While architecture is built art, it is more about a connection between the site, the environment, and how the unique needs and desires of each client manifest into creative, sustainable solutions. Site-specific, program-driven and energy-conscious environmentally appropriate design is the hallmark of Gaunt- Zimmer Design, located in Truckee.

Principal architects Ron Gaunt and Pamela Zimmer together bring over 30 years design experience to the firm, and share the same important core principles. “We are committed to the concept of sustainability and the appropriate use of renewable-resource based materials in the built environment,” says Zimmer. She continues, “As a proactive team with the builder and client working with us side by side, we work to achieve a successful project for everyone involved.”

Sustainability through Creative Solutions
According to Ron Gaunt, the focus of the firm’s architectural work is to bring sustainable design into reality using creative solutions and keeping individual projects unique to themselves, as well as to the surrounding area. Through the study of site, program and resources, and with the joint efforts of the project team, Gaunt-Zimmer Design strives to ensure each design is environmentally sensitive, financially feasible, and constructible. “To the greatest extent possible given the program and client, we maintain environmental sensitivity by incorporating green technologies,” Gaunt notes.

At Gaunt-Zimmer Design, financial feasibility is addressed through attention to program, budget, schedules, and agency requirements. Constructability is addressed through detailing and communication with the builder. Throughout all steps of design, the firm maintains a strong creative vision.

Tangible, Sustainable, and Habitable Vision
“The creative process is a spiritual and intuitive journey through one’s imagination and the world of possibilities,” explains Zimmer. “The art of building is a physical and technical response to that journey. The practice of architecture is the melding of these two opposite events, combining the yin and yang into one cohesive whole. At Gaunt-Zimmer Design we embrace the union of the real and the imagined, creating a unique vision for the built environment that is tangible, sustainable and habitable.”

The firm’s staff shares the understanding of the importance of green design and sustainability. “It is a lifestyle that our firm embraces. We understand that through architecture we can make a difference to our environment. It is a process where we can have fun, be different, and be responsible,” says Gaunt.

You can learn more about Gaunt-Zimmer Design’s philosophy and approach and view projects on the web at www.gauntzimmerdesign.com. They would be pleased to schedule a first consultation.

“Gaunt-Zimmer Design did a really nice job of creating a passive solar home that is not only highly functional, but takes advantage of the spectacular views through careful placement of rooms and stairwells. By incorporating an ingenious roof design, they were able to give us everything we requested on a very challenging building site. They really listened to our needs and melded them into a modern mountain design that gave us the ability to be flexible in finish and use.”
– James and Barbara Manetta, Truckee, CA

“We understand that through architecture we can make a difference to our environment. it is a process where we can have fun, be different, and be responsible.”
- Ron Gaunt