Entries by Peter T. Coffin, AIA

DCA Dover, New Hampshire Office

Doyle Coffin Architecture is a full service architecture & interior design firm located in picturesque Ridgefield, Connecticut. We are now bringing the same expertise and success we have earned on Connecticut’s “Gold Coast” to the bustling New Hampshire seacoast. This is to announce our longest serving employee of 22 years, Eric E Flanders, AIA, is […]

DCA Maker Space

Models have always been a great visualization tool for architects and designers. They not only allow designers to look at a variety of design concepts quickly but they can also show the client a three dimensional representation of their dream space (plus they are fun to build!). Architects now have a plethora of options available at a cost that is […]

Mission Driven Design

Buildings are three-dimensional structures but, at its best, architecture is 4-D. Let me explain. It’s always fun to see a two-dimensional design become a 3-D building. But the real reward is when a building becomes something more than four walls and a roof . . . it becomes a stage on which life’s daily dramas […]

The Beauty of New England

New England has always been at home with architectural innovation.  Our towns and farmland have some of the handsomest native architecture in the world – beautiful and eminently practical. More recently, some of the world’s greatest modern architects – people like Walter Gropius, Philip Johnson and the “Harvard Five” who settled in and around New […]

What’s Your Favorite Building?

Everyone has a house or building they love for reasons that are better felt than described.  These are inspired structures that make our lives and communities better simply by them being in them.  You probably can’t name who designed them. In many cases, they may have been built and rebuilt over the years until they […]

Balance vs. Symmetry

There is a big difference between symmetry and balance. The Taj Mahal in India, for example, is perfectly symmetrical. Its left side is the exact duplicate of its right side. And while this makes for a beautiful building, it’s not very practical. You can’t change anything to accommodate new uses without ruining the entire structure. […]

Does Geothermal Make Sense in New England?

Right about now the typical homeowner in the Northeast is praying for spring not just because the change in season is overdue but also because the crushing cost of home heating oil is about as much as anyone can bear. There must be cheaper ways to heat a house – a small nuclear reactor perhaps? […]

The Architect’s Blog

I’m discovering that blogging is harder than it seems. What could be so hard about writing a few lines every couple of days about a profession with seemingly endless topics? Is it that many of the topics I consider would only be interesting to other architects? It certainly seems to be a theme in our […]

Charlie and the Purple Piñata

The other day my 8 year old son came home from school with the idea to make a piñata. Since it wasn’t his birthday, nor anyone else’s I could think of in the neighborhood and knowing that he isn’t necessarily the “arts and crafts” kind of kid, I asked him, Why? His answer was short […]