Caddis is a multidisciplinary design collaborative that explores ways of living more lightly upon our earth in beautiful, healthy environments.

A leader in sustainable design, zero net energy homes, and livable communities, Caddis Collaborative applies attention, sophisticated design, and creative solutions to every project. In addition to our skills in architecture, our expertise in grassroots community engagement is essential for large-scale projects, especially multi-family housing and institutional projects. At Caddis Collaborative, we reflect our core values in all of our work, striving to create sustainable communities through sustainable building practices. Not only do we have the capacity to ensure a project’s success, but we also have the talent and expertise to do it elegantly and artfully. If it’s worth building, it’s worth doing it well.

What We Do

Caddis has an open, collaborative environment where everyone brings to bear their expertise, experience, and insight through ongoing internal design review sessions. We also employ internal peer review on construction documents for quality control. This loops our technical proficiency into the conceptual design, creating an exchange of ideas and improving practices.

Team members enjoy working at Caddis, relish the types of projects we work on, and appreciate the types of clients we attract. Our team’s composition (with additional consultant expertise as needed) allows us to be flexible and agile as we take on new projects.

The team is organized to front-load each project with our best knowledge in a fully collaborative format. This attitude extends through construction documentation as we fully document the building in a Revit BIM model and then into the field where we work well as a team with your chosen general contractor.

Caddis focuses on affordability and sustainability in all projects. We can achieve energy efficiency ratings above the base requirements and can design projects to meet our client’s financial goals. The ability to create highly energy-efficient projects is a basic service we have provided for years (before it was cool!). From each end of the spectrum, our high-end design work and budget-sensitive projects inform each other to mutual advantage.

How We Do It

We listen to our clients. Our first step on any project is to understand the client’s needs, the site context, the climate, the characteristics of the user, tenant, or resident group, the financial pro forma, and the approvals process. We identify land mines early in the process to safeguard the project’s success. Many of the projects we have completed involved intensive entitlement and public processes – by welcome design. Change often draws neighborhood opposition. Caddis works hard to listen humbly and to truly address people’s concerns.

As our name indicates, we value collaboration, and there aren’t any egos that get in the way of everyone’s voice and expertise at the table. Our clients, the general contractors we work with, and the consultants we regularly bring into our projects all will say we’re easy to work with.

Caddis brings in consultants as needed for supplementary expertise. Key project staff members at each consulting firm have an existing and positive working relationship with Caddis. We also consider the client, any governmental entities, and other stakeholders as essential members of the team. In the end, the client, the contractor, and our team have the same goal of getting the project built. We can only do that with everyone’s participation in the process.

A Few Words About Sustainability

Caddis has always been ahead of the curve in energy-efficient design, and we remain so. At the core of all our work are deep sustainable strategies that we incorporate as a base level of service. Caddis has completed numerous zero net energy buildings, and we are also a national leader in sustainable community design. We have a strong background in passive solar, daylighting, and conservation-driven design, which makes goals of zero net energy and carbon neutrality all the more attainable.

Several staff members are certified Passive House consultants, and all of us are LEED Accredited Professionals. Caddis has won awards for energy efficiency on projects such as Silver Sage Village Cohousing and Wild Sage Cohousing as well as others. A net-energy-producing home we designed in Fraser, Colorado, has a Home Energy Rating (HERS) of -26 (about the lowest in the country, last we checked) and produces enough energy for the family’s two electric cars in a climate that’s incredibly cold.

Caddis performs iterative energy modeling in house, and we dovetail our services with third-party HERS Raters or energy modelers as required. While we press for sustainability, it’s less common for us to seek certifications for our work unless the additional cost is justified in the interest of serving the client. Each client has budgetary constraints that are real and that need to inform the choices made throughout the design process. This includes green design as well.

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Awards

We don’t chase awards, but now
and then our work get noticed.

Caddis Collaborative and its architects have won a few awards in recognition of their sustainable, community-oriented projects:

Our Team

We work together to create beautiful designs for you.

We bring deep experience as architects to our work. We are mutually supportive, talented, skillful, approachable, creative, joyful, and technically spot on. No egos here – just a warm spirit of camaraderie and a can-do attitude.

Bryan Bowen

Principle Architect

Communitarian. Mentor.
Big-hearted.

Kristen Uitto

Principle Architect

Perseverant. Inspired.
Kind.

Kelly Siu

Senior Architect

Dedicated. Hardworking.
Triathlete.

Jesús Bendezú

Senior Architect

Knowledgeable. Outdoorsman.
Trustworthy.

Stephen Eckert

Senior Architect

Thoughtful. Creative.
World traveler.

Bob Wilson

Senior Architect

Imaginative. Determined.
Affable.

Chad Kipfer

Senior Architect

Kind. Consistent.
Playful.

Morgan Krasovich

Architectural Associate

Adventurous. Kind.
Curious.

Julian Fischer Frank

Architectural Associate

Inventive. Passionate.
Woodworker.

Karin Hoskin

Business Manager

Organized. Resourceful.
Enthusiastic.

Leo

Wellness Director

Bark. Bark.
Bark.

We’re proud to be in good company.

We love being part of the community that’s bringing good design to good people. That’s why we contribute to and participate in these organizations – so we can bring the best emerging ideas to you.

Get In Touch

Let us bring your vision to life.

A beautiful space that fits your best life. A sustainable build. A fun and easy design process. We’re with you every step of the way – from the beginning dream to the finished project!