Back to the 2014 AD100 List

Whether it’s a barn form, an industrial building, or a house with a modern aesthetic, we strive for maximum amounts of light and exposure,” says Howard J. Backen, a cofounder of California’s Backen, Gillam & Kroeger Architects. With offices in Sausalito and St. Helena, the firm has a deep portfolio of luminous, earthy, and stylish projects for local wineries, resorts, and restaurants as well as vintners’ private homes. Farther afield, it has designed stores for Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma Home, and RH (formerly Restoration Hardware). The group’s residential work, which mines regional vocabularies, eschews conspicuous bells and whistles. Some dwellings resemble beautifully restored 1920s board-and-batten ranch houses, while others are graceful minimalist structures that seem to melt into the landscape. bgarcom

Meet the other architects and designers on the 2014 AD100 list.