Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1010195
to pay attention to the materials you use. They must be sensuous and draw you in. Propor tions and materiality are indispensable, otherwise they become just cold, ugly boxes. That's what gives much of modern architecture a bad name. If the wrong materials are used or they're used in the wrong way—if they don't fit the site or the region—the design becomes cold." At any given moment, Studio Schicketanz will have "somewhere around 20" projects in the pipeline. Not all are major, ground-up projects. "If we start three of those a year, that's good for us," Schicketanz says. "I really like smaller remodels, though. They keep us connected to the community and they are excellent training grounds for our younger archi- tects and designer to get their feet wet and start working independently with clients. I like that we're able to provide really good design not just to the elite, but to regular people." She is intimately involved in every aspect of the studio but has shifted gears a little of late. "I really focus now on mentoring," the architect says. "It feels really good to be passing on the torch. We have an incredibly talented team right now and I'd like them to move up and carry the show one day." The architectural community has been paying attention to the work of Studio Schicketanz. Two recent projects, designs for a Tehama home and the Press Room in Seaside, received Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects, Monterey Bay Chapter. Architecture can be serious stuff to many people, and it certainly is to Mary Ann Schicketanz. But she is a woman full of life, clearly in love with her adopted hometown and region. Her love of her profession is obvious and infectious. She has fun. What's the most fun? "The last job is always the most fun," she laughs. "No. Actually, it's all fun." Learn more at www.studioschicketanz.com. 226 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 8 Carmel Valley's Tehama enjoys some of the most sublime weather the Monterey Peninsula has to offer. Schicketanz capitalizes on that fact by including intimate, comfortable living spaces that further blur the line between indoors and out. Photo: Joe Fletcher Schicketanz' European background had steeped her in an awareness of energy conservation and health-conscious building design, something that had not yet come to the forefront of American architectural thinking at that time.