitive, careful, and at times difficult coming together of program, site, and budget,” Brown acknowledged.

Small Interventions with Big Payoffs

Brown understands the value of the small gesture and has the confidence to apply it when called for. “Over time my interest became more about seeking simplicity, making stronger connections with the site, and, if we succeeded, finding the right balance of light and shadow,” he observed.

He’s used salvaged materials in many of his projects, and understood that the addition of a large porch could transform an average foursquare house into a backyard sanctuary and communal gathering area. Making a small change in the roofline of a contemporary farmhouse that replaced an original to accommodate an expanding family for generations to come turned a classic American vernacular into a structure that is rooted in traditional farmyard archetypes with a nod to 21^st century tastes.

As one colleague put it, Brown designs buildings that help define relationships with loved ones, family, and friends.

In 2020, Brown’s practice became Telford+Brown Studio Architecture, with Hope Telford, AIA, assuming responsibility for carrying on the tradition of thoughtful, responsive design that Brown had established over four decades of his career. Brown offers ongoing guidance to the practice and continues to be more closely engaged with several current projects, including helping Havurah Shalom find their next new home, having outgrown their well-loved building in Northwest Portland.