Many lifestyle and home experts often point to the Hamptons as having one of the best collections of exquisite houses and estates in the world, while also doubling as a leading summer destination for wealthy homeowners. That’s why there’s such demand for the best Residential Architects and Designers in the Hamptons to create amazing properties. The string of communities in the Hamptons became known as gleaming pedestals for leading architects to exhibit their design aesthetics. Though the hamlets in Hamptons are known for their ‘Old World’, shingle style houses, contemporary homes sporting sharper, more distinct aesthetics have been built in the area in recent years.
Architects, professionally, carry responsibilities that have serious ramifications: not only are they concerned with the design and the surroundings of their subject site, but also the safety of those who will construct the building, and of those who live in it. The best architects understand the aesthetics and functionality of a structure, and how it will affect its occupants’ lifestyles.
This list includes both licensed architects and residential designers who can design stunning homes but differ in other services offered. Architects are trained in design, engineering, and project management and have passed a licensing exam. Residential designers typically don’t manage projects and plans will need to be approved by a structural engineer. Whether you choose to hire an architect or a residential designer will depend on your project needs and complexity.
The Up Studio
69 Main Street, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978
The Up Studio is an award-winning architecture, interior, and brand design studio that enhances people’s lives through concept-driven work. The firm uses a thoughtful design strategy to create designs that meet the needs of its clients and projects.
The Up Studio team believes that every design has a story to tell. To share that story, the firm employs a multidisciplinary approach that combines broad ideas, diligent organization, and innovative tools, presented within a coherent narrative. John Patrick Winberry is among the firm’s leaders. He encourages enthusiasm for all stages of a project—especially the production stage—to be shared with clients.
Bruce Nagel + Partners Architects
69 Main Street, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978
Since 1984, Bruce Nagel, AIA, RIBA, has been designing for the Hamptons. The University of Texas at Austin Architecture alumnus began his career in New York soon after earning his master’s degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. The firm has since designed private residences, offices, churches, hotels, and restaurants, earning multiple honors from the AIA New York and Long Island Chapters, as well as Dan’s Papers’ Hall of Fame Award in 2014 and the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) Top Architect of the Year in 2019. In 2018, Bruce Nagel + Partners Architects (BN+PA) started a partnership with David Walker, AIA, NCARB, who has been Nagel’s trusted associate since 1999. Walker brings over 25 years of experience designing prestigious private residences as well as luxury retail spaces for clients such as Neiman Marcus and Macy’s to leading the Chicago office, while Nagel remains the managing partner and head of the New York operations.
This Greco-Roman temple-like estate overlooking the Atlantic conceals an older structure at its core. The client wanted to update and expand the home for his family yet keep it intact, against the architects’ first instincts. This was what inspired BN+PA to create the enclosing frame. White stucco-clad columns and trellises extend from the core, creating viewing porches around the structure. The white walls and blend of curvatures and flat planes continue in the interior, accentuated by colorful furniture and art pieces hanging alongside the views framed by the windows.
CCS Architecture
180 Varick Street #930, New York, NY 10014
Cass Calder Smith Architecture + Interiors, founded in 1990, has already designed a number of public and private structures that are consistently met with praise. The firm maintains offices in both San Francisco and New York City, and typically works with commercial, community, and residential projects.
Cass Calder Smith, founder of the firm, received both his Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Smith is also a lecturer at UC Berkeley and a Trustee of the Board for the Djerassi Resident Artist Program. Though he is today a modernist who designs with bold imagery, Smith’s earlier influences were that of Greenwich Village and California artisans.
Cass Calder Smith Architecture + Interiors has been featured in Dering Hall, Silicon Valley, Objekt, Elle Decor, Beach Architecture Issue, Luxe, New York Spaces, Interior Design, Interior Design, and Elle Sojourn.
Martin Architects
2913 Montauk Highway, Box 405, Sagaponack, NY 11962
Martin Architects provides full architectural design service for their clients, including interior design, engineering design, master planning, and house and site evaluation. The firm has been designing high end, residential homes in the Hamptons, the New York City area, Connecticut, New Jersey, Baltimore, and even beyond the United States, in Costa Rica, Portugal, and the Caribbean.
The firm, founded by Nick Martin in 1998, provides project proposals tailored to individual clients and conditions, while also considering the aesthetic and technical requirements of the project.
In addition, the firm includes sustainable building practices in their projects, including energy efficient systems and the use of recycled materials. Martin Architects is a member of the US Green Building Council.
Steven Harris Architects
50 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007
Steven Harris Architects’ portfolio boasts an impressive collection of projects ranging from townhouses to private residences, and has also been involved in both public and private commissions. Steven Harris Architects sees to it that the design process is specifically tailored to match each client – making for a design with a personalized touch.
The firm’s founding partner, Steven Harris, received his education at New College, Rhode Island School of Design, and Princeton University. The firm’s two other partners, John Woell and Elliot Lee, joined in 1995. Since the firm’s establishment in 1985, Steven Harris Architects has received numerous American Institute of Architects awards.
Steven Harris Architects has been featured in publications including Stone Houses, Galerie, Luxe, Architectural Digest, Esquire, Ocean, Veranda, Elle Decor, Interior Design, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and Elle Decor
Selldorf Architects
860 Broadway At Union Square, New York, NY 10003
Selldorf Architects, founded by Annabelle Selldorf in 1988, is a boutique architectural firm focusing on the individual experience. The firm’s residential works – spread out across the in the Hamptons and areas in New York City, predominantly evoke modernity with a touch of humanism.
Selldorf was born and raised in Germany, and nd earned her Masters of Architecture degree from Syracuse University in Italy. Selldorf is a fellow of the American Institute of Architecture, and a recipient of its 2016 Medal of Honor.
Selldorf Architects offers architectural services, interior design, exhibition design, master planning, landscape concepts, and strategic planning for residential and commercial buildings.The firm’s projects have been featured in Financial Times, Architectural Digest, Upstate Diary, The London Times, Abitare, Town and Country, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
Sawyer Berson
235 Park Avenue South, 11th Floor,New York, Ny 10003
New York City-based Sawyer Berson specializes in interdisciplinary work relating to architectural design, landscape, and interior design.
Sawyer Berson is adept in working with various architectural styles – both be traditional and contemporary – while also seeking to create new and unique styles. Before designing, the firm approaches their designs with intensive research in related elements such us the project’s contextual, technical, and historical contexts.
Brian Sawyer and John Berson, who co-founded the firm in 1999, are both highly-experienced. Berson has been practicing architecture for more than 30 years, while Sawyer specializes in landscape architecture. The firm has designed exceptional houses in both the Hamptons, and in New York City.
Sawyer Berson has been featured in Galerie, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Vogue, New York Design, Luxe, Wall Street Journal, Garden Design, Landscape Architecture, and The Hamptons. The firm is currently working on two notable residential projects located in Watermill and Southampton.
Z|O|H Architects
219 Pantigo Road, East Hampton, NY
Z|O|H Architects is steeped in the Hamptons’ architectural history, and as such, specializes in designing shingle homes that reflect the quintessential Hamptons look.
The firm, established in 1988, offers clients end-to-end service management from ‘concept to occupancy’, which includes floor plans, design and development, construction documents, bidding, negotiating, and construction oversight.
The firm, led by Gregory W. Zwirko, Robert W. Ortmann, and Michele S. Hugo, approaches architecture with an atelier, or ‘design studio’ ,in which working together and making connections both contribute to the design process. The firm advocates fluid collaboration between clients and the design team to produce unique works.
The firm’s work have been featured in Luxe Magazine, East Hampton Star Newspaper, Dream Homes, The New York Times, New York Newsday, and House Magazine. In addition, the firm has received the AIA Peconic Chapter Honor Design Award for their Amagansett Free Library Project.
MB Architects
7 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, NY 11937
By working in the city and in rural areas, MB Architects is able to focus on the relationship between human settlement and nature – as seen widely in their works. MB Architects, led by Maziar Behrooz, has built various types of structures, from multi-residential, cultural, and commercial, to private residences. The firm builds in the Hamptons, as well as in other countries as far reaching as Germany, Austria, Kenya, and China.
Notably, the firm is committed to building sustainable houses in a way that the design itself is incorporated into – or part of-the environment. MB Architects seeks to aim for maximization of natural habitats.
The firm has won House of the Year for their innovative Arc House, as well as several AIA Peconic Honor Awards in different categories, including merit and juror categories.In addition, the firm’s work has been featured in publications including Pulse, End Magazine, The East Hampton Star, NY Post, The New York Times, CNN Money, HC&G, and Hyland Magazine.
Fleetwood McMullan Architects
251 Pantigo Road, East Hampton, NY 11937
Fleetwood McMullan Architects designs houses that exude the aesthetic of the classic, shingle Hamptons style. The firm, headed by Francis Fleetwood and James McMullan, has been at work for more than 30 years.
The firm approaches architecture with ‘balance’ – reinterpreting the past, but building accordingly to modern standards. The firm doesn’t call its work modern nor historical, but ‘contextually based’ on their client. Ultimately, the firm strives to bring the best representation of their clients to their designs, with the community and environment in mind.
Fleetwood McMullan’s designs are built in the areas of Southampton, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, Amagansett, and Montauk. They have been featured in publications such as Naomi Leff Interior Design, The Art of a Working Building, Bathrooms, Gardens for the New Country Place, and Home Styling.
Bates Masi + Architects
132 North Main Street, 2nd Floor, East Hampton, NY 11937
Bates Masi + Architects is an award-winning architectural firm based in the Hamptons. The firm, steered by its leaders Paul Masi and Harry Bates, focuses on designing projects that enrich the lives of their clients, while maintaining sensitivity to the environment, no matter the project size.
Bates Masi has been providing services for over 50 years, and has specializes in a variety of building projects, including residences, schools, offices, and restaurants. The firm’s approach includes in-depth research of material, craft and environment.
Bates Masi has received over a hundred and fifty recognitions for their work, including the HC&G Innovator of the Year, Wm. S. Marvin Hall of Fame, Ocean Home Top 50 Coastal Architects, Cooper-Hewitt Design Award Nominations, 2018 East End Design Awards, and Luxe RED Design Award, as well as several AIA awards, .
In addition, the firm has been featured in Architectural Record, Dwell, Interior Design, Elle Decor, The New York Times, HC&G, and Coastal Living.
Pamela Glazer Architect
54 Eastway Drive, Southampton, NY 11968
Pamela Glazer Architect aims to simplify home design – while considering a number of factors including the client’s overall daily routine, and the surroundings of the site. The result is a carefully constructed, personalized architectural design suited to each client.
Pamela Glazer, the founder of the firm, routinely uses clean designs, light, air, and bold colors in designing for her clients’ needs. The firm offers an array of services including architectural designs, home extensions, remodels, and new house design, as well as sustainable building practices.. Pamela Glazer handles all the necessary building permits, and is also involved in finding the right general contractor for the project. Pamela Glazer herself is LEED Certified.
The firm is currently building in the areas of Bridgehampton, Hampton Bays, Watermill, Montauk, Sagaponack, and Sag Harbor, among others. The firm has been featured in Beach, The New York Times, Curbed Hamptons, Dan’s Papers, Hamptons magazine, Long Island Pulse Magazine, and The East Hampton Star.
Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects
48 Foster Avenue, PO Box 3002, Bridgehampton, NY 11932
With over 40 year of experience in coastal and residential architecture as well as interior design services, SLR Architects are best known for their sensitive and seemingly effortless work, always catering to the individual or groups as a collaborative effort. Founded by Frederick Stelle, and later joined by partners Michael Lomont and Viola Rouhani, the firm strives to make the process of designing a house enjoyable for clients. The firm approaches architecture collaboratively, with the promise that every project is client-centered.
Stelle Lomont Rouhani caters to high profile clients, offering architectural design, drawings, floor plans, home additions, project management, and energy-efficient amenities. The firm builds primarily on the East End, but also in all the places that is mentioned under international recognition. They have built in central Europe, Florida, the Carribean, and the Mediterranean.
With the landscape and context serving as the primary inspiration, each project is designed to uniquely respond to its surroundings and owner needs. This philosophy has won the award winning firm both local and international recognition from Coastal Long Island, the Caribbean, Europe and the Mediterranean. The firm builds in the areas of Amagansett, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, East Hampton North, New Suffolk, North Haven, Southampton, Wainscott, and Watermill.
The firm has been recognized as a finalist for the East End Design Awards, included in the Ocean Home 50: Top Coastal Architects of 2017, and has received numerous design awards on the East End, Long Island, and New York City. In addition, the firm has been featured in publications such as The Independent, The Real Deal, Ocean Home Magazine, Residential Design, Hamptons Magazine, Luxe, the East Hampton Star, New York Times and the Guardian.
Alexander Gorlin
137 Varick Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10013
For the past 30 years, Alexander Gorlin Architects has been consistently excelling in the design of high end properties – both residential, commercial, as well as other building types. A prolific and highly-cited architect, founder Alexander Gorlin begun designing in Manhattan after returning from Rome where he won a Rome Prize in Architecture.
Gorlin is adept in applying modernist principles in his design projects, and often uses natural materials and light for the comfort of his clients. Gorlin is a graduate of the Cooper Union School of Architecture, and received his Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture. is work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
Gorlin is well known for designing luxury homes for high profile clients located in New York, Florida, and beyond. His work has been featured in essays which appeared in publication including the Architectural Record, Architectural Digest, and Metropolis. To date, Gorlin has won numerous American Institute of Architects awards, and was honored to become one of its Fellows.
Blaze Makoid Architecture
7 Tradesman Path, Suite 4, Bridgehampton, NY 11932
Blaze Makoid Architecture, as shown in its portfolio, brings to life modern architecture and modern life. The firm specializes in designing luxury residential houses located in in-demand locations for high profile clients. Blaze Makoid founded the firm in 2001, 15 years after graduating from Rhode Island School of Design in 1985.
Blaze Makoid Architecture boasts a line of modern and functional creations – often making use of the site’s natural surroundings to enhance the structure’s features and make it seamlessly blend.
Unsurprisingly, the firm has received numerous awards pertaining to its superb work,
including the Mountain Home Award, Honor Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Architecture Category by the Peconic Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Archi Award Commendation for Outstanding Achievement in the residential Single Family,and a citation from the New York Chapter of American Institute of Architects Design Awards.
The firm’s work has been prominently featured in the The New York Times, Contemporist, Architecture Digest, Dering Hall, Luxe, Interior Design, and Elle Decor.
Barnes Coy Architecture
1936 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton, NY 11932
Barnes Coy Architects is a prolific designer responsible for some 250 well-designed projects in the Hamptons, Colorado, Central American, and the Caribbean. Its founders, Robert Barnes and Christopher Coy, made it a point to simplify the firm’s design philosophy: Interaction with the client produces the best design possible.
Barnes and Coy assure clients that they are always personally involved in every project to make sure that the requirements are fully executed. The firm also maintains a strong on-site presence during the construction phase.
The firm has received several recognitions for its work, including being named as one of the Top 50 Coastal Architects by Ocean Home Magazine, and having received the HC&G Innovation in Design Award in 2011, 2012, and 2013, as well as two International Property Awards. In addition, the firm has been featured in publications such as American House, Luxe, Beach, Hamptons, Purist, and the Luxury of Home.
Bruce Nagel and Partners Architects
153 Chardonnay Drive East Quogue, New York, 11942
Bruce Nagel and Partners Architects has been designing highly-acclaimed houses in the Hamptons for 34 years. Its founder, Bruce D. Nagel, has a rich history in architectural design. From having received his Master of Architecture degree from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, he went on to work on many celebrated projects, became a lecturer in Boston Architectural Center, and a guest critic in several architecture design schools.
For the firm, client satisfaction takes precedence. No matter the size and location of a project, it strives to have well-satisfied clients who enjoy their homes. The firm’s residential projects include country houses, beach houses, and townhouse renovations, among others. The firm offers full-service house design, from site and amenities evaluation up to the general layout and selection of paints and other minute details. For their work, Bruce Nagel and Partner Architects has been featured in several publications such as Luxury of Home, Hamptons Magazine, Picture Elements Catalog, Behind the Hedges, Architectural Digest, and Dan’s Papers.
