Ben Waechter isn’t interested in designing something you’ve never seen before. Born in Eugene and based in Portland, the 47-year-old grandson of architect Heinrich Waechter would much rather refine something that already looks familiar to you—the “quintessential chair, room or garden, courtyard or alley”—in the hope of creating designs that are elemental and universal—architecture that’s enduring rather than “merely novel.” 

While working for three years in the Genoa office of Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Waechter regularly took trips to Switzerland and steeped himself in Swiss modernism. From both experiences, he learned to balance simple form and spatial order with rich, materially driven construction techniques.