Winter 2016
GPSA SELECTED FOR THE 2016 AD100

We are thrilled to once again be included in Architectural Digest’s prestigious AD100 list of the world’s top architects and designers for 2016. Pick up a copy of the January issue or visit archdigest.com for more details and to see the complete list.

OUR ANNUAL SUMMER FIELD TRIP WAS AN ALL-TIME FAVORITE FOR THE TEAM THIS YEAR. Taking advantage of the mild August weather, we took a day trip to New York’s Hudson Valley to tour some of the firm’s more significant completed and in-progress projects in the area. The morning started with a visit to Willow Grace Farm, an equestrian property with magnificent views of the valley and surrounding mountains, followed by a visit to West View, a new Greek Revival house situated on a dramatic hillside with western views toward the Catskills. We enjoyed a lunch break at Middlefield, Gil’s Greek Revival house in Amenia, before going on to see Longfield Farm, a new Colonial Revival stone farmhouse and outbuildings that won the 2012 Stanford White Award for New Residential Construction. Our final stop of the day was at a new stone country house and garden, a 4,500 square foot fieldstone-clad residence set in a rural landscape with lovely views, currently under construction and on schedule for completion in the Spring of 2016.

WE WERE DELIGHTED TO SEE THE THESIS PROJECT OF OUR JUNIOR DESIGNER DANNY SACCO, who joined the firm in 2014 after graduating from University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, published in The Classicist No. 12. A respected journal published annually by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, The Classicist, is dedicated to a discussion of contemporary ideas and practices related to classical architecture and arts. Sacco’s thesis centers on the idea that adapting traditional building principles for a local scale—in this case a market center in a historic section of Panama City—can create organic, timeless environments suited for culture, socialization and economic growth. To learn more about The Classicist, click here >

IN SEPTEMBER, GPSA VENTURED TO CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA, FOR OUR 2015 ANNUAL TEAM RETREAT. We kicked off the weekend with the UVA vs. Notre Dame football game, where some of the most boisterous cheering in the stadium came from the Notre Dame alumni on our team. We spent the following day in workshops and team discussions about the office and coming goals for the year, followed by dinner at C & O in downtown Charlottesville. On Monday, we had the opportunity to tour Monticello, where Gil is on the Board of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and enjoyed lunch at Montalto before heading to Montpelier, James Madison’s residence, for another educational tour. That evening was spent with some special friends of the firm who invited us to enjoy cocktails and a candlelit barbecue on the lawn of their beautiful home, Whilton Farm. Our final morning, we were treated to an in-depth tour of Jefferson’s Lawn on the UVA campus by the ever-erudite Calder Loth, the former Senior Architectural Historian of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

IN JULY, THE INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE & ART’S SUMMER STUDIO PROGRAM IN CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE VISITED GPSA to learn about the continuing relevance of classical and traditional design and architecture in contemporary settings. ICAA instructor and architect Michael Mesko brought 18 student to the office for a tour and to meet with Studio Directors Mickey Benson and Mark Pledger along with in-house Interior Decorator Lyndsey Morris, who answered questions about the firm’s work and design processes. To learn more about the ICAA Summer Studio Program and to read about the visit to GPSA click here >

GPSA (FINALLY!) JOINS INSTAGRAM

GIL AND THE STAFF AT GPSA ARE CONSTANTLY PHOTOGRAPHING THINGS—whether we are documenting the progress of a historic renovation or capturing a gorgeous sunset from the porch of a new property at the end of a day on site, photography is a big part of our process. So it made perfect sense for us to join Instagram as a way to share at least a few of the many pictures we take every week. Please join us there to see photos of places, people and beautiful things that inspire us, as well as scenes from site visits and snapshots of current projects underway. Click here to see our latest posts >

THE WINTER ISSUE OF MILIEU MAGAZINE FEATURES A 10-PAGE STORY ON A GREENWICH VILLAGE GREEK REVIVAL TOWNHOUSE that GPSA decorated for a young, newly-married couple eager to merge their love of traditional design and contemporary art. Architectural Digest Middle East included GPSA in their September/October issue. The magazine did a feature on style authority Lauren Santo Domingo, the co-founder and creative director of Mode Operandi and Contributing Editor at Vogue, and Gil is honored to be mentioned as a favorite architect of hers. We are also pleased to have the firm’s work included in architect Phillip J. Dodd’s new book An Ideal Collaboration: The Art of Classical Details II. The book focuses on the design process between architects, interior decorators, landscape designers, and artisans as seen through 25 timeless residences.