Samsel Architects

Samsel Architects, based in Asheville, North Carolina, was founded in 1985 by Jim Samsel. [metropolismag.com] The firm made early commitments to historic preservation, energy conservation, and sustainable building performance from its founding. [metropolismag.com] Since 2010, owner/principal Duncan McPherson and co-owner/principal Nathan Bryant have carried on the firm's founding commitments. [metropolismag.com] Owner and principal Duncan McPherson describes the firm's view of its responsibility. [metropolismag.com] The firm has contributed more than 40 renovation projects to downtown Asheville. [metropolismag.com] The firm operates as a neutral energy company, aided by internal workplace initiatives (composting, equipment management) and a 24-kilowatt photovoltaic array on the roof of its historic downtown office. [metropolismag.com] The firm designed the ground-up LEED Platinum EcoDorm for Warren Wilson College. [metropolismag.com] The firm renovated a 1980s-era office space for Eagle Nest Outfitters. [metropolismag.com] The firm's renovation of the Center for Craft in downtown Asheville (a four-story brick building constructed in 1912) maintained the building's historic certification and created the National Craft Innovation Hub, including coworking, event, and gallery space and a coffee bar and catering kitchen. [metropolismag.com] The firm designed the Windy Gap Residence on Asheville's Town Mountain, a low-profile home with a solar-ready butterfly roof designed with the ability to reach net zero. [metropolismag.com] In 2014, the firm designed the Craven Gap Residence, which became the city's and the state's first home to earn a Living Building Challenge Net Zero Energy Certification from the International Living Future Institute; it reportedly has the smallest photovoltaic array of any Zero Energy Certified project of its kind. [metropolismag.com] Principal Duncan McPherson reflects on the limits of the firm's sustainability work. [metropolismag.com] Samsel Architects was founded in 1985 by Jim Samsel in Asheville. [modernasheville.com] The firm's mission, per its website at the time, was described as 'stewardship for the environment, community and client's dreams.' [modernasheville.com] As of 2010, a current residential project on the boards at the firm was slated to include a green roof and solar hot water panels. [modernasheville.com] Project architect Scott Huebner, speaking for the firm, on integrating technology into design. [modernasheville.com] Project architect Scott Huebner describes the firm's relationship to Appalachian building traditions. [modernasheville.com] Per the successor firm's own account, Samsel Architects (renamed Altura Architects) was established in 1985 in Asheville, North Carolina. [alturaarchitects.com] Per the successor firm's self-description, founder Jim Samsel 'played a fundamental role in the revitalization of downtown Asheville and was an advocate and architect for many iconic rehabilitation projects.' [alturaarchitects.com] In 2010, the studio began an ownership transition to Nathan Bryant and Duncan McPherson. [alturaarchitects.com] Per the successor firm's self-published team bio, Nathan Bryant, AIA, NCARB, joined the firm (then Samsel Architects) in 2000; he previously served as President of AIA Western North Carolina and on the AIA North Carolina Board of Directors, and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. [alturaarchitects.com] Per the successor firm's self-published team bio, Duncan McPherson, AIA, LEED-AP, joined the firm (then Samsel Architects) in 1999; he holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech, serves on the Board of MountainTrue and as an Advisor for the Appalachian Design Center, chaired Asheville City Council's Sustainable Advisory Committee and AIA Western North Carolina's Committee on the Environment, and co-founded the nonprofit Green Built Alliance. [alturaarchitects.com] As Samsel Architects, the firm won the AIA North Carolina Firm Award in 2016 (per the successor firm's self-reported awards list). [alturaarchitects.com] Under the Samsel Architects name, the firm's self-reported award history (1988–2018) is dominated by repeated Griffin Awards from the Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County, along with AIA Asheville and AIA North Carolina Design Awards and multiple 'Best of WNC' honors for Local Architect. [alturaarchitects.com] The firm rebranded from Samsel Architects to Altura Architects; per its self-description, 'Our new name reflects our aspiration to evolve the beauty of architecture in our mountain region and improve our community's quality of life.' [alturaarchitects.com] On 10 January 2023 the firm announced that Samsel Architects had become Altura Architects. [alturaarchitects.com] The studio explained the choice of name. [alturaarchitects.com] The announcement dates the studio's run to thirty-eight years at that point and names Jim Samsel as its founder, crediting him with the values it says it will keep: design excellence, environmental stewardship, and service to clients and community. [alturaarchitects.com] The post presents the change as a handover to a new generation of leadership, and is signed Duncan and Nathan. [alturaarchitects.com] It states that sustainable design was part of the firm's origin and that its design solutions must address the climate crisis. [alturaarchitects.com] Under the Altura name the studio describes itself as Asheville-based with over four decades of experience, founded with a sense of stewardship for the environment and the community. [alturaarchitects.com] The page announces that the studio has moved to 78½ Patton Avenue in downtown Asheville. [alturaarchitects.com] It records that Spruce Ridge Cabin took second place in the 2025 Matsumoto Prize, awarded to the best modernist architecture in North Carolina, and that the firm's renovation of 52 Broadway received a 2024 AIA NC Merit Award and the Tower Award for historic preservation and adaptive reuse. [alturaarchitects.com] The firm holds a Just label, which it says it publishes to show its commitment to social justice and equity within the firm and the wider community. [alturaarchitects.com]

“Architecture doesn’t stop at the walls and our responsibility doesn’t either. It’s about healing the land in and around our projects.” [metropolismag.com]

“We certainly haven’t figured it out. It is an unobtainable goal if we’re honest with ourselves—sustainability is always something we’re going to reach for.” [metropolismag.com]

“As clients begin to embrace these technologies, architects must take up the challenge to fully integrate them into our designs and still maintain our highest aesthetic standards.” [modernasheville.com]

“We have a great deal of respect for the craft and traditional building heritage of the Appalachian region, we view our work as a modern extension of this as seen in our use of timbers, stone, and other natural materials.” [modernasheville.com]

“The word means height or altitude, and serves as a tribute to our mountain home.” [alturaarchitects.com]