WAV in Forbes’ America’s Top 200 Residential Architects List

The Sibley Street House

We’re thrilled to announce we've been named to Forbes' inaugural list of America’s Top 200 Residential Architects!

This recognition highlights our team’s skill in residential architecture, specifically our ability to design unique, high-end homes that enhance every-day living and make the most of a given site and context. We're honored to be ranked among the nation’s best! Forbes took on a massive task, analyzing every American Institute of Architects member firm with an online presence—over 18,000 firms in total! 

From there, 750 firms, including WAV, were invited to submit their best three homes completed in 2019 or later. After two rounds of rigorous evaluation—Professional Expertise and Exemplary House Design—the highest-scoring projects advanced to the semifinals. In this final round, our work was measured against Forbes' seven guiding principles of residential architecture by the Forbes Architecture editorial team and the Forbes Architecture Advisory Board, whose members include an impressive list of industry architects, journalists, photographers, and educators. 

Forbes seven-category Architecture’s Residential Guiding Principles & Best Practices

  1. Siting and local context

  2. Architectural form and detailing

  3. Building materials and craft

  4. Spatial configuration

  5. HVAC and Tech

  6. Physical and psychological effects

  7. Environmental | appropriateness to region and local climate zone


WAV submitted The Sibley Street House in Montrose, Alabama, to be judged against the above Residential Guiding Principles & Best Practices as part of the process. The Sibley Street project is a contemporary-style home with a main house and attached carport, along with two detached guest houses flanking the main home to create a courtyard framing the bay view. 

The homeowners use the house as a live music venue for special concerts, and local and regional art is featured throughout. The home’s interior and exterior are connected visually with expanses of glass—mainly in the form of large-scale bi-folding and bi-passing doors. The entire living space opens up to the pool deck/court, creating a visually impactful space for entertaining. View more photos of the project and browse the Top 200 Residential Architects list. 

Links:

https://www.wavarchitects.com/the-sibley-house 

https://www.forbes.com/lists/top-architects/ 

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