The largest city in New Mexico, Albuquerque is known for its favorable economy and thriving arts community. Because of the impressive and inviting parks and gardens—and the mouthwatering local food scene—the city has attracted people looking for a life balance that includes rural relaxation and urban excitement. Homes here carry an affordable median price of $205,000. Albuquerque has a myriad of talented architects that design homes that subtly blend with the surroundings and highlight Albuquerque’s distinctive atmosphere. Aside from creating homes that are beautiful and unusual, these architects also take advantage of New Mexico’s sunny weather to incorporate eco-friendly features.
Some of the architects and residential designers on this list have been around for decades; some are fresh faces. Some of these skilled architects are members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and are LEED Accredited. Others have created homes featured in publications like the New York Times, New Mexico Magazine, Su Casa, Albuquerque Business Journal, and Atlas Obscura.
If you are thinking about building a custom home, we recommend checking each builder’s license with the local licensing board, speaking to past clients, and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes from at least 3 contractors. Getting multiple bids is the best way to ensure you get a fair price and that bids include the complete scope of work.
This list includes both licensed architects and residential designers who can both 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. On the other hand, if you want to learn more about the cost of building a custom home in Albuquerque, check out our cost guide article.
Baker Architecture + Design
505 Central Ave., NW, Suite E, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Established in 2002, Baker Architecture + Design provides full architectural services for residential, commercial, and educational markets. The firm’s projects have earned features in Albuquerque Journal and Albuquerque Business First. The firm has designed many notable homes in Albuquerque and Lamy.
Dubbed Tres Picos, this Lamy home’s biggest challenge was its schematic design. Ideally, windows in a northern New Mexico home are placed on the south façade of the building. Yet most of the beautiful views are on the north side of this particular home. In order to provide views of both the north and south, Baker Architecture + Design incorporated north windows to show the Sangro de Castro mountains while clerestory dormers were integrated into vaulted ceilings to collect light from the south.
Mark Rea Baker heads Baker Architecture + Design. Before his career as the firm’s principal, Baker graduated from a number of impressive schools. He picked up a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Oklahoma. At UCLA, he earned his master’s degree in architecture. Soon after, he went abroad for one semester at the University of England. Baker has also taught in studios at USC and UNM.
Bart Prince Architects
3501 Monte Vista NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Established in 1973, Bart Prince Architecture has been featured in numerous publications including Architectural Digest, Archello, Trend Magazine Global, and Atlas Obscura for designs that make onlookers gawk at their inspiring, fascinating oddity. Bart Prince is the principal founder of the firm that produces such unique blueprints. A graduate of Arizona State University, Prince has designed homes across the American Southwest, among many other locations. He was an associate with Bruce Goff on the design of the Pavillion for Japanese Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Prince’s firm designs homes for clients in New Mexico, Utah, and California. One of the firm’s most notable works is the Bradford residence in Albuquerque.
A two-story home, this residence has a number of notable features including mountain views from all directions. Roofs that are suspended from the structure from above allow for unobstructed views. Bart Prince Architects does not shy from unpredictability and unrestricted creativity.
DNCA Architects
125 Jefferson Street NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108
DNCA Architects is an Albuquerque-based firm known for designing modern spaces where light is abundant. The firm was established in 2002 by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) accredited architect Devendra Narayan. With 35 years’ worth of experience in design and construction, Narayan has an architectural style that shows a balanced understanding of the tectonics and the poetics of architecture. One great example of his expertise is the Montclaire Residence which caters to the homeowners’ art collection. The project includes a master bedroom addition that has a corrugated surface which blends with the corrugated roof. The addition also has a black steel trim at a deeply recessed window which thematically reinforces the motifs of several metal sculptures in the homeowners’ collection.
With homes like this in its portfolio, the firm has been recognized with features in Albuquerque Journal North and Santa Fe Trend. The firm was also recently honored with AIA Albuquerque’s 2015 Honor Award, the 2015 Jeff Harnar award for contemporary architecture, and AIA Albuquerque’s 2014 honor award for its work on the Levitated Toy Factory.
Equiterra Regenerative Design
142 Truman St., NE Ste A-1, Albuquerque, NM 87107
Established in 2000, Equiterra Regenerative Design has designed homes that stand harmoniously alongside nature. Because of these residences, the firm has been featured in Green Builder Magazine and was honored with the 2017 Cayman Islands Governor’s Award—an award that encourages, fosters, and maintains design innovation, sustainability, and excellence in the Cayman Islands construction industry. The firm has designed for clients in Albuquerque, Corrales, Sandia Park, and even Aspen, Colorado. An especially striking creation is the Cottonwood home in Albuquerque. LEED Gold certified, this home makes use of recycled elemental materials and has a design that visually and physically combines the indoors and outdoors. The residence has a cozy library tucked behind the living room fireplace. A master suite is set at the far end of the house with private access to the pool and spa. Taking advantage of space, catwalks and lofts were integrated and connect the first and second floors.
The firm currently has co-founders Kent Beierle and Stace McGee at the helm. Kent functions as the firm’s principal. During his career, he has worked on various custom hospitality and resort projects with a special focus on ecotourism. He uses that experience to raise the environmental awareness of design professionals, developers, and other fellow architects by leading sustainable design charrettes. Stace, meanwhile, is responsible for all aspects of LEED for single and multi-family projects. As a LEED Fellow, McGee regularly presents at conferences across the US and the Caribbean to educate participants about the value of sustainable design.
Jon Anderson Architecture
912 Roma Ave., NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Jon Anderson Architecture is most recognized for designs that exhibit a balanced composition of geometric shapes. Aside from homes that often boast modern aesthetics, the firm’s creations have also proven innovative and progressive. These designs have been recognized by publications like Residential Design, Trend, Su Casa, and New Mexico Magazine. These projects have also won awards like AIA New Mexico and Albuquerque’s Design Citation Awards. One of its homes that possess these awards is the Patton residence. A modern home that won AIA Albuquerque’s 2017 Design Citation Award and AIA New Mexico’s 2018 Design Citation Award, it is a dynamic and powerful structure set on the Sandia Mountains and was designed in a way that intimately harmonizes with its surroundings.
Crafted with a butterfly roof that gently tilts towards the main entry, it is drastically pointed towards the mountains in order to give the homeowners a spectacular view of the mountain ridge from the inside. Alongside beautifully shaped angles, this home has a façade of traditional cement stucco that incorporates the mountain’s earthy colors. The home’s stained and polished concrete floors match the site soils, the interior’s warm pine ceiling, and the interior earth clay plaster. As demonstrated in this home, Jon Anderson Architecture’s designs not only take account of the structure’s site placement, but minimize building and costs by considering the environmental impacts of heat gain, heat loss, and daylighting.
Lee Gamelsky Architects
2412 Miles Rd., SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Award-winning Lee Gamelsky Architects creates homes based on culture, context, history, and location. Its holistic approach to architecture has been recognized in various publications including Albuquerque Journal, NM Business Weekly, and Taunton Press. Its commercial work is equally celebrated: its work on the APS Career Enrichment Center earned the 2017 AIA New Mexico Merit Award.
A beautiful example of its expertise is the Di Rio residence in Albuquerque. A 2,540 square foot residence that exhibits multiple indoor and outdoor spaces, this home has an orientation, and design— coupled with landscape materials—that smoothly connects the interior to New Mexico’s gorgeous exterior. Aside from the unique architecture, the Di Rio residence also incorporates sustainable designs such as high-performance glazing with solar control, LED light fixtures, rainwater harvesting, energy-efficient HVAC, PV panels, and natural ventilation through the stair tower.
Firm principal Lee Gamelsky guides the firm in each project it handles. He is a hands-on architect known for being enthusiastic, energetic, and committed to crafting unique homes that cater to his clients’ personalities. Gamelsky has a 33-year old membership with the AIA, and he has served as a board member and a past Director of the Education Committee. He is also a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Natural Historic Preservation Association, the American Planning Association, the American Association of Museums, and the Society for College and University Planning.
Richard Schalk
1606 Old Town Rd., NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
Established in 1981, Richard Schalk is well versed in creating designs for the commercial, hospitality, and residential markets. When it comes to residential homes, the firm has been recognized for creating residences that express the client’s personal aesthetics. Clients praise the firm for its flexibility and sensitivity to client needs. The firm offers complete packages, from design conception to interior design, since it is affiliated with the design-build company, Akamai Group.
Aside from its affiliations, principal architect, Richard Schalk has more than 40 years of experience in architecture. Schalk has provided various types of work: custom homes, home remodels and renovations, tenant improvements, retail spaces, dental offices, and hospitality projects.
Sam Sterling Architecture
924 2nd Street NW, Suite C, Albuquerque NM 87102
A firm that has experience crafting homes for clients across the Southwest, Arizona, and Texas, Sam Sterling Architecture has established long term relationships with agencies, clients, consultants, and contractors. These ongoing relationships have brought the firm a number of awards for excellence in design/sustainability. One great example of the firm’s work is the contemporary styled Escarpment House. A home that boasts a panoramic view of central New Mexico, it centers around an inner courtyard. On the eastern side of the home is the floor to ceiling Pella panorama window that gives a full view of the Sandia Mountains. This home has been featured in Su Casa and Fraise Magazine. Along with these features, the firm has also been honored with awards such as AIA Albuquerque’s 2013 honor and 2016 citation design awards.
Sam Sterling functions as this firm’s principal architect. With over 19 years of design and project management on various buildings including private residences, large university buildings, federal court buildings, and public museums, Sterling has been in charge of over $200 million worth of projects.
Siegel Design Architects, LLC
1006 Park Ave., SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Siegel Design Architects brings almost four decades of architectural experience to the table. Jonathan and Carolyn Seigel manage the firm. Ir provides programming, designing, and detailing projects for the medical, corporate, commercial, and residential markets. The firm’s primary design goals include energy conservation and the maximization of natural light. The firm has been featured in the pages of Albuquerque Monthly, Metropolitan Homes, Sunset Magazine, Metal Architecture, Fine Homebuilding, and the New York Times.
With their combined experience and skills, the duo has built beautiful homes like the Gorham strip residence. Set in a privately held valley fully surrounded by a National Forest, this unique home offers a harmonious mix of indoor-outdoor experiences. A whole wall of folding glass opens to a pasture and mountain cliffs. Thick walls of rammed earth and concrete with exposed steel framing combines ancient and contemporary styles. Homes like these gained the firm honors like AIA Western Mountain Region’s Merit award for design and AIA New Mexico’s Merit award for residential design.
Treveston Elliott Architect
811 12th St., NW, Albuquerque NM 87102
Treveston Elliott Architect is a 16-year old firm known for the modern and contemporary homes that it has crafted over the years. Just one of these homes is a charming residence called the SNAP House. A contemporary home, this single-story residence enunciates the minimalist style of living with only the striking colors of cream and ochre red. Modern furniture and lights highlight its aesthetic. The firm has many other beautiful homes in its portfolio—all of them crafted by principal architect Treveston Elliott. In 1998, Elliot received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Mexico.
Soon after graduation, he started his career in the office of Antoine Predock Architect where he eventually became a project designer in the course of seven years. Currently, he guides the firm in crafting commercial, mixed-use, and residential projects and is known for practicing high-density urban infill development. The firm’s work has been featured in the pages of Albuquerque Journal and Albuquerque Business First.
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Read our latest articles on the best contractors in and near Albuquerque. If you don’t see your city below, just let us know – we are happy to create a tailored recommendation list just for you.
Best Custom Home Builders in Albuquerque
Best Custom Home Builders in New Mexico
Best Residential Architects in Texas
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This list takes a range of ranking criteria into consideration, including but not limited to: work history, customer satisfaction, awards and recognition, geographic area of work, cost, building permits, and clientele. We spent over 40 hours researching local contractors before calculating the final ranking for this post. If there is additional information about your business that could affect these rankings, please fill out this form and we will take it into consideration.
Get Bids For Your Build
If you are thinking about building a custom home, we recommend checking each builder’s license with the local licensing board, speaking to past clients, and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes from at least 3 contractors. Getting multiple bids is the best way to ensure you get a fair price and that bids include the complete scope of work.
