Malibu --:-- PT

Halvard/Studio

A practice of patience.

Founded 2011
Malibu, California

Fourteen architects, interior designers and makers working from a converted boatbuilder’s shed on the Malibu coast. We are deliberately small — so that the people you meet first are the people who draw your building.

Aerial view of surf meeting a sandy shore
The coast — our only constant clientFig. 01

(01) Philosophy

Three principles

i.

Site before form

We spend months on the land before we draw. Wind, slope, view, the path of the sun and the oldest tree decide more than we do.

ii.

Few materials, honestly made

Five or six materials per building, left as they are. Concrete shows its boards; timber is allowed to silver; plaster is never painted.

iii.

Light is the first material

Rooms are tuned to the hour they are used: east light for breakfast, a long low beam across the living room in winter, shade in August.

(02) Process

In five movements

A typical house takes three to four years from first conversation to keys. We do not shorten the first part.

  1. 01

    Listening

    Weeks 1–6

    We walk the site at different hours and seasons, measure the light and listen to how you want to live. Nothing is drawn yet.

    → Site study, brief, feasibility

  2. 02

    Concept

    Weeks 6–14

    One idea, tested in models and sketches until it is simple enough to explain in a sentence.

    → Massing models, concept plans

  3. 03

    Development

    Months 4–9

    Plans, sections and the material palette are resolved together with engineers and the landscape team.

    → Design drawings, cost plan

  4. 04

    Permits & documents

    Months 9–16

    Coastal and local approvals; a complete construction set, down to the door handles.

    → Permit set, specifications

  5. 05

    Building & after

    Months 16+

    We stay on site weekly through construction, and return each year after handover.

    → Site supervision, aftercare

(03) People

Principals & directors

Portrait of Ines Halvard, AIA

Ines Halvard, AIA

Founding Principal

Trained in Oslo and Los Angeles. Leads every commission from first site visit to handover.

Portrait of Mateo Ruiz-Lind

Mateo Ruiz-Lind

Associate Principal

Runs the architecture team and the studio’s long conversation with coastal planners.

Portrait of Saoirse Kell

Saoirse Kell

Director of Interiors

Draws the joinery, lighting and stone schedules — and most of the furniture.

Portrait of Walter Brandt

Walter Brandt

Studio Director

Thirty years on site. Keeps budgets honest and builders happy.

With

  • Ana Okafor
  • Ben Thal
  • Céline Arroyo
  • Dev Mistry
  • Hana Sato
  • Jonah Price
  • Lucía Ferro
  • Noor Haddad
  • Pim de Wit
  • Rosa Lindqvist

All people named on this site are fictional; portraits are stock photography.

(04) Work with us

Begin a
project

Careers
Portfolios welcome each January

Telephone
(310) 555-0127