For Principal Rick Archer, learning is why he lives. Over the years many have asked him to describe his ideal client, and he has come to answer that it is someone who changes his worldview through the course of a project. It is by engaging a client, their culture, their place, and their mission that he learns from them and is able to represent them well as their architect.

Drawing inspiration from the literary world, Rick contends that John Steinbeck would have been a phenomenal architect. Steinbeck’s literary structure, form, and proportion closely parallel that of architecture.  His stories connect to a larger world and to history to provide a deep understanding of what came before, making ancient, archetypal stories relevant today.

Rick takes a similar approach to design, not to replicate, but to reinterpret for our contemporary culture. Because of this, he is more interested in making good buildings than great ones. The distinction lies in a building’s relationship to context. While greatness is about standing apart, about being exceptional, goodness happens within the realm of day-to-day life. His architectural philosophy has grown from this, and he believes it is better to make buildings that are in harmony with their context—that support the greater good—than to make buildings that are “exceptional.”

Education
University of Texas at Austin
Bachelor of Architecture, 1979, Highest Honors

Honors
Outstanding Friar Alumnus
The University of Texas Friar Society, 2007

Silver Medal – Tau Sigma Delta
Texas Tech University, 2006

College of Fellows, American Institute of Architects, AIA San Antonio
Chapter Chairman, 1999

Outstanding Young Alumnus,
The University of Texas, 1988

AIA First Award
1979

Valedictorian
The University of Texas, 1979

Outstanding Student of the University
The University of Texas, 1979

Learner / Achiever / Responsibility / Connectedness / Strategic