Design Approach

Brininstool + Lynch brings an identifiable aesthetic to diverse cultural, commercial, institutional, and residential buildings across North America. Each project interprets a client’s vision while embodying the clarity and purpose that marks the firm’s architecture.

Founded by Brad Lynch and David Brininstool, the firm designs buildings with a respect for materials, site locations and adjacent environments. Immediately recognizable in the firm’s work is an eye for detail, the juxtaposition of organic and artificial materials, and the exploration of translucency and light. When incorporated with green technologies and sustainable building practices, these explorations result in surroundings that inspire—spaces that elevate the ordinary and positively impact how people experience them.

Our design approach seeks to create a richness of individual space, while remaining sensitive to the qualities of light and the experience of moving through architecture. It includes recognizing the importance of site and vernacular influences, while not succumbing to them. We bring a modern clarity to a set of ideas, while we honor an individual approach. In addition, we feel that it is important to clearly define the intended function of a place, while still creating a sense of anticipation from one space to another by the manipulation of natural and artificial light, and the careful detailing of materials.

Project commissions are based on a variety of project types and program requirements. We see this as a positive challenge, as we seek consistency in the process of design. An approach used in one project is often further developed or refined in the next.

This may also lead to new avenues for exploration. During our firm's nineteen year evolution, projects have become larger, more diverse, and have allowed us more flexibility. Nevertheless, as we refine our aesthetic, we remain focused on continuing to develop a functional approach to design.

In all of our work, we select materials to evoke both stability and comfort, as well as maintain compatibility and affordability. We respect the nature of materials as an intrinsic part of architecture. Materials are joined to create architectural forms, in which details are an integral part of the process. Details balance the architectural elements, articulating an individual sense of order in each project.

Our overall philosophy recognizes that, while working within the practical confines of assembling an architectural form, architecture should create a safe haven for one's intellect and be a place of comfort. To create that sanctuary, often we find ourselves interpreting a client's experience and criteria into a physical form. The memory of an event or the impression of an important occasion becomes the motivation for a design program. The five senses are critical as well, because through them, a sense of place is experienced and established. We strive to embody these physical experiences in the arrangement of volumetric space.