David Barrett

AIA, Founder, Principal in Charge of Design

David Barrett founded the practice in 1977 with the intent of inventing a studio that brings creativity to projects of varying size, from large-scale master planning to the architecture of singular buildings, to the interiors with which we come into intimate contact. This love of design was to always be coupled with an ethic of environmental stewardship. Over the years Barrett Studio has been recognized as just such a practice, establishing a legacy of sustainable, meaningful, and beautiful design.

David lectures throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, while directing the design of projects that model this passion for beauty and what David terms “Living Architecture.” As a visiting lecturer at the University of Colorado’s College of Architecture and Planning, David continues to inspire young architects. In 1997, David chaired the AIA Colorado Design Conference where he framed the theme, “Toward an Architecture of Compassion,” bringing humanistic architects from around the world together with theologians, philosophers and artists to consider the emerging ethical role of the architect in contributing to a sustainable culture. This merger of poetics within a hopeful design vision has continued to inform his studio’s work.

In 1998, Barrett Studio was honored as the AIA Colorado Firm of the Year. In 2002, David Barrett was named the AIA Colorado Architect of the Year. David embodies the spirit and passion for design that Barrett Studio brings to each of its projects, and continues to instill these projects with a poetic vision of humanistic response and environmental calling.