When I first started working in architecture over 30 years ago, I was a hand drafter for Salmon Falls Architecture in South Berwick, Maine. Their superb designs, knowledge of historical detailing and impeccably organized construction drawings laid the base for my love of quality residential design. But I had not entered the field through conventional channels. After giving up a dream of becoming a professional dancer two years earlier, strong skills in three-dimensional visualization, a creative mind and a love born in childhood of historic architecture led me to shift my focus to the field of architectural design. I augmented my college Art and Dance degree with the study of architectural drafting and design at Southern Maine Vocational Technical School and then was on my way.
Strong skills acquired at Salmon Falls Architecture led me through the years to designing for builders and drafting for other well known firms, most notably McHenry Architecture, DeStefano Architects, CJ Architects and Thane Pearson Design. In 1994 I started Riverside Design and worked in residential design on my own. Steve McHenry asked me to join McHenry Architecture in 1999 and I became a project manager, senior designer and coordinator of Historic District Commission applications. In 2010 I resumed my own residential design work and in 2015 renewed my business as Arilda Design.
“I’m inspired by what I do.”
I’ve had many wonderful clients and interesting projects over the past years. It’s enjoyable and rewarding to listen to and discuss ideas, walk around a potential site or existing home with clients, discuss problems of space and traffic flow, and solve these issues together to create a new space where the homeowners will feel comfortable and love to live. Putting together the construction drawings, coordinating with structural or civil engineers and working out all the details is also interesting to me. In addition to the creative process and construction drawings, my years of experience working with building codes, building inspectors, structural engineers and contractors helps to make a sometimes complicated or intimidating process comfortable for clients. Procedures I am familiar with include Variance applications (Board of Adjustment), Historic District Commission applications (HDC) and Zoning Board of Adjustment applications (ZBA).