Over the last 5 years, Lydia Straus-Edwards, founder of the firm that bears her name, has developed a unique service, a highly targeted home planning and design service specifically geared to homeowners for their existing residences. Known as “Design-In-Tandem™”, it is a comprehensive, rapid, and very affordable design system that achieves a design solution in one participational session with an individual homeowner or the entire family.
Straus-Edwards has earned recognition as a notable architect by prestigious professional design awards and by the appearance of her work in national and international design publications and periodicals.
A cornerstone criterion of design for all Straus-Edwards’ projects is concern for environmental preservation. This comprises energy-efficiency, passive solar design principles, ecologically sound materials and construction methods, and minimal site disturbance.
Her resulting homes have appeared in major national periodicals. Success in achieving interesting and unique results comes from working “in tandem” with each homeowner, involving them fully in the design process, enhancing the site, and providing a tangible realization of the owner’s most cherished dreams, all within environmentally friendly design and construction practices.
Lastly, she knows her nuts and bolts. Recognized as a specialist in the correction of building failures, she brings to each project over twenty years of experience in addressing practical issues and budgetary requirements.
Founded in Woodbury, Connecticut in 1982 as Straus-Edwards Associates, her firm has expanded its practice throughout Connecticut, to New York State and beyond. In 1990, she opened a second office in San Diego, California.
1989: Opened STRAUS-EDWARDS ASSOCIATES, ARCHITECTS
1982: Founded STRAUS-EDWARDS ASSOCIATES, ARCHITECTS
The firm’s residential clients range from major corporate executives of Fortune 500 companies to modest working-class families and individuals in projects whose construction cost ranged from $10,000 to $4,000,000.
In addition to private homes, Straus-Edwards has completed building projects for major international corporations, city and state governments, and numerous universities and other educational institutions.
Residing on National Audubon Society’s Corkscrew Swamp Wildlife Sanctuary as the bride of a naturalist-warden, Straus-Edwards developed her conviction that all design decisions should support natural processes and promote ecological health. She studied natural history and the work of pioneer Ian McHarg, spoke at several local symposiums about passive solar design, and incorporated an earth-friendly design approach into her subsequent architectural endeavors.
As an intern architect, she was trained by the late Joseph Salerno, Architect, with offices in Westport and New York City. Salerno is widely recognized for outstanding churches, notably in Rowayton, and for several notable Intercontinental Hotels, including Curacao, Maracaibo, and Bangkok, and for numerous, fine local residences.
She was also trained by the late Theodor F. Muller, AIA, ASID, IBD, one of the foremost interior designers/architects of New York City in his day. Subsequently and until his death, she provided consultant services to his firm on a project basis for over twenty years. Representative projects included the executive offices of the Cambridge University Press, dining and recreational facilities for the Concord Hotel, several facilities for Rock Resorts, the Green Room at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC., and the Stieglitz Gallery at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as numerous notable residences in New England, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Construction Specifications Institute: Member.
Founder and Co-Chairman of the R/UDAT Steering Committee of Waterbury, Connecticut,
A Community Vision for Waterbury:
YWCA:
Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce:
Town of Redding:
Successfully completed projects include:
preserves, where design and construction caused minimal
disturbance to native plants, animals, and landscape.
sites.
1999: Initiated the DESIGN-IN-TANDEM services.
in San Diego, California.
in Woodbury, Connecticut.
Prior to founding her firm, Straus-Edwards was employed by recognized architectural firms in Connecticut and in New York City.
In addition to her work as architect, Lydia Straus-Edwards earned a national reputation as an exhibiting artist during the years 1977-1982. She has exhibited at the well-known Bienville Gallery of New Orleans, numerous professional and invitational exhibitions in Connecticut, and a national traveling exhibition by the National Humanist Artists' Association of San Francisco. She has earned several professional awards for her work. She has completed original ecclesiastical works by commission and has restored ecclesiastical art and artifacts in several Connecticut churches.
Connecticut #3506
New York #16808
California #C-21926
Connecticut Interior Designer Registration #996
Southern Connecticut State College: MS, Honors
University of Bridgeport: BA, cum laude
Tulane University School of Architecture
Columbia University School of Architecture
The American Institute of Architects, Connecticut Chapter,
1982-present; San Diego Chapter, 1989-present:
1992
and Quality of Life Committees.
HOW WE SERVE YOU | WHO WILL SERVE YOU | HOW TO CONTACT US
OUR CLIENTS SPEAK... | AGREEMENT FORM | BACK TO HOME PAGE