Architect and Interior Designer Joan Craig of LICHTEN CRAIG Talks Education, Travel and Experience

Today's The Scoop features one of this generation's prominent designers, Joan Craig of the architecture and interiors firm LICHTEN CRAIG.

Craig has been in the industry for over twenty years, working on residential and cultural projects alongside business partner Kevin Lichten. The firm has offices in Chicago and New York, and their clients live in some of today's most esteemed places. 

The architect and designer claim she and Litchen do not work from a specific system; they approach each project, each client and each place with a new and different style. The belief is that if they do not do this, they really aren't designing.

Craig grew up as a single child with parents introducing her to home design and furnishings at a young age. While living in Paris as student, she admired the work of revered architect Pierre Chareau. This exposure to grow from unique experiences and the opportunity to travel kept Craig motivated and inspired and, of course, even more curious.

Read further to understand how Craig continues to grow as an architect and designer even after twenty years in the industry. Also, find out where she hopes to see LITCHEN CRAIG in the future. 

MB: Who is Joan Craig, professionally and personally?

JC: I am an architect and interior designer practicing in partnership with dear friend and colleague Kevin Lichten with offices in New York and Chicago. The focus of our work is residential and cultural architecture and interiors. Our goal is to translate comfortable, chic and memorable realities of our clients. I'm married to Peter Ruggiero, an incredibly talented architect who inspires me daily, and we have three — may I say remarkable? — children. All of us share a love of projects and making things. 

MB: Were you intrigued by design as a child?

JC: When I was seven years old, my parents started looking for a new home. Every Sunday for almost seven years, we drove around the Philadelphia area in search of a new house. When we weren't house hunting, it seemed that we were diagramming and analyzing what made a good home for us — and what didn't. I was an only child, and along with skiing, gardening and traveling, this was our main family activity.

A bit eccentric, I know. I'll always remember our real estate broker looking at my parents when they finally found our place. She shook her head and said, "I never thought I'd see this day. I've literally watched your daughter grow up." Once they bought the house, the focus was going to auction and finding objects and furniture that was right for the home. It's no wonder I wound up in architecture school!

MB: Was there a significant sign or "aha" moment when you realized architecture and interior design were your calling? 

JC: I've always loved the intersection between architecture and interiors — and yes, there was a moment when a light went off and I recognized that pursuing this would be my life's work.

When I was twenty years old and studying in Paris, I lived with a French family. The mother's parents had commissioned Pierre Chareau, the legendary French architect, to design a home for them. This project was the Maison de Verre, the extraordinary glass house built in 1932 on the rue St. Guillaume. I had a little apartment across the courtyard and had the great pleasure that year of being able to study the house and its furniture, designing intrinsically and purposefully together. It was an incredible education, and it inspired me to pursue architecture and interiors. 

MB: What propelled you to build your own brand?

JC: The decision was both creative and practical. I learned a tremendous amount from the people I've worked with over the years at Sotheby's, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, and especially Sam White and Harry Buttrick of the architecture and design firm Buttrick, White and Burtis. Each place was instrumental in providing me with a different skill set and perspective. 

Then there came a day when I really wanted to develop my own language and practice. My friend Kevin Lichten had an emerging architecture practice, and he approached me about starting a partnership. I'll never forget him saying, "the studio is beginning to take off and I really need another grown up to make this happen." It's been almost twenty years now since we founded LICHTEN CRAIG together. 

MB: Who is your client today?

JC: We're incredibly fortunate with our clientele and the many extraordinary places where they live! Our clients range from 18-year-olds to eighty-something years olds, and many of them are sophisticated, open, visually literate people who appreciate ideas, quality, and beauty.

Some clients meet with us for an afternoon and then tell us to call them when the project is over in the next year or two. They want vision, service and ease.  Others are deeply invested in learning about what goes into the design — the history and tradition, the artisans, the materials, the process, etc. These collaborations are incredibly rewarding. Regardless of the approach, we strive to make homes that capture a personal sense of warmth and style for our clients.

Many are repeat clients — and it's a real pleasure for us to work with a client on the second, third, fourth project when we have developed a strong relationship and can communicate easily. My clients and I often wind up as close friends.

Now that we've been doing this for a while, we're starting to work with our clients' children. As a design exercise, it's very rewarding to reinvent the idea of a home for children whose childhood homes we designed, referencing where they grew up and who they have become. It's such a fun study!

MB: How does LICHTEN CRAIG differentiate itself amongst other firms?

JC: We are curious people and have absolutely no interest in developing a formula and executing it over and over again.  Every client, every place, every object is different, otherwise it's not really design, is it? For me, the greatest satisfaction in my work is immersing myself in the inquiry and the definition, while trying to understand what would bring out the best in our clients. We also study the site to understand its light, culture, orientation, features, context, and how to express these thoughts through architecture, interiors, finishes, furniture, objects, art, and all of things that make up a home. 

MB: What is "that thing" that your clients can rely on from you?

JC: Our clients can rely on us for a clear and confident point of view, informed by our experience and expertise. My business partner Kevin Lichten and I both studied art history in college and enjoy being lifelong students of art and of the decorative arts. After college, I worked for three years at Sotheby's in the paintings department, where I saw an extraordinary volume of furniture, objects and pictures, and I learned a tremendous amount of knowledge about quality and connoisseurship. I then went to Princeton for architecture school and studied design and theory for three very intense years. The most important lesson I learned at Princeton was to define the diagram, the parti, to search for the ideal, the narrative and the concept at the heart of every successful project. In our practice we work from the general to the specific to try to find the ideal framework and then to develop it with details, furniture, objects and art.

MB: Where do you seek inspiration?

JC: I seek inspiration from traveling, art and antiques shows.

When I walk through a design fair or any great museum, I never cease to be amazed by the sheer variety and creativity of human expression. It's staggering. I always come away inspired.

Traveling and seeing different architecture, urbanism, cultures are also very inspiring. It's definitely a change in perspective. I love that quote about how travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer! I'll soon be traveling to Savannah and Charleston for the first time, and I'm really looking forward to seeing some incredible historic architecture and trying some shrimp and grits. Regardless, it will be a fantastic visit with a great client.

MB: What is something you would want people to know about LICTHEN CRAIG that perhaps they don't know? 

JC: I'm incredibly proud of our team and the culture of our offices in New York and Chicago. Over the years we've always tried to create a place where young architects and designers can thrive. Mentorship is very important to us. Young designers and architects bring vitality and new ideas to our practice, and we try to push their creative development and skills with exacting standards. There is a great sense of energy, collaboration and invention in the studio, which is revealed in our projects.

MB: What has been the hardest challenge to overcome throughout your career?

JC: Getting our business off the ground those first few years along with setting up our Chicago office ten years later were both challenging. Also, being a young architect straight out of grad school (or in grad school, for that matter) is no picnic! But the people you're working beside when you're on a deadline, sleep-deprived and stressed out in the studio at 3 a.m. are lifelong friends and colleagues. So as they say, it was the best of times...

MB: Where do you see LITCHEN CRAIG in the future?

JC: I would like to continue to explore new and faraway places and cultures, making homes (and perhaps hotels) for new and existing clients. I love doing what we're doing. I would like to see more of the world and continue to create beautiful and memorable spaces for new people.