It's always a treat to get to revisit an old project, especially when we get to redesign it for new
There was an (almost) old-fashioned barn raising in Asheville this summer. Our clients purchased an over 100 year old barn
Samsel Architects has the honor of being voted the premier architect in Western North Carolina for two years in a
Designs for our new modern pavilion house outside of Tryon are beginning to take shape. Our clients purchased a 40
Friends of Samsel Architects, we invite you all to the WNC Green Building Council’s 2nd Annual CiderFest NC fundraiser event.
Plans for a new mountain modern farmhouse in Polk County are taking shape and our focus has now shifted to
Our Town Mountain Residence was recently awarded a 2014 Builder’s Choice & Custom Home Design Award. These national awards are
We discovered the most colorful hotel on the web site ArchDaily. The Pantone Hotel in Brussels, Belgium will provide any
Nathan Bryant, AIA, a Principal and Vice-President of Samsel Architects, has been named 2015 President-Elect of AIA-Asheville. AIA-Asheville is a
Today is the last day to vote for our project "Old Fort Cabin" in Fine Homebuilding Magazine's 2015 Readers' Choice
Perched above the Dan River Gorge near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, Samsel Architects’ project for Primland Resort is
Do you spend a lot on your energy bill every month? Have you ever considered offsetting your bill with solar
LEED, the green building rating system, has existed for fifteen years, but growth of this program has been waning in
Our Old Fort Cabin project was selected as a finalist for Fine Homebuilding Magazine Readers' Choice Award. The home came
As part of Modern Atlanta’s Design is Human week, Samsel Architects will be participating in the Modern Asheville satellite home
Samsel Architects is developing a concept house for Ventana, a local neighborhood focused on sustainable living. This contemporary design will
One year ago this month, we revealed the design concept for a modern pavilion house outside of Tryon, North Carolina.
For the third year in a row, Samsel Architects has the honor of being voted Western North Carolina’s #1 architect
Our clients came to us after purchasing five acres of steep mountain land with great views looking down the Beaverdam
Large gable trusses are a prominent design feature of our Jonesborough, Tennessee residence. Made from white oak timbers, these dramatic
In this week’s edition of the Mountain Xpress, Samsel Architect’s Duncan McPherson was interviewed for a feature on the thriving
Samsel Architects' recently completed project, The Pinnacle Cottages at Primland, is part of Primland's strong portfolio of hospitality offerings and
Our Fontana Lake House was featured on the Houzz.com home page. It was picked as the Room of the Day,
The 2015 WNC Green Building Directory hit newsstands recently and features an article about tree preservation during construction written by
A challenge that often occurs while designing a house is how to balance both a television and fireplace in the
The WNC Green Building Council will be hosting the 3rd Annual CiderFest NC in November. This premier cider tasting event
This month’s edition of Capital at Play magazine includes a feature article that profiles Samsel Architects and the importance of
Samsel's cabin renovation project is featured in the most recent edition of Cabin Living Magazine. Our Reems Creek Log Cabin
The EcoDorm at Warren Wilson College received LEED Platinum Recertification this year, the highest possible rating under the LEED system.
Our Bonsai Pavilion project was recently included in a feature article on the Houzz Japan homepage. The piece is about
Samsel Architects is proud to announce that our Fontana Lake Residence has been chosen as a finalist for Fine Homebuilding
Our clients had recently purchased 10 acres of rolling horse pasture and forested land south of Blowing Rock with the
We are excited to see our Bent Creek renovation project highlighted in this month’s edition of WNC Magazine! The home is
It is the beginning of National Architecture Week, a time to recognize the positive roles and contributions architects play in
We are excited to see our Bonsai Pavilion featured in the spring edition of Carolina Home + Garden magazine. The
We are delighted to announce that our Fontana Lake House won Fine Homebuilding Readers’ Choice Award! Thank you to everyone
Good news comes to us this Earth Day from the NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA): clean energy is working for
Samsel Architects’ Duncan McPherson and Margaret Fullam wrote a guest piece for Fine Homebuilding Magazine’s monthly feature, Drawing Board. The
May is National Preservation Month and 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act, a program that
On May 26, Samsel Architects was delighted to receive a 2016 Griffin Award from the Preservation Society of Asheville &
Our recently completed project, the Hammock House, is a new interpretation of utilitarian farm structures. This home sits in the
The Western North Carolina Green Building Council (WNCGBC) recently introduced a new program called Green Gauge. This simple program assesses
On August 11, from 7-10 pm, The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design (CCCD) celebrates 20 years of service to
2016 marks the fourth year in a row that Samsel Architects has been voted Western North Carolina’s #1 architect in
The WNC Green Building Council will be hosting CiderFest NC 2016 this weekend. This is the fourth year for the
Samsel Architects is proud to say we received a gold rating in Asheville’s Green Workplace Challenge! The Green Workplace Challenge
Samsel Architect's recent downtown loft renovation delivers a welcoming new home for our client as well as for his extensive
We are excited and honored to announce that our firm was named the 2016 Firm of the Year by AIA
Our Fontana Lake House was recently awarded a 2016 Merit Award from AIA North Carolina. This state award is given
We are happy that one of our recent projects, The Hammock House, won a 2016 Honor Award from AIA North Carolina. This
Our studio recently hosted a group of students from Appalachian State University to provide feedback on their Race to Zero
Samsel Architects has teamed up with the town of Wilkesboro to help them forge a new downtown experience. Wilkesboro is
We were saddened to hear of the passing of renowned arborist Ken Knox earlier this month. Our studio is fortunate
We are excited to see our West Asheville small house featured in the spring edition of Carolina Home + Garden
Above: Animation of Chapel Hill Renovation before and after. This 1930s house in Chapel Hill had always been a perfect fit
This spring marks three years since the Samsel Architects studio has been using solar power. In early 2014, a series of
One of the newest projects we have been working on is a modern home high above Asheville at Town Mountain
Join Samsel Architects on Saturday, June 3rd for an architectural tour of our project at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove.
We are happy to announce that our Hammock House is a 2017 Matsumoto Prize winner! Thank you to NC Modernists
2017 marks the fifth year in a row that Samsel Architects has been voted Western North Carolina’s #1 architect in
A big congratulations to Jim Samsel for being named one of Asheville's 2017 Downtown Heroes. He was recognized by the
We are excited that two Samsel homes received awards from AIA Asheville during their annual Design Awards ceremony. The Cliffs
Our Old Fort Cabin is featured in a brand new book called The Family Cabin by Dale Mulfinger. The book
The 2017 Green Built Alliance Directory hit newsstands recently and includes a feature written by one of our own, Margaret
The third annual Carolina in the Fall festival took place last weekend in Wilkesboro. The two day fest drew huge
Samsel Architects has been hard at work creating a concept for a new creativity hub in High Point, NC called
The current edition of Carolina Home + Garden features one of our newest projects at Lake James. A young family
This light-filled modern farmhouse in Mill Spring, North Carolina serves as a relaxing refuge for its owners. The home is
With the holidays fast approaching, and all of our inboxes flooded with holiday shopping emails, it's important to take a
2017 marks 30 years that Samsel Architects has been in our upper level studio at 60 Biltmore Avenue in downtown
The residents of this home outside of Jonesborough, Tennessee wanted a home with a Rocky Mountains aesthetic - rustic textures,
ENO, an Asheville-based company that sells hammocks and outdoor gear, had outgrown their South Slope location and approached our studio
Our Craven Gap Residence has become the first home in North Carolina to earn Zero Energy certification from the International
Construction began this month on our Town Mountain Modern Home with Jade Mountain Builders. The design solution was our reaction
The current edition of Carolina Home + Garden features our Mill Spring project on the cover! Pick up a copy
Our project in West Asheville was just named 2018's Best Small Home by Fine Homebuilding Magazine. We really love how
122 years of Architectural Record is now available online at the USModernist Library. Architectural Record and USModernist announced their partnership
2018 is the sixth year in a row that Samsel Architects has been voted Western North Carolina’s #1 architect in
The Bridge Home is a rustic lake house located at Lake James in Nebo, North Carolina. We have been working
One of our newest projects is a simple, modern home located in Marshall, NC. Soon after our clients bought property
The 4th Annual Climate Adaptive Design Symposium is happening this week at The Collider. This year’s conference theme is “Deep
Samsel Architects spent our summer working on plans for RiverLink’s Karen Cragnolin Park, and last week, we were happy to
The Twin Oaks Residence is located in a quiet North Asheville neighborhood and is named after two towering oaks that
Located in Swannanoa, N.C. on a wooded lot with views to Craggy Mountain, this two-story modern mountain home serves as
Our concept for this new home, located in a pastoral farm valley in Haywood County, North Carolina, expresses a nuanced personality
We closed our office for two days at the end of last month for a staff retreat. We packed up
We have been assisting the Town of Wilkesboro with their downtown rejuvenation for the past couple years. The latest phase
For the seventh year in a row, Samsel Architects has been voted Western North Carolina’s #1 architect in the MountainX
This residence in The Cliffs at Walnut Cove uses simple forms and natural materials to create a comfortable hideaway in
Eagles Nest Outfitters (ENO), an Asheville-based outdoor company, challenged our studio to take a dingy office building from the 80s
The Berghaus brings German roots to the mountains of North Carolina. The home is located along a winding mountain road
Inspired by principles of prairie-style homes, we translated these themes for this home to fit the context of mountain living.
The Montreat Modern Residence is designed to be in harmony with its setting and to fulfill the family’s hopes for
On November 16th, the Center for Craft celebrated its grand reopening of the National Craft Innovation Hub in downtown Asheville.
Our client, a young family of five, asked us to design a contemporary farmhouse on mountain land that has been
Today is Giving Tuesday, a global giving event that happens on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Giving back has been integral
We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website! 2020 marks our studio’s 35th anniversary and what better
Discover. Create. Inspire. These three simple words hold a great deal of meaning to us. They guide who we are,
At Samsel Architects, we have a set of 12 values that are carried throughout our work and define who we
Samsel Architects is part of the design team creating the master plan for the property at the junction of Haywood
Breathing new life into existing homes is a source of inspiration for us and our clients. We were happy to
May is National Preservation Month, and to celebrate we are revisiting one of our historic renovation projects in Downtown Asheville.
This woodland cottage, located in the Town of Biltmore Forest, near Asheville, North Carolina and the landmark Biltmore Estate, is
Our renovation at 67 Broadway in downtown Asheville has won a 2020 Griffin Award from The Preservation Society of Asheville
Continuing with our blog series that highlights each of our 12 values, today we will focus on Achievement. We are proud
We are getting near the end of May, which means National Preservation Month is almost over. To continue our celebration,
While we humans have been spending more time at home because of the pandemic, the wildlife in Western North Carolina
Our client, an avid outdoorsman and environmentalist, came to us with a unique piece of land in the southern Appalachian
2020 marks thirty-five years for our firm. Since our founding, we have worked on hundreds of projects of many types
Our studio has a set of 12 values that are the foundation of our work. Continuing with our blog series
Part of our commitment to adaptive reuse is to re-imagine old buildings and to breathe new life into neglected spaces.
2020 marks thirty-five years for our firm and we have decades of past work that won’t fit on our website.
2020 marks thirty-five years for our firm and we have decades of past work that won’t fit on our website.
We know this is the first step of many to come and the conversation cannot end here. We challenge all
2020 marks thirty-five years for our firm. Since our founding, we have worked on hundreds of projects of all kinds
The 2020 Green Building Directory from Green Built Alliance features an article about biophilic design written by one of our
Continuing with our blog series that highlights each of our studio's core values, today we will focus on Evolution. At
We are continuing our blog series on our studio’s core values. Today we focus on Civic Responsibility. “We stay informed of
Our studio has a set of 12 values that are the foundation of our work. Continuing with our blog series
A staircase is a practical part of many homes and buildings - you need them to go up and back
At Samsel Architects, our custom mountain modern architecture takes great inspiration from WNC’s vernacular architecture that we translate into modern
We have fallen in love with the “bach” - and so have our clients! While living in New Zealand, our
Our team has been behind the creative rehabilitation of several of Asheville’s preeminent art galleries and here we look at
We are excited to announce three Samsel Architects projects received a 2022 AIA Asheville Award during their annual Design Awards
A kitchen needs to be not only a practical space for the family, but also a comfortable place to congregate.
What draws a lot of people to live in Western North Carolina are the beautiful mountain views at every turn.
At the end of a project, it’s the architectural details that come together to make a project really stand out.