Partners

Stephen von Storch

– by Mike

I’ve never met anyone more genuinely interested in what people want out of their projects than Steve. His patience is legendary and his creativity boundless.  Before I met Steve I found out a bit about him on paper.  I was apprenticing at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson when Steve’s resume came in.  One of our pastimes was to sit around dishing on the potential new people. Steve could not escape that ritual but he could replace it. 

He brought a way of looking at design that I found familiar- a similar love for the work of Rossi, Stirling and other heroes of the day.  It wasn’t long after he joined the firm that he and I became friends. 

Several years later he married, returned to Charlottesville and started both his family and a practice in this town he had grown to love in college.  After I had my fill of a young man’s life in Philadelphia I found I too longed for a change.  In 1992 I followed my friend to Virginia and Steve and I opened our firm.  In the years since Steve has turned me on to many other architectural heroes like A. Hays Town and CFA Voysey and helped me learn the world of making houses and being a southerner- I mean a transplant yankee in the south.  Steve has maintained an admirable, if not somewhat unbelievable, ability to stay calm and focused over the years. You could call him tomorrow with an emergency and he would distill it down to a couple easy moves that would make everything ok.  If I were not an architect myself, I could think of no one I would want to design my project other than Steve. 

Steve's resumé

Michael Stoneking

– by Steve

Architecture is complicated. Often confused with so many activities and products in the world around us, architecture is the art of creating buildings that inspire.

Architecture at once aspires to be art yet is required to be technically and financially responsible.  Building, construction, engineering, codes and financial planning all play a part.

Michael brings a compassionate ear to his clients’ own aspirations and needs and brings those forward with the precise mind of a professional and the heart of an artist.

With over thirty years committed to his craft, Michael will tirelessly advocate for your practical and certain requirements yet also bring the eye of an artist to bear on each and every element of your project. In the end you will not have far more than a ‘project’- you will have ‘architecture’.

Mike's resumé