Features
The 25 – Erik Evens
The traditional residential designs of architect Erik Evens express his passion for historical styles attuned to the Classical principles of harmony, proportion, order, and, above all, beauty.
Evens, whose eponymous firm is an independent design studio operating under the aegis of KAA, eloquently employs the language of traditional architecture to say something relevant and thoughtful about how we live today in the modern world.
“I think people are looking for connections—connections to family and friends,” he says. “Connections to culture and history. Connections to nature. And I believe that our work demonstrates that design that draws upon great tradition is really adept at providing this.”
In his case, the connection came while he was on his way to becoming a modernist architect. As he traveled through the great cities of Europe, though, his eye began to evolve and his point of view about architecture became more eclectic.
A Fellow of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art and a member of its national curriculum committee, Evens shares his passion for Classicism as a mentor and teacher. “The knowledge that the ICAA provides to its students is crucial for a practicing Classical designer,” he says, adding that it’s all the more important today “as it is a curriculum that is no longer taught in university architecture programs.”
