Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris McCullough. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chris , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you manage your own social media?

Though our social media presence may be modest in size, we pride ourselves with interacting with fellow creatives, makers, vendors, engineers, agencies, clients and fans. We share our journey through the process of architecture. With a primary focus on a bespoke residential architecture and associated services, we are constantly meeting new people to collaborate with. That collaboration sometimes takes years to culminate into a beautiful sanctuary. Besides the obvious work generated through the various phases, we love to share many facets of that journey on social media. We’ve been told it is intriguing to see what is involved in a project. It is only fitting for us to manage this personal expression: As a work in progress, ever refining and developing, often beautiful yet always documented. The documentation and sharing is reviewed so we learn from it as well. Some ideas that are shared have a short life: Renderings of abandoned ideas that may be seeds for a future project. Rough construction site photographs are used to resolve future challenges but are also reviewed to study quality sans finish materials. Architects and designers can use social media to engage with outside forces and find their future collaborators. Of course, we would suggest managing it in a way to get what you want from it but always with an open mind so perhaps you may discover hidden alternatives to just marketing.

Chris , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hsu McCullough is an architecture studio based in Los Angeles specializing in custom home design rooted in comfort and unique beauty. Led by principals Peggy Hsu, AIA and Chris McCullough, we envision and create exceptional places through a collaborative process with our clients.

Hsu McCullough’s meticulous approach offers thoughtful and elegant solutions for all budget and schedule challenges. Our studio engages every detail of the process that flows from initial project analysis to communicating the design vision through to construction completion. A Hsu McCullough space reflects the aspirations and lifestyles of our clients with a loyalty to natural light and an equal enjoyment of interior and exterior environments in all their many forms.

Hsu McCullough projects have been featured in Architectural Digest, The Local Project, Casa Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, California Home+Design, Dwell magazine, Beta-Plus Publishing books, NBC’s Open House TV, Dwell On Design Home Tours and more.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Peggy Hsu and I met in 2000 in Los Angeles while working for competing architecture firms in the city. In a chance encounter at a party celebrating the wedding of co-workers from our two firms, Peggy and I happened to be both wearing the same unique eyeglasses. Design gets noticed! Naturally it was an “ice-breaker” eventually marrying and forming an architecture studio together.
During our courtship years, there were countless hours of discussing details, building code, design “secrets” and other nerdy architecture obsessions! Dates were spent visiting museums as well as frequenting building tours of significant architecture. We slowly discovered we have similar design sensibilities. Six years later, we decided to design our first project together – our first house! A modest 1100 sq. ft. home in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles. Not only did we design the home, we helped build most of it with some contractor friends. There was a distinct focus on interior wood details and connections to private outdoor gardens we cultivated and planted. The completed home eventually received some attention but more importantly, Peggy and I knew we could continue working together on more homes: Our architecture studio – Hsu McCullough – was born.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I believe the best strategy for growing our clientele is documenting our work: in-progress as well as completed. Renderings aid in the story telling of our vision with clients. It is also exciting for future clients to see visualization of promising ideas – sometimes within their community or neighborhoods. By far the most effective investment for us is professionally photographing our completed projects: The homes we design, permit and help shepherd through the construction process are fantastic achievements. We are excited to document this achievement so we may always celebrate them. Photographing spaces we have studied, nurtured and seen develop into something special from mere sketches are even more potent when documented professionally at their peak time of day. Forever capturing a sublime essence…material, space and light

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.HM.LA
• Instagram: @hsumccullough

Image Credits

Personal Photo Credit = Shane O’Donnell
Photos of work = Dan Arnold
3D Section = property of Hsu McCullough