Blog

News + Inspiration

It is with great excitement that we announce Samsel Architects is now Altura Architects. We chose the name Altura for several reasons. The word means height or altitude, and serves as a tribute to our mountain home. It symbolizes our desire to provide a high level of service and inspired design. It also signifies our studio’s commitment to a higher purpose of creating buildings that improve the lives of our clients, our community, and our planet.

What draws a lot of people to live in Western North Carolina are the beautiful mountain views at every turn. When designing a home in the mountains, creating a strong connection to the outdoors is a must. Whether it's a patio, a deck or a screened-in porch, these outdoor spaces extend the interior living spaces to the outside for year-round enjoyment. Below are six inviting outdoor living spaces.

We have fallen in love with the “bach” - and so have our clients! While living in New Zealand, our clients discovered the bach (pronounced “batch”), a traditional and modest beachside home tucked among the cliffs. The name is thought to derive from “bachelor pad” or perhaps from the Welsh word for “small.”

Our studio has a set of 12 values that are the foundation of our work. Continuing with our blog series that highlights each of the values, today we will focus on Family. “We work in a place where trust and communication create meaningful human relationships. We support each other, we laugh and cry together, we enjoy the challenges of our work together and we appreciate each other. We believe in supporting each other as we grow as humans and as architects.” Each member of our team brings unique strengths and personalities to our studio. It’s important to us that we take the