Brendan Riley, Architect.
Twenty-five years of practice. Eight years on his own. UC Berkeley. Lives in Truckee, designs homes for the Sierra, and takes on a small handful of projects a year so each one gets the architect, not a hand-off.
The path
From a big firm to a one-architect studio.
Brendan started at Ryan Group Architects after Berkeley, where he led residential work in the Tahoe region for years. The portfolio there ran into Architectural Digest and Mountain Living, and the awards kept arriving from Tahoe Quarterly and Western Art & Architecture.
In 2020 he went solo. The model is intentional: two or three custom homes a year, no employees, no junior associates. Every interview, every plan study, every job site walk is Brendan. Clients hire one architect and get one architect.
The work continues to win awards. The bigger story is what clients describe: a long, careful interview, three real plan options, and an architect who's still on the phone during construction.
Character
What people say after working together.
He is a trusted partner on complex, design-driven residential projects, and I would recommend him without hesitation.
Brendan also brings a calm, professional demeanor that elevates the entire team dynamic.
Recognition
Featured. Awarded. Year after year.
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Architectural Digest
Featured residential work
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Mountain Living
Profile + featured homes
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Tahoe Quarterly
Multiple Mountain Home Awards
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Western Art & Architecture
Featured project
Day to day
Lives in Truckee. Reachable. Around.
The studio is local. Brendan is in Truckee year-round, on Lahontan job sites in the morning, in Martis Camp in the afternoon, on a phone call with an engineer in between. Site visits aren't a special event — they're just part of how the work gets done.
The client roster is small enough that anyone calling Brendan gets Brendan. Anyone emailing the studio gets a response, usually that day, often within hours.
From a peer
Not only is he a terrific and thoughtful architect but he is also a kind and compassionate person.
Currently taking new commissions
Want to talk about a project?
First conversation is exploratory and free. Send a few photos of your lot and a paragraph about what you're imagining.