Linden, Brown Architecture founding partners Chris Brown and Brent Linden. Photo courtesy Linden, Brown Architecture.

For our latest Studio Snapshot conversation, we had the pleasure of chatting with Brent Linden and Chris Brown, founding partners of Portland, Oregon-based Linden, Brown Architecture (rebranded as Observation Studio in July 2024). Established in 2018 as a collaborative venture after working for large, established firms, the small studio of five seeks inspiration in the rugged beauty and self-reliant spirit of its Pacific Northwest environment.

Our conversation touches on the importance of craft and material culture, favorite design innovators in the greater Portland region, and what qualities the firm looks for in new hires. 

How was Linden, Brown Architecture founded? How did you meet?

We founded Linden, Brown as an outlet for our creative energy and desire for collaborative practice. We (Chris and Brent) were both running our own small firms and decided to join together to pursue an opportunity that was larger in scope and ambition than either practice could handle on its own. We shared an affinity for dynamic spaces, material richness, and intentional detailing and felt that joining forces would lead to the kind of textured, interesting residential and hospitality projects that we wanted to pursue (and we were right!). We originally met while working together on museums at Allied Works in Portland.

How many people are currently employed at the firm? How is the office structured?

The office is structured to be an incredibly collaborative place, with our hands — and pencils — on every project. We believe that the best design work happens in conversation, and studio associates — there are three — work closely with both of us to develop and clarify the core concept through a number of avenues: design studies, drawings, models. Because we’re purposefully small, each team member has the opportunity to really contribute to the project from initial concept through construction, which lets everyone gain valuable skills and experience in seeing a project through. 

Would you like to scale up and grow your team? What do you consider the ideal size for your practice?

We aren’t in this with a growth mindset per se; we’re open to growing but would want it to happen very intentionally and with a strong focus on keeping the quality of the collaborative dialogue between ourselves, with our colleagues, and with our clients high. We are excited about opportunities to work on larger projects and are thrilled with the results of pushing ourselves on a recent high-end winery project, but we are very focused on keeping a sustainable pace that allows us to continue to match quality and capacity. 

What have been the biggest challenges of starting and running your own practice?

Because we’re purposefully small, each team member has the opportunity to really contribute to the project from initial concept through construction, which lets everyone gain valuable skills and experience in seeing a project through.

We’re in a very unpredictable construction climate and have been for a number of years. Gaining and keeping momentum with projects can be challenging when we’re balancing our design vision and ambition with our responsibility to adhere to a client’s budget and ensure we finish the project successfully and on target. Thankfully, we have incredibly supportive clients who believe in our approach and style and a dedicated team who always keep us optimistic.

What qualities do you look for in new hires?

Curiosity. Passion. Interests in making, materiality, and dynamic spaces.

How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Pacific Northwest?

Our practice is inspired by the pioneering quality of the Pacific Northwest — its robust material culture, environmental reverence, and entrepreneurial spirit — with a special focus on collaboration and iterative design making. We prefer to work with real materials from concept to execution, infusing our work with a potent physicality that, in turn, informs construction techniques throughout the process. We have a commitment to sustainable material use and resourcefulness, often pairing local sourcing and reuse methods with experimentation in unconventional construction systems. 

We’re also inspired by the rich culture of creative individuals here and take great joy in the collaborative opportunities we find. We feel our role as visionaries is to create a passionate conversation that everybody — clients, contractors, and craftspeople — can engage in.

What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?

The rugged frontier here in the Pacific Northwest continues to foster a healthy pioneer spirit, supporting a high tolerance for risk-taking and a richness of project typologies and designs. A commitment to craft is intrinsic to this place. Buildings here are made with a fineness that appeals to the hand and eye, as well as to the communities they serve. Staggering landscapes here are paired with reverential attitudes towards environmental conservation, providing inspiring sites for occupation, both urban and pastoral.

Our practice is inspired by the pioneering quality of the Pacific Northwest — its robust material culture, environmental reverence, and entrepreneurial spirit — with a special focus on collaboration and iterative design making. 

What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?

We find endless inspiration in the many diverse creative practices that surround us. Studio Noyes, a woman-led apparel design studio continues to impress us with their attitudes toward materiality and sustainable sourcing and production. Grovemade, a product design studio, designs and fabricates beautiful objects of utility for the home office. Spartan Shop, a Portland design gallery, curates world-class art, furniture, and lighting. Sequitur Wine produces some of the highest quality pinot noir and chardonnay in the nation through its attention to detail, craft, and biodynamic farming. Each of these practices operates at the highest levels in their field, and we are fortunate to work with them as clients and collaborators.

Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress.

The Gradient House and Studio comes to mind. The clients came to us in 2018 with the novel approach of integrating a professional design studio into their home, asking us to question spatial separations of life and work and to bring a specificity of daily use to each of their spaces. Unknowable to us at the outset of the project, a global pandemic would force these questions of live/work into the broader culture. The project completed in mid-2020 and was put to the test immediately, performing beyond expectation. We attribute those successes to the focus on rich material articulation, dynamic spaces, abundant daylighting, and an integral relationship to site and landscape, all qualities we bring to each of our projects.

If you could describe your work/practice in three words, what would they be?

The practice: Observational, Conversational, Intentional.

The work: Crafted, Immersive, Material.