About John Hamilton, AIA

Born in Los Angeles, John Hamilton comes from a family of architects, builders, designers, and developers; his first home was a modest house designed by the great African American architect Paul Williams, FAIA. As a child, John not only visited countless construction sites but also resided briefly in many of the spec homes his land-developer father built, which allowed him to experience and critique the design magic of a wide variety of houses.

As a 21-year-old architecture student at the University of Southern California, John had lived in 21 different residences—houses, condominiums, townhouses, and apartment complexes—in styles ranging from the modern to the Tudor and Spanish-Colonial (the latter included a stint in an adobe designed by the Santa Monica master, John Byers).

It was in these homes that John’s aesthetic began to take shape. He recognized that the reason he loved living in certain houses was less a matter of their style and more one of their psychological impact—the way their use of light, space, mass, and materials made the occupants feel. At architecture school, John continued to develop the idea that a building’s greatness was independent of its style, basing his thesis project on the psychology of architecture. Through study and practice, he discovered the magic of design can be distilled and exercised on every scale, from the smallest to the grandest, to create buildings of ageless elegance.

“In reality, that central idea guides my work now more than ever,” John says. “The psychological impact that designed space produces has been a source of constant joy for me — the awe and wonder have never left me. It is in that spirit, and with a sensitivity to both the practical and the majestic, that I hope to break ground with you on your next project.”