Denise Hall Montgomery’s love of design can be traced from her building her own wooden dollhouses as a child, through to her several years working on skyscrapers in Guangzhou China, to her home designs in the Oakland and Berkeley hills.  A common thread of problem-solving, space planning, and deep understanding of materials and finishes has carried through all of Denise’s work from childhood to today. 

Montgomery graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor’s of Science in Architectural Engineering with an emphasis in Illumination Engineering. It was at KU, while taking a photography class, that she became fascinated with light — particularly how light can define and set the mood of a space. Denise’s love of design deepened, and led her to San Francisco where she started working at Northern California’s premier lighting design and theater consulting firm Auerbach Glasgow + Associates.

As Denise immersed herself as a professional Architectural Lighting Designer, her interest in the architectural aspects of design grew. In 1994, she headed to the University of California, Berkeley to pursue a Masters in Architecture and then a second Masters in City and Regional Planning. In 1998, Denise served as an architectural designer at ELS Architecture & Urban Design in Berkeley, where she learned the inner workings of an architecture firm. In 2000, Denise moved to the renowned international architecture firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill, LLP (SOM), where she served as a Senior Design Architect on numerous projects, including the US Embassy in Beijing China, and the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland.

With more than a decade of architecture experience, Denise decided it was time to branch out on her own, and founded Denise Hall Montgomery Architecture. By focusing on mostly residential projects, and by being directly involved through all phases and factors of projects, Denise feels more connected to her architecture and clients than ever.

Along with working on high-end residential constructions, DMH Architecture is committed to serving the vibrant local East Bay and San Francisco communities, taking on buildings with local non-profit clients such as the Nia House Learning Center Preschool in Berkeley, and The Flight Deck performing arts and events space in Oakland.