Best Practice Architecture, founded in 2011, is a Seattle-based studio led by Ian Butcher, Kailin Gregga, and Kip Katich. The practice is defined by its rigorous engagement with site, scale, and typology, producing architecture that merges spatial efficiency with expressive formal strategies.
Phinney Mini, Lil Shingle, and a range of infill, adaptive reuse, and small-scale urban projects exemplify Best Practice Architecture’s ability to operate within constraint while achieving spatial richness. Across residential and commercial typologies, the studio deploys bold color, material clarity, and diagrammatic precision as tools to heighten the experience and reveal the latent potential in ordinary conditions.
Best Practice Architecture maintains a collaborative, research-led process, informed equally by technical execution and a commitment to accessible, joyful design. Each project reflects a refined approach to construction logic, occupant needs, and contextual responsiveness, reinforcing the practice’s position within a new generation of architecturally ambitious, socially attuned offices.
What inspires you?
Kailin Gregga
Firstly, my friends inspire me! I am so lucky to live in a city that has a robust creative community that ranges from visual arts, glass blowing, dance, music, architecture, product design, furniture making, lighting fabrication, ceramics – the list goes on. There is always a measure of locally procured, locally fabricated, or artist-produced elements in our projects. It is especially satisfying as a designer to be able to incorporate these kinds of things into work, as opposed to selecting from commercially produced things. Secondly, I take a lot of inspiration from the art world – the way color is used and combined, the way that space is organized, and the experiential qualities of art – these ALL inform architectural problem-solving and provide new ways of looking at the built environment.
Ian Butcher
While art is a big influence on my creative ideas, I really love movies. I love how filmmakers craft stories and make you feel something for the characters. I have always thought about the implied choreography of architecture and how people can inhabit the spaces.
What inspired you to become an architect?
Kailin Gregga
I’m actually a bit of a haphazard architect. I happened to be walking by the Architecture school’s information session at my university and spontaneously decided to attend. I had never really considered architecture as a path for myself, but it married some artistic tendencies, and interest in history with real-world problem-solving that I craved as a student. I was hooked.
Ian Butcher
I always loved playing with Legos and walking through houses under construction in my suburbs growing up. Then, in the 8th grade, my class had a field trip to the High Museum of Art, designed by Richard Meier, and I distinctly remember at that moment, I wanted to make buildings. I always loved making things and shaping spaces at every scale, so I was lucky that I figured out what I wanted to do with my life at a really young age. And I still love what I do.
Kip Katich
Growing up, I always loved to craft, create, and build – I enjoyed creativity and problem-solving. With that mindset, I always admired my grandfather, Joe, and his career as a stone mason in the Southwest. When learning of his work as a mason on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, I became aware of architecture and design, leading me into architecture school. In hindsight, I was instinctively drawn to a craft that is rooted in problem solving where the solutions also aspire to be captivating and heartening.
How would you describe your design philosophy?
Best Practice Architecture Collective Response
- Trust in yourself and your ideas
- But also listen well to everyone around you. This includes clients, contractors, subs, inspectors, and all people involved in a project. They all have specific expertise, and we strive to remember that everyone wants the projects to be successful and deserves to have their considerations heard
- Don’t be an “options factory.” While there are an infinite number of design permutations that could be generated, there are only a few that meet design goals, timeline, budget, constructability, and code. Generating options for the sake of “more” can hinder decision-making and lead to burnout
- Where is the WEIRD? We often work with old structures, remodels, adaptive reuse, or puzzling sites. We don’t treat these as constraints — we highlight them to unlock unique design moments
- Make your own logic. Each project has its own internal logic that guides decision-making. What works in one space might not in another
- Serendipity and joy are real in design. We aim to include moments of discovery or joy in our work and see these not as frivolous but as serious pursuits
- Don’t be afraid of color. We use color as a spatial tool, not a trend, and encourage others to embrace its transformative potential
What is your favorite project?
Kailin Gregga
My favourite project is the Seattle Central Library by OMA. I feel that this is one of the most remarkable and unlikely public projects that has been built in the US this century. It isn’t a mall or a museum, this is a public space built with public money – and was treated as an incubator for design ideas. It is vibrant in its color, use of soaring space, and the way it spans an incredibly challenging site. It is full of fun surprises that encourage visitors to poke around, and I love returning to this building when I’m downtown.
What is your favorite architectural detail?
Ian Butcher
It’s impossible to narrow this down to one detail. For me, detail is most impressive when it shows an appreciation for material properties, is expressive of its function, and has just enough style to catch your attention. This is most often seen in a perfectly realized handrail or door handle.
Kip Katich
My favorite details are the ones that couldn’t be accomplished without close collaboration with the various project team members. Design and construction is inherently collaborative and the best details are often the result of owners, architects, contractors, and trades working in concert with a shared vision. Something monumental happens when a key detail lands and all parties have a common sense of ownership and pride.
Do you have a favorite material?
Kailin Gregga
While this isn’t a material per se, I love to powder-coat things. We often design custom components for our projects, and my favorite is when we can powder coat them to a custom color that gives things a little zing.
Ian Butcher
Like Kailin, it’s not about a specific material. Rather, I love it when we do a monochromatic zone or dip of color. We often use color to define space, and that might be employing multiple materials but all in the same color.
Kip Katich
Color is a powerful material.
What is your process for starting a new project?
Best Practice Architecture Collective Response
Each project has its own organic way of beginning. We ask clients for all their hopes, dreams, inspiration, imagery, and thoughts—no matter how outlandish—and filter through them to understand what truly matters. It could be a feeling, a material, or an organizational idea. Once the goals are clear, we introduce themes we want to explore and create schemes that range from minimal to bold. We always include a “dark horse”—a scheme that’s slightly weird or provocative to clarify priorities and explore alternate paths. Elements from these often make their way into the final design.
How do you balance function and creativity in your designs?
Best Practice Architecture Collective Response
While we appreciate unconventional design ideas, they must support functionality. Above all, design should help people live, work, and move through spaces intuitively. This could mean applying well-established solutions or creating something unique. If it improves the experience, it’s valid.
How does the environment influence your work?
Kip Katich
The environment is the fabric within which we exist and built projects must react to that environment. Through the designs we propose, we have the awesome ability to influence our environment and responsibility for the effect. To choose how our designs react to their environments, we astutely observe, ask questions, and seek a response that wholeheartedly attempts to leave it fortified, delightful, and sustainable.
What advice would you give to young architects?
Kailin Gregga
My advice to young architects is to challenge yourself by working in a few different-sized offices on differently scaled project types. We all think that we know what we want to do after we graduate from architecture school, and those tend to lean into our strengths. Giving yourself the opportunity to try different typologies or working styles can help uncover things you might not know about yourself, or at least define directions that your career could take.
Kip Katich
The field of design and construction is vast and varied with different types of practices, areas of expertise, scale of projects, and range of typologies. There is not one way to be an Architect. Be curious, explore, and find what gives you purpose and joy.
