How this award-winning architect designs homes

It’s always been about the drawings for me. It’s the singular aspect that led me to choose this profession: the making of drawings. And this is how I came to know Russ Tyson’s work, through his beautifully delineated architectural sketches. They have all the qualities I aspire to emulate. They’re well-composed, with subtle coloration, they’re narrative, loose and informal. They’re believable as architecture, yet they don’t fix any one particular outcome. They leave room for interpretation. Glass is rendered as if air, volumes as textures and always there’s an acknowledgment that these are places meant to be inhabited by people.

A principal at Whitten Architects, Russ’ design skills have realized projects that defy a singular stylistic bent, opting instead to craft plans and spaces that fit his clients’ needs and tastes. Admirable goals for any architect to aspire to. In this video I spoke with him about his design process and we deconstructed it using his Englishman Bay Retreat as a reference point. It’s a wide-ranging conversation and a prying, behind-the-scenes peek at his personal working style.