CLIFF WELCH ELEVATED TO AIA FELLOW

Welch Architecture is proud to announce Cliff Welch was one of  the five Texas architects out of 95,000 National members elevated to the AIA College of Fellows this year. 

Texas Architect: 2020 AIA Fellows Announced

This prestigious honor is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to architecture and society on a national level. Out of a total AIA membership of over 95,000, fewer than 3% have been  distinguished with the honor of fellowship and honorary fellowship. Prior to COVID-19, the new class of Fellows was to be recognized on May 15 at an investiture ceremony at the AIA Conference on Architecture in Los Angeles. 

The College of Fellows, founded in 1952, is composed of members of the institute who are elected to Fellowship by a jury of their peers. Fellowship is one of the highest honors the AIA can bestow upon a member. Elevation to Fellowship not only recognizes the architect as an individual, but also elevates before the public and the profession those architects who have made significant contributions to architecture and society. 

Cliff’s work has been honored at the local and national levels. He founded his own practice, Welch Architecture, in 2000. He is known for creating timeless architecture that evokes a richness of detail, materiality, craftsmanship, and artful composition elevating awareness and appreciation for design.

SELECTED WORK

HOUSE OF LIGHT & SHADOW | 2019

The narrow infill site, surrounded by densely situated homes, provided unique challenges.  Parallels were drawn from Japanese architecture, where spaces are internalized, focusing on materials, light quality, shadows, and controlled views rather than scenic views. A delicate balance of light and dark, solid and void, horizontal and vertical, imperfect and pristine are expressed throughout.

ARCADY | 2017

4539 Arcady Avenue is a two-story residence in Highland Park in a traditional 1930’s neighborhood. A stone, stucco, and glass façade faces the street and shields large expanses of glass open to the entry court. The open living and dining room create a sense of continuity between the entry and backyard.  The design includes active and passive forms of sustainable living, from solar panels to deep overhangs facing the South, to materials that were selected for durability and sustainability. 

The first LEED Platinum residence built in Highland Park

BACHMAN CREEK | 2016

The clients' desire was to build the home in which they would live out their days, set within a gently sloping site overlooking a tranquil creek lot foretelling visions of fishing with grandchildren. Large expanses of glass offer views of the creek and the rear yard while catching filtered morning light from the east.  Deep, cantilevered overhangs protect the interiors from the south and west. 

“Always simple, elegant, understated.  Everything seems so worked out.  Refined to the essence.  The materials add to the definition of space. Nothing seems experimental…all the decisions come across as very deliberate and to the point....Your work is inspiring.” -Joe Bass, AIA, H.K.S. Architects

2017 Paper City Design Award: Best Residential Architecture under 3500 sf

HOUSE ON WHITE ROCK LAKE | 2015

Located along the western shoreline of White Rock Lake, the home overlooks nature and wildlife, as well as sailboats, walkers, runners, cyclists, and rowers that come from all over the city to enjoy the lake and park. A series of horizontal planes jut out separated by expanses of glass, mirroring the trees during the day, and disappearing at night.  From the front, low slung forms of coursed regional limestone and mahogany shelter the home from the surrounding neighborhood.  Unlike the ephemeral nature of all that surrounds us, the intent is that this family home offers permanence, which will be enjoyed by future generations for years to come.

“While the landscape beautifully connects to the scenic surroundings, the entity acts as the perfect gallery like setting for paintings and sculpture. “

-Tate Gunnerson, LUXE Magazine

2016 Paper City Design Award : Best Residential Architecture over 3500 sf

TEN201 | 2010-2020

The Enclave at Northcliff contains three sustainable homes built over a ten-year span, all of modest size and budget, each unique but intended to complement one another within a challenging infill site. The radial site and common entrance provide for socializing and communal gatherings while the interiors open to private yards, courtyards, and pools.  

“Welch’s White Rock Home Tour house’s elegant simplicity and open spaces incorporate modern design to create an exceptional environment.”  -Leah Shafer,  Interview with an Architect

White Rock Home Tour, 2015-2018

Dallas AIA Home Tour, 2012	

RIDGELINE | 2010

This home embraces nature, nestled into the top of the ridge. The site, located along the top of the Gros Ventre Butte, was selected for its breathtaking panoramic view. Each room overlooks the Teton Range and adjacent valley. The main roof line follows the natural slope of the land, extending outward, offering protection from the harsh western sun and driving snow. The structure is kept relatively close to the ground, the garage is built into the hillside, and covered with a green roof to allow the natural sage, grasses, and wildflowers to take back the site over time.  The work shown was executed extensively by local artisans and craftsmen.

“In an era of relentless pursuit of object buildings and computer generated forms, Ridgeline stands as a singular example of relevance, sustainabilty, and reverence,. It demonstrates the enduring power of restraint, site specific considerations, an architecture that is settled in dialogue with its context.”

-Dror Baldinger, FAIA, Contributer, Texas Architect

Paper City Design Award : Best Residential Architecture under 3500 sf

LAKE HIGHLANDS | 2009

Sited on the crest of a gentle hill overlooking White Rock,  this house is about a deep connection to the lake. As the owners are both avid runners and love the outdoors, there is no better place to live than White Rock lake, an urban oasis in the heart of Dallas.  In 2013 the owners acquired the adjacent site, and we designed a carport for their children, a fire pit area, working gardens, and a new guest house pavilion.

“The Dallas architect took advantage of the view, designing a home with expanses of glass that open the rooms to glittering views of sunrise and sunset” -Karel Holloway,  Dallas Morning News

ST. CLAIR RESTORATION | 2009

In May of 2008, we learned that this family home, designed in 1958 by noted architect Arch B. Swank, AIA had been devastated by fire.  This project is not about architectural ego, or making a design statement, but rather restoring a wonderful family home, a small but significant example of regional mid-century residential architecture, by one of the state’s finest modern architects. 

Preservation Dallas Restoration Award 2011

THE JAZZ HOUSE | 2005

In addition to an already detailed program and list of inspirations, the owner shared his favorite piece of West Coast Jazz, Harbor Freeway 5pm, by Jack Wilson. This music literally became instrumental to the design process.  There’s a beautiful richness to the way it starts out simple, builds in the middle, and softens towards the end. More than just inspiration, this feeling, along with its syncopation, rhythm, and ordering system became the unifying idea behind the building’s design. There’s a playfulness with jazz. It takes chances: you can feel that when you move through the house. 

“Clifford Welch has created a remarkably progressive fusion of jazz music and residential architecture” -David Hudnall, Luxury Home

American Institute of Architects, Dallas, Merit Award, 2011

Paper City : Honorable Mention Best Residential Architecture over 3500 sf

10 Most Beautiful Homes in Dallas, D-Home, 2010

CHAPEL HILL | 2003

 “We believe our home should be as inspiring to our children as it is to us, a physical metaphor of the lives we wish our children to live- of grace, style, and quality without pretension, of warmth and character without falsehood, and of cleverness without malice. We want our home to live for many generations, to embrace the land and the community, to become essential and important. And someday, we want the families who come after us to admire the integrity and restore it, and enjoy it as much as we did.” -Shawn and Saundra Freeman, Letter to their Architect

“From all indications, the new residence meets the standards set out by the Freemans, In the tradition of past architects, whose work remains as valid today as when it was constructed. Welch has achieved a timeless project that meets his clients’ program beautifully.” -W.D. Collins II. AIA “Inspired Reflection of Plane, Texas Architect Magazine”

AIA Honor Award, Dallas Chapter, 2003

10 Most Beautiful Homes In Dallas, D-Home, 2004 

WATERFORD DRIVE RENOVATION | 1998

Tucked in an East Dallas tree covered neighborhood,  this modest home was designed by modernist Glenn Allen Galaway in 1953. Our challenge was to undo the modifications that had occurred over the last 4 decades, address areas of deferred maintenance and neglect, and restore the home to its original modern roots: a balance of renovation and restoration. 

“Simple lines and open spaces, combined with TLC and Elbow grease made this neighborhood home an award winner.” -Becky Vaughan, Advocate Magazine, 2005 

Preservation Dallas, FIRST EVER Residential Restoration Awards, 2000

25 Year Award,  AIA Dallas, 1998

MAX SULLIVAN EXHIBITION: RETROSPECTIVE OF THE WORK OF CLIFF WELCH 

As a distinguished Alumni, in 2015 Cliff was invited to exhibit a retrospective of his work at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Max Sullivan Gallery.  This was a rare honor, only extended to a few alumni.  The resulting exhibition included 3 decades of architecture, sketches, models, photography, and paintings.