Philosophy

At HopkinsBurns Design Studio we are passionate about design that creates livable, inspiring, and people oriented places!  Our work embodies our values - respect for heritage and commitment to the future through stewardship of the built and natural environments.

We, as a studio, provide architectural expertise in the preservation, restoration, adaptive reuse of existing buildings, and in the design of new places in downtown neighborhoods that are context sensitive and creatively fresh.

Together with our clients, we strive to enrich the quality of life in our communities by linking the past with the future and creating engaging places.

Great design uses community as its keystone.
— Tamara Burns, AIA

Our professional practice is dedicated to retaining and revitalizing our existing built resources. This dedication is based not only on our interest in and love of history, but also the more sustainable building approach of conserving and reusing existing resources, thus minimizing the tax on non-renewable energy sources.

Historic preservation is not simply the cleaning up of old buildings to make them into museums. Rather, it is the reuse of existing buildings and their transformation into vital, productive elements of our present (and future) communities.