The New England Design Hall of Fame Inducts Haver & Skolnick Architects

Portrait by Bruce Rogovin

Photograph by Robert Benson

Photograph by Robert Benson

Photograph by Robert Benson

Photograph by Robert Benson

Being partners in business and life is working out beautifully for Charles Haver (right) and Stewart Skolnick (left). They’re the principals (and sole proprietors) of Haver & Skolnick Architects, founded in 1996 and based in Roxbury, Connecticut. For them, “life and work become one and the same,” says Skolnick. “Logistically, it’s great working together because we’re always on the same schedule.” The same page, too.

Haver received his architectural education from the University of Virginia; Skolnick studied at the University of Arizona and Cornell University. They met while working in New York City, where they held positions as design directors at major firms. “We were both doing very
contemporary office and retail interiors—lots of steel and glass,” says Skolnick. They spent weekends in Litchfield County, gradually falling in love with the place, the people, and the pace of life. In 1994 they found and restored a 1796 center-hall colonial, which became their home and “biggest calling card.”

“We’re inspired by the simple clean lines and strong forms of the surrounding historic homes and barns,” says Skolnick. “Although we’re trained as modernists, we apply this background to a vocabulary inspired by rural vernacular architecture. Our projects may look traditional, but we are truly modernists in that we try to do the most with the least.” The partners’ philosophy is “take a simple idea and simplify it…then go back and simplify it further.”

Haver and Skolnick’s work—from new homes to historic restorations and additions—has been honored with more than fifty regional, national, and international awards. And yet they remain a two-person firm, involved in every project from inception to move-in. “The goal is to create a cohesive whole, reflecting our clients’ vision,” says Haver. “When a client calls, they get one of us, and that’s the guy they see all the way through the project. They get a very intimate experience.”