15 Young Firms to Watch: Chen + Suchart Studio, Phoenix

chen + suchart studio
phoenix
www.chensuchartstudio.com

Thamarit Suchart and Patricia Chen Suchart have been partners—both professionally and personally—for a long time. They went through the Rhode Island School of Design and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design together, marrying after moving to Phoenix in 2002. There they found work in separate offices—Thamarit at Wendell Burnette Architects and Patricia at Jones Studio—but soon they were working together again. Patricia resigned to start Chen + Suchart Studio in 2003. Thamarit kept his day job, devoting nights and early mornings to the family firm, until 2010. Together at the helm at last, they now devote their efforts solely to their own work, which marries precise modern geometries with the timeless Southwest landscape.

Almost diagrammatic in their simplicity, Chen + Suchart houses reflect the partners’ immersive approach to construction detail and their interest in exploring the potential of such everyday materials as concrete block and rusted steel. “How do you take something so utilitarian and elevate it?” Thamarit asks. The answer begins in design, but depends equally on execution. “My wife and I take great pride in the construction process and working with the contractors and subcontractors,” he says. “We’re not just drawing things and handing them off to people; we’re following through.”

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years in practice: 8 / projects completed in 2011: 0 (3 currently under construction) / firm size: 2 / area of interest: residential