Idiam Architecture’s two permanent fixtures are Miles La Hue and Casey Clifford. We discovered a long time ago that so much efficiency is gained by building what we design. It is important to us to be hands on and really take on a project.
C Miles La Hue
I grew up in the mountains and forests of Colorado. I recreated in places I thought no one had ever been. My upbringing demanded that I use the trees and rocks to entertain myself. I am obsessed with the orders of the natural environment. The erosive forces of water, wind and earth inspire me. The way life grows, regenerates, and adapts has a profound influence on me. In the end, I try to express these observations and impart meaning for a richer design.
My B. Arch was from the University of Colorado. I earned my M. Arch at the University of Virginia where I could freely explore how the natural environment continued to inform my design. I worked for various firms but learned quickly that the way I looked at architecture was not like theirs. I taught Architectural Design Studio for 4 years at the University of Colorado. There I taught that the natural environment could produce much more fertile design ideas that inturn would tell a much more eloquent and expressive story.
We design, build, manage, budget, contract, virtually all our projects. We know how much things cost, we know how long it will take. During a project we might do the excavation, siding, framing, welding, metalwork, landscaping, carpentry, hauling, or demolition work. I am worried about the details and so many times it is just best I do it myself. In the end, I work best working in the field and working in the office every day.
Casey Clifford
I am an artist by nature and a scientist by degree. I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Environmental Science from Middlebury College. Upon returning from two and a half years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, I started a Master’s degree in Architecture at the University of Utah. I finished my Master’s at the University of Colorado in Denver. After more than ten years of studying, teaching and ski racing all over the world, I began my architecture career back in Boulder where I was born and raised. When I met Miles a few years later, Idiam Architecture had already been established. Miles and I quickly realized that we shared the desire to not only design creatively but to work comprehensively at building what we designed. Over the 18 years that we have run Idiam Architecture together, we have found that our individual strengths and design sensibilities complement each other’s. Together we thrive off of the challenge each project sets before us. I infuse colors, textures and light into Miles’ concepts, creating uniqueness that honors the natural environment and creates a built environment for our clients to embrace and enjoy.