Tekton Architecture, Inc.
Innovative Design/Build Team Embraces Philosophies of the Master Builder
By Tonya Poole
With more than 60 years of combined experience in architecture and construction, the team at Tekton Architecture of San Francisco - including James Walbridge, David Jacobson, Tom Carson and Andrew Sinor - brings an impressive combination of master craftsmanship and design prowess to the table.
Walbridge, founder and principal of Tekton, is both a licensed general contractor and a licensed architect - and says that the team's total project delivery is distinct. "We're both architects and builders, but more specifically, the gestalt of our company is that we're an architect-led design/build firm rooted in the tradition of the master builder," he says. "We all have extensive, hands-on construction experience and we're trained as architects. We can design a project, we can get out there and build the project, and we can manage all facets of the project. We believe that architecture and construction are inextricably linked - that it's really one process."
The team at Tekton Architecture, Inc. Seated, left to right: James A. Walbridge, AIA, and Andrew Sinor. Standing, left to right: Tom Carson, Assoc. AIA, and David Jacobson. (Photo by Bruce Schneider)
Raised and schooled in Florida, Walbridge spent time in Lake Tahoe with a mentor, designing and constructing his first home - a $2 million spec home - before moving to the Bay Area in the late 1980s. Trained as a musician, Walbridge spent time working on his chops as a drummer and learning the ropes of the Bay Area architectural market. In 1994, Walbridge broke out on his own and started Tekton Architecture as a sole proprietor. Walbridge and Sinor, a general contractor running his own company, collaborated on their first project in 1996, a retail drum shop, which received national recognition.
"After that," says Walbridge, "we formed Artisan Builders Corporation together, the construction arm of Tekton Architecture. We've been partners ever since." Sinor, a licensed general contractor for more than 20 years, is now the firm's superintendent and spends most of his time out in the field overseeing the details of each project, connecting with clients and subcontractors, and doing hands-on work for many of a project's high-end features.
This incredible site provided the opportunity of opening the living space out, engaging the city to bring it inside. All the existing openings were removed and resized to provide full height, floor to ceiling. The folding Nana window walls allowed the exterior roof deck to become an extension of the interior floor plan. Construction was performed by Constructive Works Group. (Photo by Bruce Schneider)
Associate principal Thomas Carson, associate AIA, joined the team in 2001. After working as a general contractor in Portland, OR, he went on to obtain his Master of Architecture degree from the University of New Mexico, where he focused on the art of building as a critical part of the creative process in architecture.
Tekton's newest addition, David Jacobson, came on board in 2003 from Aspen, CO, after searching for a design/build firm that was committed to the principles of the master builder. Jacobson gained his on-site, bags-on experience during his school years in Seattle, where he received his B.A. in Architecture from the University of Washington.
A clean composition of custom Macore casework anchors the north end of the living space and benefits from a 180-degree view of the San Francisco skyline. Crisp details using black granite, glass, stainless steel and terrazzo flooring complete the picture and complement the party of the cabinets to create a unique space. (Photo by Bruce Schneider)
Collectively, the team brings unique perspectives, backgrounds and talent to every Tekton project, from conceptual design to the finished details, an advantage they all agree places the firm in a formidable position in their market.
"The ride can be bumpy sometimes, but that's OK," says Walbridge. "Ebb and flow is inherent to the industry. But I enjoy being able to navigate those things fluidly. And the whole team effort is crucial. I may be good at what I do, but if I'm not surrounded by other people who complement and support the vision for the project, then the project doesn't work." With Tekton's in-house staff, their subs and vendors, they are able to deliver a successful product to their clients.
This master bath became an exercise in sublime detailing evolving from numerous design studies. Every detail was carefully reviewed individually, and as part of the whole, to witness a space that blurred the distinction between bathroom and art. The custom precast concrete vanity commands attention as the attendant bathroom components revolve around it. (Photo by Bruce Schneider)
A jewel-like moment in the master bath where the design comes together in a subtle, yet refined quality where one would typically not expect. (Photo by Bruce Schneider)
Walbridge says his favorite part of the process is interacting with clients, watching the relationship grow from the start of the project through the final phases, and watching the trust develop as the client watches the team doing exactly what they say they'll do - actualizing their dreams in the process.
That trust is established, in part, through the team's project path - a unique and critical process they consider to be at the heart of every successful job. Each client is provided with a set of benchmarks at every stage of the project, from schematic design through punch-out, by which they can then measure what's happening, keeping clients closely involved throughout the process.
Another service Tekton provides is costing in each one of the design phases for a project. "This is unique," says Carson, "certainly among architects. Typically a client will contract an architect and builder separately, and costing is generally done after the design is complete. In the Bay Area market, cost is a critical factor for most projects and having a project come in 30, 50 or even 200 percent over budget after the design phase isn't uncommon. By putting our clients in the driver's seat every step of the way, we avoid that. That, in essence, is what makes us peerless."
The tub was given the same respect as the furniture and interior trim with its own custom cradle and setting looking out at Mount Tamalpais. A unique stone-slab wainscoting unites the space and becomes the shower in the adjacent corner. (Photo by Douglas Johnson)
This elegant master bath remodel evidenced an entirely custom solution where no detail was spared. The design goal focused on individual Anegre casework pieces as furniture, all designed to work cohesively and support each other within the composition. (Photo by Douglas Johnson)
The team says that potential clients understand as early as the interview process that they're dealing with a different kind of company, and Jacobson says they respond very strongly to the convenience and the piece of mind that comes with having a single point of contact and responsibility throughout a project.
Although each of their projects is a story unto itself, with its own unique twists, turns, challenges and rewards - a common thread exists throughout each of them: the constant search for ways to achieve the highest degree of resolution possible within every client's budget. "We find some opportunity, some chance to take an element and elevate it, create a moment from it," Walbridge says. "And that really becomes the centerpiece of the project where clients often focus their emotion, all of the intangible things they were hoping their home would reflect and all the tangible ways that manifests itself in the built environment. We design for that moment."
To learn more about Tekton Architecture, Inc., visit the team online at tektonarchitecture.com, or give the office a call at (415) 863-2232.
October 2006 Builder Architect Edition Issue