About the Practice
Claire Davenport Architecte Inc. is an international architecture and design practice dedicated to bringing thoughtful, meticulous solutions to projects across a diverse range of types and scales. We work with mission-based organizations and individuals to cultivate community through the art of building.
Our studio’s process is highly attuned to the demands of each specific client and program and thus every project begins with a rigorous investigation of context in all its forms -environment, intention, budget, schedule, construction methods, use patterns, applicable zoning and regulations, aspirations, and personalities- in order to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the problems and possibilities at hand. That attention to detail is then carried through the design and construction processes because we believe it is the details that make all the difference.
While our experience includes developing spaces of the most personalized, individual nature, we believe architecture’s real power lies in its ability to bring people together. We believe that well designed spaces can foster social engagement.
Our work leans towards the formally clean, but sensorially rich. We believe in stripping away excess without erasing texture and materiality. We believe in exploring the natural properties of materials and combining them with technical knowledge and precision.
We believe that atmosphere should not be an afterthought but a driving force. Embracing seamless functionality does not mean giving up moments of transcendence. A result that works for you is only the bare minimum.
Curious about the process? Please reach out. We would love to talk through it and answer any questions you may have.
Interested in collaborating? Let’s talk. CDA loves to work with artists, artisans, craftswomen, builders, planners, activists, NGO’s, writers, film makers, musicians, and sociologists to tackle the tough and the wild.
Come create with us.
About the Principal
Claire A. Davenport
MOAQ AIA LEED AP, Principal
Claire Davenport is a registered architect in Quebec, Texas, and New York with a wide range of experience. Above all, she relentlessly looks for ways to nurture a multi-disciplinary and inclusive practice that engages the community with open doors, one that incorporates experimentation with new definitions of housing and the myriad ways we inhabit the city, as well as art, craft, publishing, and public conversation. Prior to founding Claire Davenport Architecte, Claire led multifaceted hospitality and residential projects for Guerin Glass Architects in international locations and spent invaluable years navigating the complexities of building in New York City, completing new mixed-use, multi-family buildings as well as private residences and intricately detailed renovations.
In addition to her professional work, Claire has completed research in rainwater harvesting infrastructure and the cultivation of community through open-ended design. She has served as guest critic at the University of Montreal, RISD, Parsons the New School, Pratt Institute, and MIT and is currently working with Architecture Sans Frontières Québec to develop a portrait of the ecosystem of homelessness in Montréal and a set of best practices that will inform small, urban interventions.
Claire holds a Master of Architecture degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Comparative Literature from Stanford University. She is originally from Austin, TX and there is inevitably a little bit of the warmth and life of that city in everything she does. She will still drop everything for a Shiner and some steel guitar.
