A timber-and-glass house set into a forested hillside, oriented around a single view and the light of the afternoon.
Architecture studio
Buildings that let a site stay itself.
A small Portland studio for houses, renovations, and quiet workplaces - drawn around the light and the land, and built to last.
14 yrsin practice
5-6projects a year
100%client referrals
Selected work
A few of the places.
A single-story workspace with a flat roof and full-height glass, sitting lightly on a meadow of native grasses.
A post-war ranch reworked into a two-volume house with a warm cedar core and a quiet courtyard between.
How we work.
01
Site first
The land, the light, and the neighbors set the rules. We draw the building around them, not over them.
02
Few materials, done well
A short palette of wood, concrete, and glass - chosen once, detailed carefully, aged honestly.
03
Buildability
Every detail is drawn to be built by real craftspeople with real budgets. Surprises are designed out early.
The studio
Eleanor Rae, AIA
Good architecture is not about what a building looks like from the road. It is about how a room feels on a Tuesday.
Eleanor founded Hallowell & Rae to keep the practice small enough to care properly. The studio takes on a handful of projects a year, and the principal is on every site, every time.
From first call to door.
A clear process, so you always know what is next and what it costs.
01
Discovery
A series of conversations about how you live, plus a site visit. We listen before we draw.
02
Schematic design
Options, not answers. We explore two to three directions before committing to one.
03
Design development
The chosen direction becomes a building: materials, systems, and details resolved.
04
Construction documents
Drawings precise enough to price and build, with a clear construction budget.
05
Construction
We stay on site through bidding and building, answering the questions that always come up.
The best compliment we receive is that a house feels like it was always there.
Eleanor Rae, AIA
From clients.
Eleanor did not just design our house - she taught us to see the site. Every decision was explained, every cost was honest.
They said 'quiet, built to last, no drama' and delivered exactly that. The studio is the best room in our house.
The rare firm that is equally good at listening and at drawing. Our renovation stayed on budget and on time.
Talk to us about the site.
Write to us with a few sentences about your project. We reply within two business days.