Suzanne Allen

The Star of À La Carte Ranch and Farm Design

Architect Suzanne Allen grew up on a 5,000-acre family ranch in Northern California, where her father always had a couple of dozen horses. From an early age, she spent summer after summer on construction sites, helping her father with his building business.

It was during those years that Suzanne developed her belief that architecture should be practical while remaining aesthetically compelling. Architecture should be a portrait of the person or people for whom it is created — not an expression of the architect’s ego.

After studying in Oregon and Egypt, Suzanne earned her master’s degree from the University of Colorado.

She established her own practice in Breckenridge, Colorado, where she met her partner Courtney Saldivar. Together they opened a second office in Houston, as most of their clients come from Texas. After all, Texas and ranches naturally go hand in hand.

In addition to homes in Colorado and Texas, the architects have worked on projects in Hawaii, Canada, New Zealand and Egypt. Suzanne describes her company as “Concierge Architects”, with ranches and farms accounting for approximately 50% of its work.

Rustic Zen design is about more than simply using wood and stone — it is about the way these natural materials influence a space. Natural materials are not used merely as decorative elements. In Zen Buddhism, there is a belief in allowing thoughts to enter the mind and then letting them pass. Translated into the language of architecture, this means simplicity and naturalness, with one element flowing seamlessly into another.

When it comes to ranches, the approach is essentially an à la carte menu. Every ranch should be unique to its owner and designed around specific functions, needs and ways of living.

This is a form of postmodern architecture in which warmth, functionality and natural materials reveal their distinctive character and sharper edges.

In the mid-1990s, Suzanne received a grant from the American Institute of Architects. For Suzanne, architecture is all about the details — without details, there is no depth.