Harris Le Roy Architecture

10/29/2026

A client came to me recently with something I see often: a folder full of photographs, a long list of wants, and a clear sense of what she admired. All useful things. But our most important conversation had nothing to do with any of them.

Before we talked about rooms or materials or how the house might look, we talked about her family. How they moved through their days. How they gathered. What they needed to retreat from, and what they wanted more of. That conversation — unhurried and exploratory — gave us something no folder of images could: a clear picture of how this family actually lived. From there, a very different kind of brief emerged. Not a checklist of features, but something closer to a compass.

A house, I've always believed, should work the way a well-made suit does. What you notice is the person wearing it — not the cut, the fabric, or the label. This month, that idea is where I'd like to start.

10/28/2026

Clients often arrive with strong ideas about what they want, and that is a good thing. The challenge is that individually compelling ideas do not always work well together.

A preference for open living, a desire for quiet retreat, a kitchen that anchors family life, a guest suite that feels separate — each one makes sense on its own. Combined without a clear framework, they can pull against each other.

The most successful homes are ones where everything works in concert. If you are at that early stage of gathering ideas and want a useful starting point, we have a short identity-driven framework guide. Message me and I will send it over.

10/27/2026

Consider a simple request for a dining room.

It might mean two people eating quietly most evenings. Or Sunday lunch with children and grandchildren, a longer table and several conversations happening at once. Or an occasional formal dinner with a particular relationship to the kitchen and the rest of the house.

The room name is the same. The life within it is not.

This is where the real architectural work begins. Before deciding how a room should look, we need to understand what someone hopes will happen there.

Appearance follows from that understanding. Without it, even a beautifully finished room can feel like it belongs to someone else.

10/26/2026

A client came to me with photographs, inspiration boards, and a detailed list of what she wanted.

The most useful part of that meeting had nothing to do with any of them.

Before we looked at a single image, we spent time exploring who she and her family were. Their rhythms, values, the way they moved through a week.

That conversation gave us something the photographs could not: a clear picture of the home she actually needed.

A house designed around who you are fits differently than one assembled from images alone.

If you are in the early stages and wondering where to start, we have a short framework guide on this. Message me and I will send it over.

08/26/2026

One of my 78th Street townhouses from 2015....still looks inviting.

08/22/2026

One of my UES townhouses on 78th Street from 2015

08/15/2026

Tools

05/08/2026

Adaptive reuse study for a historic Beaux-Arts bank building in Chelsea, New York.

While the project was ultimately realized in a more modest form, this proposal explored a more transformative architectural vision — preserving the historic shell while introducing modern materials and details, inserted residential volumes, and restrained rooftop additions within the existing urban fabric.

The study also explored how contemporary architectural interventions can be layered into historic fabric in an evocative and contextual way — allowing modern forms to transform the experience of the building while remaining in dialogue with the city around it.

Developed in collaboration with LBDA, JRA, and BF.

04/20/2026

04/20/2026

A few adjustments to some current projects.