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| Amacher & Associates is a client based architecture firm in business since the 1980's and led by registered architect Franziska R. Amacher, AIA, LEED AP. As both an architect and former developer, Ms. Amacher has experience in all aspect of the building process from getting projects approved, building a team, and developing budgets to setting schedules and negotiating with contractors. Amacher & Associates has designed architecture at every scale from door knob to district such as new houses and renovations, communities and mixed-use developments and urban design. We work with groups and individual clients in a participatory design process that emphasizes the building of dynamic, connected communities. Amacher & Associates has a good working relationship with a network of consultants who are experienced in the field of sustainable design. Along with these consultants we like to involve the contractor early in the process to optimize project team interactions and contributions that each of the players of the project has to make. Our designs are based on appropriate green strategies with resource efficiency, energy efficiency, & healthy environments. We have included the following strategies in our designs: Passive & active solar space heating, solar heating of domestic hot water, energy crafted building envelopes, high efficiency appliances, water saving devices, good indoor air quality with healthy building materials, good venting and ventilation systems, use of local resources, and preservation or restoration of landscapes. Ms. Amacher is LEED accredited. At Amacher & Associates we use modern technology including 3D modeling and animated walk-through to help our clients visualize buildings and make informed decisions. These modern technologies help us to more clearly develop projects, choose materials, and present projects to a wider audience. We prefer to involve and work closely with contractors early in the process to optimize a smooth implementation of the design to the built project. The founder of Amacher And Associates, Franziska Amacher, received her Masters Degree in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has taken courses in methods for historical preservation at the Architectural Association in London. Ms. Amacher holds a degree in sociology from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and has worked as a sociologist and policy researcher. Ms. Amacher has served as co-chair of "The Committee on the Environment" at the Boston Society of Architects and is currently a Board Member of Architects, Designers, and Planners for Social Responsibility. She has studied traffic planning and associated quality of life issues and is active in advancing sustainable principles at a regional level. Ms. Amacher has taught courses in design and sustainable architecture at Wentworth Institute of Technology and at the Boston Architectural Center. Ms. Amacher has traveled extensively and is fluent in several languages. |
| Specialties and Accreditation: |
Amacher & Associates places a high priority on the balance between a building and its context. Our designs emphasize open space and a dynamic connection with daylight and the natural world. For each design we carefully consider the exterior spaces, how buildings relate to each other and how the buildings interiors relate to the exterior spaces. We believe smaller, greener, more cost and resource efficient spaces can often satisfy the programmatic needs of our clients without compromising the architectural qualities of openness, light, and grace. Our goal is to create new design solutions that are in harmony with their natural and man made surroundings. We care about the long term impact and performance of our work. Therefore we analyze: · How can we make environments that are both inspiring and functional? · Is it necessary to build or can we reconfigure the existing space? · How can we minimize resource use, especially non renewable and non reusable resources? · How can we repair environments so that they can become sustainable? · How can we create environments that promote community through social interaction? · How can we promote a sense of connectedness between building inhabitants and their surroundings? · How can we set the stage for the integration of healthy future development? We like to produce environments that are both comfortable and stimulating, be it in a residential or a commercial setting. Environments have to respond to the need for both: the calm contemplative space and the stimulating active space. Spaces should give the user opportunities to connect to nature and create designs that facilitate interactions between people and stimulate creative thinking. Creativity implies change and this means that our designs have to be adaptable to new needs. |
Presentations:
The Boston Society of Architects: Design of Cohousing
Mayor Menino's Sustainable Boston Conference: Cohousing as a Sustainable Community
International Conference of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association: Sustainable Building Strategies at New View Cohousing
Build Boston: Case Studies of Sustainable Building
Harvard School of Public Health: Quality of Life in Boston & a Sustainable Community
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association Conference at Tufts University: Building Small
Build Boston and Boston Solar Energy Association: Green Design in New England
Participant in the TV show "Green Home Renovation" |
Green Affiliate 
