We believe there is a place for traditional architecture in our time, that there is wisdom in traditional architecture that contributes not only to the longevity of a building - pitched roofs, projecting eaves, drips, moldings and ornament that redirect water, sills, etc. - but also, of course, to the beauty of a building. 

The principles of traditional architecture are timeless and cross-cultural, they are universal yet capable of producing an endless variety of uniquely beautiful particulars. The beauty found in traditional architecture reflects the rhythms and proportions found in the human body and throughout all of Nature.

We believe in the importance of good manners and that etiquette extends into the design world. Most buildings should fit in when necessary, some should stand out when appropriate. Both kinds should be well-proportioned and beautifully detailed.

Bad design is harmful to the human spirit. Dissonant proportions enter the body through the eyes and cause subconscious irritation and dis-ease just as dissonant sound can. Good proportions cost no more than bad ones.

There are no new ideas. What seems new is actually a novel configuration or composition of preexisting ideas. Art, therefore, is fundamentally imitative, and the art of design lies in knowing what, where, and how to imitate.

We believe the best buildings built during the 20th century were designed by less-publicized modern traditionalists like Raymond Erith, Philip T. Shutze, Edwin Lutyens, Armando Brasini, Reginald Blomfield, people who were unafraid to engage with tradition, people who created the traditional architecture of their time, people like Albert Simons, who wrote:

“We should ask our architects that our buildings

be not only of our time but of our place.

If we do this we can hope for

another age of distinguished architecture.”

“As human beings we are meant not simply for solving economic problems on a tottering platform, but for solving all the problems of the material life into which we have been placed by the laws of nature.”

 - A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, 1969