Firm
Charney Architects LLC, founded in 1988, is the full service architectural and interior design firm of twin brothers Richard and Robert Charney. The majority of our work is for educational, non-profit and residential clients. Most projects are for repeat clients, which we believe speaks to the quality of our design solutions, the thoroughness of our construction documents and the responsiveness of our project administrative services.

The look and character of our work is as varied as the architectural assignment given. We are generalists, not specialists in any building type or design style. The diversity of our work is a testament to our abilities to think openly about each assignment, with design solutions that emerge from a process both analytic and intuitive, academic and artistic. It is a dialogue that recognizes the value of the past, present needs, and the imperative to imagine for the future.

Every project begins with a careful review and analysis of the site in the broadest sense, be it the natural landscape, the history of a university campus, or the fabric of an urban street. Regardless of the scale of the project, our goal is to enhance the site with the shape, scale, proportion, and material of our buildings. We recognize the importance of shape-making and space-making in the creation of a coherent and integrated built environment.

Architecture is at its core a process of collaboration in search for solutions. We believe in a team approach to design, and require the involvement of our clients in the development and critique of our work. It is equally incumbent upon us to present our ideas and recommendations in a way that generates understanding and enthusiasm for the design. Working closely with our clients, we strive to achieve the best solution possible, given the program, site, budget, schedule, code and miscellaneous other conditions that inform the limits of the architectural solution. As the design team leaders it is our responsibility to identify and organize these issues in a coherent, functional and handsome building. We also look for that intangible extra that adds value beyond the programmatic necessities and makes the project memorable.

Organization
One key to our success as a small office is our flexible team organization and the skill level of our employees. We assign primary responsibility on all projects to one of the partners with secondary responsibility assigned to a senior staff member. In addition, because of our studio approach to design and production, we are able to share and shift staff between projects as milestone events and deadlines approach. Both partners are involved in various capacities throughout the life of every project depending upon the nature and status of the work.

Green Building and LEED
Two of our senior architects are LEED Accredited Professionals. Stoeckel Hall, a recently completed project at Yale, has received LEED gold certification. LEED requirements were fulfilled by careful planning, design and follow-through on hundreds of “green” details. Major sustainability themes included selection of a urban site in need of brownfield redevelopment, water use reduction, improvements to the building envelope such as the seamless addition of insulating glass to ornate original wood windows, new energy-efficient HVAC and lighting, careful material selection and attention to the interior environment.

Charney Architects LLC also provides sustainable design to Clients who are interested in environmentally responsible development, but are not interested in LEED certification.

• Wilson Elementary School in Wilson, WY was one of the first large scale public projects in Teton County, WY to employ a “green” HVAC system technology, with ground source geothermal heating and cooling systems.
• In 2006 Charney Architects helped the non-profit Owner of Fellowship Place, in New Haven, CT, secure a Kresge Foundation grant for green design, and established a specification for sustainable products, materials and finishes to be used in subsequent projects on the Fellowship Campus.
• The Sterling Power Plant Cogeneration & Expansion project, a 15 MegaWatt cogeneration facility currently under construction for Yale University, will produce electricity and steam for the Yale University Medical School Campus. When this project is completed in 2010 it will help reduce the University’s overall carbon footprint by over 24,000 tons per year.

Recognition
Charney Architects LLC is proud to have received a year 2000 Design Honor Award from the AIA Connecticut for the Wilson Elementary School in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a 240-student school heated by a ground source geothermal heating system. The firm earned a 2005 Connecticut AIA Built Design Award for an addition to Woodbridge Hall in the center of the Yale University campus. We are now pleased to announce that Charney Architects LLC has won a 2009 Connecticut AIA Built Design Award for the Institution of Social & Policy Study, which connects, renovates and adds a wing to three historic buildings at Yale University.