Our firm’s philosophy, motto and mission is very simple: Beautiful, Sustainable, Attainable. 

Most people appreciate and value beauty, efficiency and creativity. The people who choose to use an architect to improve their space deserve to have their spatial needs met, their individual aesthetic embraced and their budgets respected, a simple set of vital requirements that are sometimes overlooked. 

Many people have an underlying fear of architects, both budget- and design-related. They are afraid that their desires will take a back seat to another's stylistic ambitions and that these uncontrolled leaps of ego will not only bring them farther from their dream, but will cost them more than they originally imagined. 

We believe in "The Not So Big Ego," a departure from architect as sole, independent creator of another's space. This is fostered from a design process where inspiration comes from the building site and the clients' wants, needs and personalities as well as the architect's insight. All parties work together, taking one step at a time, to end up with a project tailored to each client specifically. 

Our only style is to carefully listen to, assimilate and interpret our clients' comments, and then to extract ideas and concepts from them, ones that on some level they already know they love. This guarantees high client satisfaction. Frequent communication and teaming early in the process with honest, talented and efficient builders assures the best chances of their budgets being met. Designing a new space, or renovating an existing one should be a fulfilling experience - fun and creative, and not overwhelming.

We are dedicated to creating buildings that can lead all of us towards a new way of living in harmony with the rest of our planet. This will be a process of continual research and practice, we certainly won't pretend we're at the end of this journey at this point in time.

Buildings consume around 40% of our country’s resources, and in Maine especially, surrounded with well-built buildings that have already lasted at least 150 years, we know we will live with the decisions we make today for a very long time. 

Any construction is an intrusion onto a site, so our mandate is to unlock the puzzle of designing buildings that will actually improve the air, water and world around us. This is a goal rather than a reality, so until we can get there, the first rule is to do no harm. The basics: build smarter and smaller, and carefully re-use the buildings that our ancestors built with their enormous effort and energy. 

Through teaching, lecturing, blogging and podcasting regularly on the topic, as well as our own voracious appetite for learning, our firm has developed a reputation as one of the leading building science experts in the Northeast. Tell us how we’re doing! 

Contact Kaplan Thompson Architects

REMINDER: This listing is a free service of LandCAN.
Kaplan Thompson Architects is not employed by or affiliated with the Land Conservation Assistance Network, and the Network does not certify or guarantee their services. The reader must perform their own due diligence and use their own judgment in the selection of any professional.

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Contact Kaplan Thompson Architects

102 Exchange St.
2nd Floor
Portland, Maine  04101
Phone: (207) 842-2888
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• Maine

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