Guided by the belief that good design can happen with any budget, Risa of the award-winning boutique practice Risa Boyer Architecture has tackled projects both large and small, from midcentury-modern renovations to energy-efficient, mixed-use developments.

Risa Boyer is one of our judges for the Best of Design 2018 Awards. Be sure to cast your vote—community voting is open from November 1-26.

Her journey into architecture started at a young age, when her mother fleshed out Risa’s childhood interest in design magazines and beautiful buildings with trips to Frank Lloyd Wright exhibits and gifts of architecture books.

Convinced of a future in architecture by the age of 10, Risa went on to earn her Bachelor of Architecture at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) and, in 2006, launched her full-service architecture firm in Los Angeles before moving her practice north to Portland in 2008.

After having featured some of her exquisite projects, we're now honored to have Boyer serve as a judge for Dwell’s inaugural Best of Design Awards. Scroll on to see a sampling of her work.

Makers Row

Mt Tabor

Holman

Good design is timeless but innovative, aesthetically pleasing, and engaging. In architecture, good design happens when the design of buildings or spaces respond to their surroundings and enhance the people’s lives who inhabit them.
—Risa Boyer

Nathan

Davis

Related Reading: Take a Peek at This Remarkable Renovation by Boyer.

Learn more about Risa Boyer Architecture.