Mark A. Demmerle Architecture + Building

Mark Demmerle has built his career on the design and construction of residential architecture. A native of New Canaan, Connecticut, he earned his graduate degree in architecture from the University of Notre Dame, where he spent a year in the university's architectural program in Rome. Focusing on classical architecture and the design of contemporary buildings in a classical manner following precedents of Vitruvius, Palladio and Vignola, this grounding in a Beaux Arts approach had a profound influence on his design that continues to inform his work. My approach to design is first to understand the spirit of the site as my designs are site-specific; the character of the site is what informs the design response. It is important for me to experience the nature of the site throughout the seasons and plan a design that is of the site rather than on the site. I look for the poetry in the forms and how they might flow across the landscape. The characteristics of the site- water features, the nature of the landscape, rock formations, views, natural forestation-will also influence the shape of the building's footprint and the nature of the material choices. In a sense, the site is telling me what kind of building would be a welcome partner. My work serves to enhance the beauty of creation rather than compete with it. Just as there are no two places on earth that are exactly the same, no two architectural projects should be identical.