About Coldham & Hartman Architects
Buildings are all around us. They shape our lives. Once completed, they stay around for a long time - so it's worth a little care in doing them well.
Coldham & Hartman Architects currently consists of two Registered Architects, Bruce Coldham and Thomas Hartman. We are a full service architectural practice designing residential, commercial, and institutional buildings for public, private, and non-profit entities. The firm has a staff of five including the two owners - four technical and one support.
We have a passion for and professional commitment to fine architecture, and specifically to elevating "green" (ecologically intelligent) design to a high order of aesthetic refinement. ("What is Green Architecture" explains some of this in further detail.) For us, a great building is one with a timeless aesthetic delight, which demonstrates an elegant (and often innovative) integration of building systems. It fits the place in which it's located, and productively engages the ambient energy and resource flows (sun, wind, rain, etc.) of its site and region. "We want our buildings to be green and graceful" says founding principal Bruce Coldham, "... and we work hard to make them fit our clients needs".
We undertake building rehabilitation and remodeling because we believe that maintenance and revitalization of old buildings is key to keeping our cities and towns alive. Our work with cohousing groups reflects our commitment to helping organizations and communities grow through involvement in the design process. Our institutional work underscores our belief that the infrastructure of our common future must be thoughtful, enjoyable, and productive, so that it can outlast those who helped to build it.
We believe in the creative potential of a well-coordinated, mutually respectful team. Though we are a small office, our capabilities are vastly enhanced by the extensive network of consulting support with which we regularly work, and which includes some of the most accomplished systems designers and building analysts in North America.
We use sophisticated CAD equipment to produce design and construction documentation as well as visual presentations: photo-realistic three-dimensional illustrations and renderings, simulated building "fly-throughs", and sun and shadow studies. This capability of projecting our clients into and around their buildings as the design evolves helps everyone to hold a clear and common visualization of what is being proposed. (Each client has a "private room" on our website from where they can download these "visual building tours" and manipulate them on their own computers.)
Coldham & Hartman Architects received a Pioneer Valley Smart Growth Award for Projects to Protect the Environment, Conserve Energy, and Reduce Pollution for the Rocky Hill Cohousing in 2007. In 1995, the firm received an Honor Award for Design Excellence from the American Institute of Architects (New England Region) for Pine Street Cohousing project. That same project received the 1996 Energy Value Award for attached cold climate housing by the National Association of Homebuilders. In 1997, the Renew America organization based in Washington D.C. awarded Pine Street Cohousing its annual national award for Green Building and Real Estate Development.
Contact Us
Coldham & Hartman Architects 155 Pine Street
Amherst, MA 01002
USA
413.549.3616
Bruce Coldham, AIA
Bruce(at)ColdhamAndHartman.com
Thomas RC Hartman, AIA
Tom(at)ColdhamAndHartman.com
General Inquiries
info(at)ColdhamAndHartman.com
Coldham & Hartman Architects bring the following strengths to a project:
Strong listening, programming and design skills. We have particular experience in creating high quality spaces that promote a comfortable, healthy working environment — and in hearing peoples’ concerns about what that means.
Project management and cost control skills. We take our clients' budget and schedule seriously, and are experienced at tracking both through the project.
Experience at creating and managing inclusive design processes involving many diverse players. Involvement in working with cohousing groups, non-profits, and town committees exemplifies our commitment in this regard. We have developed interactive group design and programming games and strategies to facilitate this work.
The ability to conduct positive, lasting, client relationships. Our recommendations indicate that we have developed these skills with many satisfied clients. Our clients are dealing with a Principal at all times.
Extensive experience with environmentally sustainable materials and systems. We work with confidence from the experience of past success. Energy efficiency, comfort, safe indoor environments, and resource-efficient materials are incorporated into our projects as a matter of primary concern. A recent project, the new offices for Stonyfield Farm Inc., demonstrates our commitment and expertise to environmentally sound buildings. Our immersion in this field also permits us to call on an international network of experts as unusual questions arise.
Three dimensional computer aided design capability. Our ArchiCAD system enables us to create a project model from which walk-through, aerial, and interior views can be easily drawn — and which can be used to generate full construction documentation. This allows our clients and regulatory boards to see 3-D interior and exterior views from early stages of the project. We have the capacity to produce a video taped "tour" of the building as a "virtual reality" at the completion of schematic design — which may be a fascinating product, and quite valuable for fundraising purposes.
Construction skills and construction process management skills. We have experience building what we have designed. We have thought deeply about how the construction process can be improved and have implemented non-traditional approaches based on respect for all involved in the construction process. These approaches have lead to higher quality results.
"What is Green Architecture" explains some of the above in greater detail.