Eric Schnell
AMDAs Design Director Passionate About His Work
As Design Director for Alan Mascord Design Associates, Eric Schnell designs the firm' s custom projects and oversees the creation of AMDA stock plans by the firm' s nine designers. His passion and sensitivity for home design are reflected in the designs themselves, and make Eric' s responsibilities more labors of love than labors at all.
Eric' s passion for design took root when he was growing up on a cattle ranch in North Dakota in the 1960' s. His parents began the process of building a new home. He was fascinated by the house plan books and the design process. Eric was hooked. He knew then, at 8 years old, that we wanted to design homes.
After earning a Bachelor' s Degree in Architecture from North Dakota State University, Eric moved to San Diego. He spent seven years there, designing office furniture systems while practicing residential design on the side. One day he saw a photo of Pioneer Courthouse Square in Sunset Magazine. He liked what he saw and read about Portland. He made the move to the Rose City in 1989 and joined a firm specializing in passive solar and environment-friendly design & build projects where he spent three years. He worked at two other architecture firms over the next four years.
Eric joined AMDA nine years ago as a custom designer, and became Director of Design in 2003. Custom design clients work with Eric "from scratch to completion of the design". Personal interviews help Eric draw from the client just what they really want. He listens to what they're saying and what they're not saying. "It's difficult for people to grasp the concept that a new house doesn't need to be based on what they live in now, or what they're used to," Eric explains. "It's about how they'd like to live."
A typical custom design project generally takes 12 weeks, including design and production. AMDA produces about 40 custom designed homes a year, approximately 10% of which are custom designs for builder specs.
Eric has designed eight homes for the Street of Dreams since joining AMDA, including several award winners: Best of Show, Best Architecture, Best Street Appeal, Best Master Suite, Best Kitchen. AMDA is represented by two homes Eric designed in the 2005 NW Natural Street of Dreams.
A number of Eric's designs have appeared in national publications, including American Bungalow, The New Bungalow, Cottage Style, Design Build Business, Better Homes and Gardens Home Plan Ideas, Beautiful Homes, American Dream Homes, House Beautiful Houses & Plans, Beautiful Kitchens, Bedroom and Bath, among others.
One design in particular is definitely his pride and joy. Eric designed his own home four years ago and it was featured in Better Homes and Gardens. Built on a 30-foot-wide lot, his home uses efficient design and space planning along with low cost materials. The result is a tastefully rich and welcoming home. The magazine touts it as "a great example of 'infill' construction in an older Portland neighborhood".
Eric is now designing his next home, this time for a 50 x 100' lot, not far from his current location. As a two-time veteran of the home-building adventure, Eric's ability to relate to the client's experience adds to his sensitivity of the custom design process.
Although he says "work is my hobby" , Eric loves to travel, especially to Europe. He's quite taken by Germany, Prague, Amsterdam and Barcelona. Of course the architecture of each contributes to its inclusion on his "favorites" list. He also enjoys distance bike riding, hiking, snow and water skiing, weight training and physical fitness.
"Working at Mascord is a real joy for me, "Eric says. "I work with some great people. And my job here gives me the opportunity to do what I most enjoy---design homes."
