FIRM PHILOSOPHY & ORGANIZATION |
The best buildings spring from their surroundings, both natural and cultural,
and from the people who will occupy them. These buildings nurture the
relationship between a particular people and place. My passion, and the purpose
of my work, is to create harmonious buildings and to make the act of
dwelling--both publicly and privately--more meaningful.
For me, traditional proportions, details, and crafts create this harmony
among structure, inhabitants, and land. There is a tangible joy in shaping
a local, living material with our own hands; this joy is rediscovered by
later users of the space.
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Using traditional, low-energy materials and designing buildings that take
advantage of local climate furthers the relationship between people and place.
My buildings are sited carefully, both from the inside to take advantage
of views and solar exposure, and from the outside where gardens, porches,
and terraces knit my buildings to the land. In keeping with tradition, I
use "old-fashioned" and native plants that are perennial and require little
maintenance.
By keeping my office small I am able to work closely with each client,
contractor, and supplier to make every building fit together smoothly. A
talented network of interiors specialists, structural and civil engineers,
landscape architects, and draftspeople help me as needed; a team is tailored
to each project.
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PROFILE: SANDRA R.F. VITZTHUM AIA
Having grown up in Vermont, where there is a rich architectural tradition, I began to study and recreate local details at the age of twelve. Undergraduate thesis research took me to Bali, Indonesia; there I first understood how buildings have spirit and live. This trip also kindled my long-term interest in the relationship between culture and building; in 1995 I returned to Bali to illustrate "The Life of a Balinese Temple" by anthropologist Hildred Geertz.
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After completing my Master's in Architecture at the University of Virginia, I interned in the office of Allan Greenberg, who is, in my mind, the greatest living classical architect. I have taught at Albertus Magnus College and the University of New Haven (both in Connecticut), Norwich University (in Vermont) and the University of Notre Dame (Indiana). I have taught design, theory and history, and building technology.
My design work and writings have been published in The Classicist, The Other Modern (Academy Press), Vermont Magazine, Old House Interiors, New Old House, Period Homes, Traditional Building, Style 1900, Building Classical (Academy Editions), The New Independent Home (Chelsea Green Press), The Art of Building Cities (Academy Press), The Bathroom Idea Book (Taunton Press), A Decade of Art and Architecture: 1992-2002 (Inst. Classical Architecture), William Morris and Morris & Co. (V&A Publications), Bungalow Style (Taunton Press), Colonial Style (Taunton Press), Life of a Balinese Temple (UH Press), Tales of a Charmed Life: A Balinese Painter Reminisces (UH Press). Presently I am working on a book about Vermont's architecture.
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