DESIGN || ARCHITECTURE GUIDE + RESIDENTIAL + COMMERCIAL

Styles + Elements

A time capsule of our collective past, historical architecture must be celebrated and preserved to maintain our collective connection to the stories and people of our past: our ancestors and our neighbors. This living record of history connects us to our ancestors and cultures while preserving the evolution of human abilities.

Clues are found in structures and the grounds surrounding them. These clues tell of our evolution: the struggles we have endured, the lessons we have (hopefully) learned, and the triumphs that carried us forward. This footprint, preserved through time, tells of our many cultures—our beliefs, customs, and celebrations—along with the way people have led their daily lives.

As we continue into the future, we must focus on redevelopment. Development must be more thoughtful about how we impact the environment and what legacy we create. Financial gain must be outweighed by our contribution. Construction must serve people over cars and communities and over big business, where quality in function, aesthetics, and sustainability is the priority in planning. Above all, wild and natural spaces must be restored and preserved to positively impact the ecosystem for future generations.

historical styles

Research & Development

Intelligent planning is well-considered—looking at the big picture along with the details—and engages the expertise of others, while knowledge gained through continued education and research is key to progress.

Planning saves time and money and creates lasting results—elements essential to success and longevity. Experience is a gateway to fuller comprehension of timelessness and the immense significance of our built environment.

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All About Community Development

Development

El Dorado Hills: on the Brink of Change

El Dorado Hills, once on track to be one of America’s best towns, still has an opportunity to lead the movement toward more thoughtful development. But, if we can’t influence a different mindset from the one currently in place, plans…

Development

Demand Elegance: Block Big Box for EDH 52

Developers recently submitted plans to construct a large-scale commercial complex on property in El Dorado Hills at the north end of highway-50, flanking Silva Valley Parkway. This land parcel, known as EDH 52, sits next to a school and directly…

USA

Finding Ambiance in El Dorado Hills, California

With little over a decade of history, this new town works to cultivate a sense of culture. While its historically-inspired buildings and manicured scenery provide the atmosphere of a village, it is the local shops that provide its character. Here in El Dorado Hills,…

Ideas

Explore Architecture

Historical Styles

Asian

c. 8th century BC – 21st century
This vast array of Asia architecture here focuses on the China, Japan, the Southeast, and the area in and around India. At once ancient and modern, Asia continues to influence the world.

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Classical

c. 6th century BC – 3rd century AD
Classical Greek and Roman architecture have provided the foundation for Western structures over the past 2,500 years—sometimes literally—seen in the Greek column orders and the Roman arch, dome and barrel vaults.

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Byzantine

c. 400 – 1453
Classical Roman techniques are evident in the Byzantine architecture—use of the arch and dome, mosaics, basic basilica form—style elements that developed during the spread of Christianity.

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Islamic

c. 630 – 1736
Architecture created by the Moors, Ottomans, Arabs, Persian, Mughals, and other followers of Muhammad is free of figures, instead decorated in intricate geometric patterns inspired by nature and mathmatics.

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Medieval

c. 1000 – 14th century
The Middle Ages were marked by instability and violence in a strongly militarized Feudal society. Builders built seemingly impregnable structures of massive scale and simple geometry.

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Gothic

c. 1140 – 1450
In the Middle Ages between the 12th and 15th centuries, new engineering feats and increased wealth in Western Europe helped evolve the Romanesque style to soaring heights found in Gothic architecture.

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Renaissance

c. 1400 – 1600
As trade flourished throughout Western Europe, the Renaissance was a period of enlightenment and rebirth of Roman architectural influences. Artistic patronage expanded for public and private showings.

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Baroque

c. 16th – 18th century
Lavish ornamentation of Baroque architecture and design in the 16th to 18th centuries was an result of the Catholic Counter-Reformation in which the displayed wealth added to the mystique of the church and ruling class.br>
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Pre-Colonization

c. 1500 BC – 1540
Before explorers landed on the shores of the Americas, natives had developed communities and empires for centuries. Building methods were based on the climate, resources and ways of living.

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Colonial

c. 16th – 18th century
Architecture in the Colonial Americas during the 16th and 17th centuries was influenced by the settlers adapting their building methods to the materials available and blending their knowledge with that of the natives.

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Neoclassical

c. 17th – 19th century
Enlightenment of the 18th century was inspired by Greek and Roman ideas just as it was during the Renaissance. Architecture symbolized order and symmetry during a time of revolution in the West.

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Victorian Era

c. 19th–early 20th century
Industry and commerce greatly influenced this Victorian period with the advancement of construction techniques using brick, machined wood, and wrought iron and glass.

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Art Nouveau

c. 1890 – 1914
The Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century, which celebrated craftsmanship, influenced future design styles inspired by nature using organic patterns or materials found in nature.

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Early Modern

c. 20th century
Through the advancement of technology and innovation in the Machine Age, new, creative expressions continue to develop out of earlier stark forms focused purely on function.

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Neo-Modern

c. late 20th – 21st century
Global issues such as climate change, an over-populated planet, and the ever-present threat to finite resources has forced humanity to work together to create long-term solutions for development.

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