Two Langley architects among the Northwest’s best

Published 10:00 am Monday, December 18, 2006

When a small town with 1,000 residents calls two of the Northwest’s top 50 architects their own — it’s a big deal.

Langley architects Ross Chapin and Mira Jean Steinbrecher were named individually among the Top 50 architects in “Northwest by Northwest Home and Garden” magazine.

Both are members of the American Institute of Architects, or AIA.

“It’s amazing being recognized as one of the top 50 architects,” Chapin said.

The selection was based on the quality of their work, recognition from peers and major industry awards.

The Seattle area stands out as a hub for top architects.

Of the 50 residential architects recognized, 41 were from Seattle. Only five were from out of state, primarily from the Portland area, with a few from British Columbia, and, of course, the pair from Langley.

To many of us, Steinbrecher and Chapin are neighbors, familiar faces seen around town. Few people know that they are visionaries in their field and that many developers, architects and builders look to Langley for inspiration.

Together they created the Third Street Cottages in Langley. Steinbrecher focused on interiors, while Chapin was the creative force behind the exterior and site design. The nine small homes nestled around a shared courtyard has been a model project for many designers.

Chapin’s ideas about neighborhood planning resonate through Langley. Chapin — as a member of the housing committee of the city’s comp plan group, or the architect for the Highlands — shares his ideas about clustered homes or pocket parks to foster a sense of community.

He strongly believes in making the community part of the initial planning process.

He said it was essential to him that local input was heard when the Highlands, Langley’s largest development to date, was on the drawing boards.

And the community wants to be heard as the experience with the Grove development showed.

Chapin said not asking the community if they can live with a housing project can be the kiss of death for a developer’s vision.

“What we’re learning here, we can take to the wider world,” Chapin said.

“Projects I worked on here are really interesting for people across the country. I hope to shift the mainstream a little bit, and ideas about where we live and how we live,” he said.

Chapin, who has worked in Langley for about 25 years, is known for his innovative neighborhood planning and cottage housing.

Steinbrecher is a well-known voice in the log- and timber-home industry, and known for her tree houses, seaside homes and mountain abodes.

“Unique site-specific homes — that’s one of my things,” Steinbrecher said.

“I seem to have a gift to really set buildings into their landscape,” she added.

Steinbrecher is currently working on a residential tree house on Orcas Island.

She also loves doing interiors and custom designed furniture and details.

“I love color, I love form, I love collage. That’s what interiors are really all about,” Steinbrecher said.

Another thing that stands out is that both architects made a name for themselves by building smaller, custom projects.

According to “Northwest by Northwest Home and Garden,” both Steinbrecher and Chapin have worked primarily on projects costing between $250,000 and up to $5 million, while many other architects on the top 50 list had projects between $20 million and $88 million.

Affordability is a focus for both.

“Being able to give somebody a home that makes sense, is beautiful and they can afford — that’s important,” Steinbrecher said.

Chapin said he has begun to sell some of his best design plans for small homes to make them more affordable to be build.

Both architects have focused in recent years on smart designs for smaller homes and have explored the question, “How much home is enough?”

“For all of my working life, I’ve been interested in how houses can have the highest degree of liveness, livability,” Chapin said.

New trends such as smaller living spaces have begun to make their way into the market, they said.

While Steinbrecher and Chapin were recognized individually, they have known each other since the early 1990s, when Chapin gave Steinbrecher, who worked in Canada at the time, a call.

“It was him who called and said, ‘Hi, I am Ross Chapin and I’m calling to network,’” Steinbrecher recalled.

A few years later she found herself living and working on Whidbey Island.

The work of both architects has been featured in many magazines, and they both have won major industry awards.

Chapin, for example, will be on the cover of next month’s “Building Magazine.”

Michaela Marx Wheatley can be reached at 221-5300 or mmarxwheatley@southwhidbeyrecord.com.