Charlotte—North Carolina’s “Queen City”—has a distinct atmosphere and vibrancy. This city’s residences and structures reflect its history, including the early inhabitants’ Victorian and Italianate home designs. Charlotte has a flourishing and rich architectural past.
Our staff has studied the work of residential architects in Charlotte to assist you in finding the best residential architect for your dream home. Based on their portfolios, accolades, and media recognition, we have compiled a list of the area’s top contractors.
Don Duffy Architecture
301 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28207
Don Duffy Architecture is a full-service architectural practice that works with a diverse group of private clients and builders. Unlike many other companies, the firm focuses on residential architecture and the client’s vision. Its traditional designs honor an artistic statement that has survived the passage of time. Much of the firm’s work can be found in the older Charlotte neighborhoods of Eastover, Dilworth, and Myers Park, including exquisite renovations that flawlessly merge new and old.
Don Duffy Architecture was founded in Charlotte in 1995; its projects can be found throughout the state as well as South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Don Duffy, the company’s founder, has 30 years of experience designing private homes and providing renovations. This highly competent, motivated team collaborates to guarantee that clients receive assistance and have a pleasant experience. He has spent his entire career handling the varying demands of single-family home construction. His technical knowledge and unwavering passion for homes have produced a lengthy list of delighted customers. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Architecture.
Cluck Design
1530 Elizabeth Avenue, Suite #200, Charlotte, NC 28204
Cluck Design Collaborative is a Charlotte-based architecture practice founded on a shared appreciation for customized solutions and the accessibility of design. Co-founders Kevin Kennedy and Chris Scorsone have put together an impressive portfolio of private homes, retail facilities, restaurants, furniture, and even repurposed shipping containers after over a decade in business. As the name implies, the firm works with other architects, builders, artists, and craftspeople who work outside of the standard architectural model. As a result, the design is smart, socially responsible, and enriches people’s lives.
Kevin got experience as a lead designer and project architect with Shook Kelley, providing furniture design, retail and storefront design, corporate office, mixed-use, and urban planning. Kevin is a licensed architect who has taught design and digital representation methodologies as a Guest Professor at UNCC. He also gives seminars and analyzes student work regularly.
Chris managed the design work for various project types as a Design Director for Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, including corporate offices, retail banks, restaurants, universities, urban planning, and landscape design. He advocates for green design and building approaches.
Meyer Greeson Paullin Benson
320 S Tryon Street, Unit #222, Charlotte, NC 28202
Meyer Greeson Paullin Benson is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based architecture and interior design firm. The firm attempts to blend traditional style, regional identity, and personal demands through its comprehensive design vision. It was founded in 1979 and depends on years of experience to provide an architectural approach tailored to each client and site. Its mission has always been to create locations that improve the lives of its customers.
Meyer Greeson Paullin Benson provides a wide variety of services to take a project from conception to completion. Its collaborative approach assures project success by maintaining open lines of communication with clients and contractors throughout the construction process. The practice holds memberships with the Institute of Classical Architecture, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, American Society of Interior Designers, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
Ruard Veltman Architecture + Interior
104 Baldwin Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28204
Ruard Veltman Architecture + Interiors is a full-service, single-family house design firm well-versed in various historical styles. The firm merges classic and timeless style with organic and modernist features. The firm was founded in 2005. You can find the firm’s work throughout North Carolina, California, New York, Maine, Colorado, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Indiana.
The firm’s projects have been featured in magazines such as Elle Decor, House Beautiful, MILIEU, and Southern Homes. You can also find them in Suzanne Kasler’s Sophisticated Simplicity, The Welcoming House: The Art of Living Graciously, and House Beautiful Style Secrets: What Every Room Needs.
Ruard A. Veltman founded the firm in 2005. As the lead principal architect, Ruard is responsible for each design from the very beginning. He draws by hand to develop the initial design stages before assigning a project architect to help develop the construction documents for the project.
Liquid Design
1430 South Mint Street, Studio #105, Charlotte, NC 28203
Liquid Design—based in Charlotte, North Carolina—is a green award-winning design company specializing in building design, space planning, interior design, and project management. The firm cultivates business relationships that energize the design process and produce more engaging client and end-user interactions. High-quality designs by the firm are popular in the leisure, corporate, commercial, mixed-use, educational, multi-family, and single-family residential sectors.
Owners Mike Standley, AIA and Michael Williams, AIA, LEED AP remain committed to creating business ties with their clients. Liquid Design provides a wide range of architectural solutions for a variety of project types. Its design expertise in the public and private sectors is centered on creating customer satisfaction via excellent design.
The United States government contracted the firm to provide solutions for unique projects with exceptionally challenging design criteria. The National Whitewater Center—the world’s largest multi-channel artificial whitewater facility—is a great example. The firm also built the mixed-use high-rise Encore Tower and WhiteHaus, Charlotte’s first ultra earth-green modern dwelling.
Pursley Dixon Architecture
311 Atherton Street, Charlotte, NC 28203
Pursley Dixon Architecture is a custom residential architecture and interior design firm. The company is founded on the basic idea that aesthetics matters. So the firm seeks to construct living spaces as beautiful and unique as the individuals who occupy them.
Pursley Dixon’s design team—conscious of historic architectural components—sees modernism and classicism as part of the greater language of architecture. As a result, the firm fosters a fresh and forward approach to design. The 13-member firm’s distinctive residences can be found around the country, including North Carolina, New York, California, Illinois, Colorado, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and South Carolina.
Traditional Home, Luxe Interiors + Design, Garden & Gun, House Beautiful, Southern Accents, Southern Living, Renovation Style, Elegant Homes, Decor Magazine, and Beautiful Homes have featured Pursley Dixon’s work. The firm also won the Philip Trammell Shutze Award for Residential Architecture, the Veranda ADAC Award for Architecture Firm of the Year, and the Southern Living Home of the Year.
Cox Architecture & Design
1310 South Tryon Street, Suite #111, Charlotte, NC 28203
Cox Architecture & Design has years of residential design experience to projects that include everything from small renovations and extensions to big-scale new builds. The firm values good design and the many benefits it can bring to its clients’ homes and families.
Founder R. Craig Fox, AIA earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees from Clemson University. In 1994, he moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, and worked for David Furman Architecture for nine years, continuing his experience in residential design. Craig became a licensed Architect in 1997 and is an American Institute of Architects member.
Under Mr. Fox’s leadership, the firm’s works have appeared in numerous publications, including South Charlotte Lifestyle, Charlotte Urban Home, Kitchen and Bath Ideas, Housetrends, and South Park Magazine.
Schrader Design
1310 S. Tryon Street, Suite #102, Charlotte, NC 28203
Schrader Design is a Charlotte-based architecture firm founded in 1999. Its headquarters are in a former Packard Automobile dealership from the 1920s, a historical building that has been carefully restored into a creative workspace for the team to conceive, develop, and craft the architecture of its clients.
Throughout his 20-year career dedicated to building beautiful places, Harry Schrader has been careful to hire highly skilled people who share his philosophy that the firm’s success is judged by the basic concepts of professional service and relationships. Schrader Design constructs custom architecture under Harry’s guidance and has executed large projects throughout the southeast. The firm is also honored to have had its works featured by renowned publications like Axios Charlotte and Charlotte Observer.
Mermans Architecture
2108 South Boulevard, Suite #103, Charlotte, NC 28203
Mermans Architecture, established in 2008 by Bryan Mermans, specializes in residential and commercial architecture, planning, and client representation for clients in Charlotte, Matthews, and Myers Park. Bryan’s mission is to establish a design-centered architectural practice that sees each project as a one-of-a-kind opportunity to give clients something exciting, new, original, and timeless.
Bryan Mermans has created several huge sophisticated commercial buildings and smaller, beautifully detailed homes over the last 20 years. His roots in the rural Netherlands form the foundation of his work, which impacts it in subtle ways. With his diverse personal and professional experiences, he brings a distinct viewpoint to the table.
Mermans Architecture is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and also acknowledged by the U.S. Green Building Council. Some of its work can be found in the pages of Charlotte Business Journal, Axios Charlotte, QC Exclusive, Rue Magazine, and Patch.
Houghland Architecture
1347 Harding Place, Suite #202, Charlotte, NC 28204
Founded in 1997, Houghland Architecture specializes in single-family residential and commercial architecture and real estate services, serving clients in North and South Carolina. According to owner Gray Houghland, the firm’s purpose is to develop functional solutions with soul. The firm provides design innovation without construction frustration due to its knowledge that spans various design projects.
Gray previously worked for Skidmore, Owing & Merrill, one of the major architectural firms in the United States, and numerous established Charlotte businesses, including Shook Kelly. He attended the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture and was granted Advanced Standing from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, earning his master’s degree in 1988.
Gray is National Council of Architectural Registration Boards certified, a LEED-accredited professional, and a member of the Congress of Residential Architecture, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the American Institute of Architects.
Fryday & Doyne
118 E Kingston Street, Suite #20, Charlotte, NC 28203
Established in 1997, Fryday & Doyne is an architectural firm serving Charlotte and nearby areas with residential and commercial architecture, interior design, and sustainability consulting. The firm is a recipient of the 2016 Chrysalis National Award. It has also had some of its projects featured on the pages of publications like Professional Remodeler Magazine.
The company’s practice has shown the team that architecture does not have to have a detrimental effect on the environment. Fryday & Doyne thinks that in the field, sustainability starts with adaptability, livability, and efficiency. The firm feels that one cannot be superior to the other; instead, all three must be welcomed to reach the objective of building attractive, functional, and sustainable spaces. This architecture firm works with clients to manage their projects efficiently.
Josh Allison Architecture
2031 Euclid Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28203
Josh Allison Architecture is a Charlotte-based practice dedicated to producing high-quality architecture. The firm takes satisfaction from helping customers in realizing their goals and vision. Josh Allison Architecture, focusing on residential work, takes pride in working on projects of various proportions and profiles and feels there is potential in every project, regardless of size or budget. The firm strives to provide an extraordinary degree of design inventiveness, technical competence, precision, and client service for each project.
Josh Allison Architecture also provides commercial architecture and planning services in addition to taking on residential projects. The many awards it has received include the 2015 and 2016 Southeast Region in Wolf & Subzero Kitchen Design Contest, the 2015 AIA Residential Honor Award, and the 2015 AIA Charlotte People’s Choice Award in the Residential Category for Story House.
W Stanley Russell Architect
1506 Central Avenue, Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28205
Stanley Russell Architect works with clients to produce both distinct and suitable results for modern, contemporary, and conventional residential buildings. The firm provides a comprehensive variety of design and consultancy services for new homes, additions, alterations, master plan studies, and other relevant design services. As a client representative, it also provides site selection, programming, conceptual design, construction drawings, documentation, and construction phase services.
William Stanley Russell, an architecture graduate of Clemson University, leads the firm. Even after founding the company, William remained active with students by teaching and working as a consultant and advisor at Clemson’s and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Schools of Architecture.
