Walker Warner Architects designs enduring spaces for inspired living.
A soaring Pacific Heights home designed by Walker Warner Architects
When Brooks Walker and Greg Warner started Walker Warner Architects in 1989, it was to design two spec homes in Hillsborough. While their early work was relatively modest, they have built a stellar reputation over the years and taken on larger, more complex designs. Together with two other principals, Mike McCabe and Kathy Scott, and a team of 70 talented staff members, the firm now has diverse clients and projects in the western United States and Hawaii, including many single-family homes, wineries and resorts.
The winery’s light-filled public space incorporates many natural elements.
According to McCabe, the architectural firm’s work always starts with the client’s goals and the project site. “Our goal is to create stunning, inspiring, highly crafted architecture that lives well for our clients and feels appropriate and timeless for the site where it’s located,” he says. “This approach holds true whether we’re working on a personal residence or a hospitality venue for a winery.”
Walker Warner designed the wine-tasting areas at Flowers Vineyard & Winery in Healdsburg.
In fact, the site always drives the design for the firm’s projects. “With a wide range of project sites, both on the mainland and in Hawaii, as well as situated in locations that might be rural or urban, on the coast or in the mountains, there’s a lot to inspire us,” Scott says. “While each principal has a slightly different approach, our work consistently focuses on the connection of our buildings to the immediate and distant landscape as well as the importance of materiality, attention to detail and livability.”
A pavilion at Quintessa in St. Helena reveals Walker Warner Architects’ knack for blending nature and great design.
For Walker Warner Architects, design is about using durable materials and creating work that stands the test of time. “For residential work, that means thinking about the client’s full life cycle,” Warner says. “A home has to be versatile enough to accommodate life changes without requiring a renovation every 10 years.”
Photography by: PHOTOS COURTESY OF WALKER WARNER ARCHITECTS;
