Amplified is excited to be collaborating on an upcoming project with Feldman Architecture, Cloud’s Rest. The firm’s iconic homes etch California’s dramatic landscape like exquisite haiku poems. For this compound, the architects designed a series of pavilions located in the remote Santa Lucia Preserve, a 20,000-acre private development and land trust near Carmel. Each pavilion features curated views connecting the buildings to the landscape and sunlight. We caught up with founding partner Jonathan Feldman to learn more about his background, as well as the values and aspirations that unify the company and inform its vision for the future.  

AL: You have an eclectic background, having studied Astronomy and English at Amherst and working in film production and residential construction before receiving your MAarch from the University of Oregon. How does that inform your architecture? 

JF: We all bring our past experiences, education, and exposure to every new challenge. I credit my liberal arts background, particularly in astronomy and English, with shaping my critical thinking and problem-solving skills. I’ve always been curious by nature, and in college, I learned how to ask deeper questions and search for meaning, whether contemplating the origins of the universe or the subtext of a novel.

As architects, I think we add the most value when we take the time to understand the “why” behind a client’s brief. That opens the door to design solutions that go beyond the obvious or expected. As a bonus, I’m skilled at understanding how sun angles shift throughout the day and across seasons, which enables us to choreograph light in our buildings in beautiful, intentional ways.

AL: What drew you to architecture as a career?

JF: I’ve always been a visual learner and drawn to creative pursuits. As a kid, I built tree forts and go-karts and spent hours with LEGO and other building sets. Later, I explored photography and filmmaking. After college, between film production jobs, I worked for a residential contractor remodeling homes in the Bay Area.

At that point, I wasn’t sure about architecture, but I found myself in a graduate program designed for students without prior architectural training. Once I entered the design studio environment, I quickly realized I had found my happy place.

AL: Who is an architect of the past or present that you admire?

JF: There are many, but I often return to Alvar Aalto and the Scandinavian modernists. Aalto’s use of natural materials, his mastery of daylight, and his sensitivity to place have always resonated with me. His work manages to be modern, humanistic, and deeply site-responsive—all things I strive for in our projects. 

AL: Your firm’s architecture sits lightly on the land; how do you achieve that?

JF: It starts with a simple belief: nature usually does it better. When you have a deep appreciation for the natural world, especially in pristine settings, you approach design with humility and a desire to tread lightly.

Too often, architecture attempts to make a statement that ultimately overwhelms the site. We take a different approach. We spend a lot of time studying the subtle forces at play—light, topography, vegetation, wind—so we can design in a way that supports and enhances what’s already working and gently addresses what’s not. It’s our version of the medical profession’s guiding principle: “First, do no harm.”

AL: Feldman Architecture is committed to sustainability; how do you balance that with aesthetics?

JF: Over time, I’ve come to see that good design—and true beauty—are rooted in addressing fundamental human and ecological needs.

A cathedral inspires awe, a home provides shelter, and good architecture should protect and uplift both people and the planet. A “retreat” that destroys a pristine landscape or generates excessive greenhouse gas emissions isn’t truly beautiful. Beauty that disregards context and consequence is incomplete. For us, sustainability isn’t in tension with aesthetics—it’s integral to it. 

AL: How do you incorporate technology into your designs?

JF: Architecture today is inherently technical—from building science and performance modeling to digital design tools and AI-assisted workflows. We’re always exploring new ways to improve our designs and processes.

That said, we know we don’t have all the answers. We make a point of surrounding ourselves with brilliant consultants—engineers, fabricators, and sustainability experts—who help us and our clients navigate the increasingly complex world of high-performance, high-integrity architecture.

AL: What is your favorite building? 

JF: I’ve always been fascinated by Aalto’s Muuratsalo Experimental House—his summer home and living laboratory. It’s where he tested ideas about form, material, scale, and detail in an environment that allowed for play and experimentation. I’ve always loved the idea of having a space like that—part home, part dreamscape, part architectural sketchbook.

AL: You are focusing on new work in the mountains of Utah and other Western states. What prompted this effort, and what do you believe Feldman Architecture has to offer in these new locations?

JF: Over the past few years, we’ve been increasingly focused on the Mountain West, particularly the mountain resort communities in Utah. These regions are experiencing tremendous growth, and we believe our site-sensitive approach, refined aesthetics, and commitment to regenerative design and land stewardship bring a fresh and thoughtful voice to the evolving conversation in these areas.

We are partnering with a few outstanding local architects as we launch our first satellite studio, and it’s been energizing to begin working in these breathtaking landscapes. The opportunity to respond to such stunning terrain is expanding our architectural vocabulary in powerful and inspiring ways.

Amplified is proud to partner with some of the Bay Area’s most talented architects, builders, and interior designers. Among them is Field Architecture, a Palo Alto-based firm led by father-and-son team Stan and Jess Field. Their design process begins with the land itself—carefully considering the climate, topography, soil, hydrology, flora, and fauna to guide the relationship between structure and nature. We caught up with Jess to discuss Field Architecture’s philosophy and congratulate him on the release of their monograph, Conversations with the Land. 

AL: Congratulations on the continued success of Field Architecture’s Conversations with the Land, what prompted your father, Stan, and you to publish it? 

JF:  Printing a book on paper is a special thing. It’s a timeless way of sharing ideas and telling a story. There’s something about the tactile experience of a book that slows us down and allows us to tune in a way that we might have otherwise missed. 

A book about architectural work is never truly finished. The hardest part is knowing when to stop and say, this is it. Publishing the book becomes a way of marking a moment in time—a kind of anchoring. Conversations with the Land traces our journey from our beginnings in South Africa to Stan’s formative years in Lou Kahn’s Master class and provides context for a detailed look at the last decade of houses built across the California landscape where we’ve made our home.

AL: How did your father’s graduate studies under Louis I. Kahn influence Field Architecture? 

JF:  Stan received a scholarship to study with Kahn in Philadelphia, which was extraordinary in itself. But context matters: this was during apartheid years in South Africa, where our family is from. Suddenly, he found himself in the heart of the American civil rights movement, immersed in Kahn’s thinking about architecture rooted in making space about structure and light. 

Kahn wasn’t just talking about buildings—he was talking about humanity. That encounter shaped everything. It gave my father a lens for seeing architecture not just as design but as a way of shaping how people live. 

When Stan returned to South Africa and received his first commission—to design a home on the wild outskirts of Johannesburg—he couldn’t wait to bring that thinking into dialogue with the land. That spirit—of listening to all the natural forces that shape a place and designing with humility and intention—is something we’ve carried into every project since. It’s in the DNA of FIELD.

AL: Growing up with a father who is an architect, did you ever want to pursue another profession?

JF: My father had his work at home wherever we were. Books, drawings, and pencils were on every surface, and he was drawing constantly. Then there were the drawing boards, standing, adjustable drafting boards. I developed a passion for drawing at an early age and haven’t stopped since. I don’t think I ever made a definitive decision to become an architect. It was more like being drawn into a conversation that had already begun before I could name it.

There were other interests, and each gave me great pleasure—surfing, music—but architecture was always there, quietly pulling me in. I often thought of it less as a career but as a way of seeing. Watching my dad work and listening to how he spoke about buildings and land was less about forms and more about questions—about how we live and engage with the world around us. Giving that shape comes with great responsibility, and I’ve never imagined anything more exciting.

AL: Your architecture pierces the veil between the built and natural worlds; how do you accomplish that? 

JF:   I spent my childhood surrounded by nature and wildlife and have always revered the natural world. At our highest capacity, I see us as part of nature. How we make our homes fit into their natural surroundings is imperative for building a more symbiotic relationship with our environment, and it also affects how well we live.

Field starts with gaining a deep understanding of the places we design in. I’ve found that there are no shortcuts. We spend time on the land. We study it and map every aspect of it. We also walk it and spend time understanding the terrain, how the light moves, how the winds shift, how the ecology adapts to the changing seasons, and where the water goes after rain. We’re not looking to place a building on a site but to discover what’s already there and what’s waiting to be revealed.

Architecture, at its best, doesn’t impose. It enters into a relationship with the topography, ecology, and the stories embedded in the soil. We think of our work not as structures but as continuations of the landscape—something that feels inevitable, that couldn’t be anywhere else. When it’s right, it can be felt instantly.

AL: How do the topographies of South Africa and Northern California compare? 

JF: They’re both landscapes of extremes—raw, powerful, varied—but in different ways.

South Africa holds this vast, elemental beauty. It’s rugged, open, and dramatic. The great escarpment forms a topographical plateau, which creates a vertical divide, and the unique ecological biomes follow.

Northern California has a similar rugged quality along the coast and is softer as we cross into the coastal ranges. Both have Mediterranean climates, but California also has a diversity of desert and highland climates. What they share is a certain wildness and incredible beauty.

Both places ask for attention. Both demand that we adapt to them, not the other way around. That’s where the work begins.

AL: Why do you still draw by hand?

JF: I sometimes think of drawing as my first language.

Technology is central to how we work, and we’re constantly pushing the envelope of how we can use it, design, and understand more precisely how the materials that make up a building are put together. Yet, drawing by hand is still always there. Drawing has a certain immediacy to it. A directness between the brain and the pencil—between the feeling and the form—is hard to replicate. We often design together, in conversation, and the sketches become guiding parts of the conversation. It’s not about nostalgia. It’s about exploration and discovery. We use digital tools obsessively to refine, to test, to build. But the origin—the soul of the project—usually starts with a line on paper.

AL: Who is your favorite architect, past or present?

JF:  It’s hard to name just one. I carry different architects with me at various times, and many architects are doing great work.

Of course, Kahn is always there, and there’s Neutra and others. But honestly, it’s often not the famous names that stay with me. It might be a stone wall built by hand several hundred years ago or a simple farmhouse perfectly sited in a working field. Sometimes, the best architecture doesn’t announce itself. It just feels right.

AL: How do you incorporate technology into your designs?

JF: Some homes need just a few well-placed lighting controls, subtly enhancing what the architecture is already doing. Others—where the experience of light and sound needs to unfold in layers—require a more integrated approach. In those cases, we design systems that extend the site’s natural rhythms, using technology that aligns with its circadian logic.

But the goal isn’t to be high-tech. The goal is to be in tune—with the land, the family who will live there, and the purpose of each space. When technology supports that vision, we treat it like any other building material: essential, intentional, and thoughtfully integrated into the place’s experience.

Ultimately, it’s about clarity—a kind of simplicity that allows us to fully engage with the space through all our senses and feel deeply connected to the natural world.

For the third in our Amplified Lifestyles Collaborator Profile series, we had the pleasure of interviewing interior designer Jay Jeffers. The Texas native founded his San Francisco-based firm in 1999 and has expanded to New York. Putting the client first, he and his team create luxurious yet livable homes that feel collected, blending interior architecture, custom furnishings, art, antiques, and technology. The firm’s portfolio includes high-end residences in California, New York, Texas, Florida and beyond. Recently, Jay branched out into hospitality, designing The Madrona in Healdsburg. The boutique hotel features his modern reinterpretation of The Aesthetic Movement. 

AL:  What was it like moving from your home state of Texas to San Francisco?

JJ:  It was hard, but at the same time, I felt like I was home. Austin at that time was not the city it is today. It was still a town. Moving to San Francisco was a culture shock.  It was the 90s; there was a recession, and I had three part-time jobs for a year before landing a job at Gap, Inc. in advertising (I wasn’t a designer yet). At the same time, exploring San Francisco and the Bay Area was magical. I couldn’t believe I lived in a place so beautiful.

AL: Diane Dorrans Saeks included you as one of seven interior designers in “Brave New Talents” for her 1999 article in the San Francisco Chronicle. Was that the start of your career? 

JJ: It certainly kicked things off. I was working for a small firm on Sacramento Street called Witford. Back then, the Chronicle Home Section was a must-read. I remember distinctly getting three calls from that, one of which turned into a large gut remodel project, which gave me the foundation to start my own firm. That was 25 years ago.

AL: Many of your clients are tech entrepreneurs; how do you balance their need for technology while giving their home’s soul? 

JJ: The great thing about technology today is most of it can be hidden. It is controlled on phones and iPads, which look nice and can be a part of accessories on a counter.  It greatly enhances the client experience in many ways. In the past, I would cringe at the thought of putting TVs in every room. But now I embrace it – most of the time. (Maya Angelou said if you can’t change something, change how you think about it!). It’s about a balance. I love creating a salon art wall around a TV, so it’s not the focus of the wall. 

AL: What is your favorite piece of technology to incorporate into your interior design? 

JJ: I love creating a dedicated theater! The design of the room and the furniture is an experience! I also love having music evenly throughout a home. I encourage clients to include speakers in hallways and bathrooms so it is consistent in a space. And I LOVE proper lighting settings. A house comes to life when the light is balanced perfectly!

AL: After twenty-five years in business, you’ve watched your clients grow from singlehood to marriage to families. Has this allowed you to evolve your design style? 

JJ: My philosophy has always been that a home should reflect the personalities and styles of the inhabitants, not their designer.  I thrive on creating unique environments, so my style constantly evolves.  Perfect example: I am designing a pied-a-terre for empty nester clients in SF. Their kids are grown, and they sold their family home in Piedmont, which was classic with a modern edge- this is our 3rd project and completely different from the other two. It is a cool modern apartment for two with room for guests to live their best City lives. This apartment is cocktails instead of a family dinner. 

AL: Now that you’ve designed The Madrona Hotel, will you add more hospitality to your residential portfolio? 

JJ: I would love to! Developers, please call me!  The Madrona was a project of a lifetime. I am proud of the transformation and the boutique property we created. It would be a joy to do more.

AL: Who are your design icons, and why?

JJ: David Hicks because he broke all the rules in the best ways. He would paint the most proper English estate homes in hot pink and add modern furniture to a room filled with family heirloom antiques. And it worked brilliantly!

Kelly Wearstler – I followed her work before she became a household name. She was working with mid-century furniture and art before anyone else.

Jamie Drake is a personal friend and icon not only because he is a great talent but also because he is a wonderful person. You don’t have to be a tyrant to be a successful designer.

AL: Where do you see interior design going in the next decade?

JJ: It will be exciting to see what AI does for the industry. In the high-end that we all work in, I think it will be a tool for the industry to create even more custom work for our clients. Our clients are hiring us because they want a home that is uniquely theirs, not one they see created in AI or already on social media.

FMA Builders is one of the high-end residential builders Amplified Lifestyles collaborates with. One of their principals, Peter Lau, has a career that spans the esoteric of apprenticing with a Japanese master temple carpenter to the practical of running world-class projects for international developers. He started at FMA in 2000 as their first project manager, working with founders Dave Forde and Charles Mazzola. After six years, he pursued other professional opportunities. Peter returned to FMA in 2018 as a principal. In addition to his work at FMA, he serves on SFMOMA’s Architecture + Design Accessions Committee.  

AL: You recently joined the Architecture + Design Accessions Committee of SFMOMA, what is your favorite piece in the collection?  

PL: Years ago, before Snøhetta designed the addition and the reconfiguration of the lobby, there used to be two large Frank Stella works on opposing lobby walls. I loved their visual impact and how they transformed the experience for visitors as they entered the museum. That was my favorite piece, then. Fast-forward to SFMOMA’s expanded building, its new director as of 2022, Chris Bedford, and some fantastic exhibitions; my favorites are Ragnar Kjartansson’s 9-screen video installation called The Visitors, which is playing through January 26, 2025; The Art of Noise, which just ended, lured you in with music compositions, a collection of radios spanning many decades and styles, and, my favorite part, a unique vintage collection of music posters from the 60s and 70s. Get in the Game is an upcoming exhibition from October 19, 2024, through February 18, 2025, looking at sports, contemporary culture, and how the two influence each other. My favorite piece in the show is the National Anthem by Kota Ezawa.

AL: What FMA project did you enjoy working on most and why? 

PL: Much of the modern lifestyle is fragmented or interrupt-driven regarding communication and information flow, and I believe this negatively impacts the design and construction process. I’m blessed to be working with some phenomenal teams right now, and whenever a team finds its groove, great things can happen. Anytime a project team can achieve good energy, then communication and information flow are often good, too, and projects kick into high gear and overcome hurdles that otherwise bog them down.

AL: As the builder, how do you coordinate cohesively with the Architect of Record, interior designer, subs, and systems integrator? 

PL: Great question! Many projects involve these roles, and progress is complicated without proper planning, focus, and communication. 

AL:  One of your first jobs was to apprentice with a master temple carpenter in Kyoto, Japan. What led you on that path, and what was the experience like? 

PL: I found myself in Japan right after graduating from university in architecture. I spent several years at the university as the principal assistant for a community-based artist workshop called the Mountain Lake Workshop. The workshop created significant bodies of art with established artists from outside the community. I worked closely with avant-garde composer and artist John Cage several times, folk artist Howard Finster, and Japanese artist Jiro Okura. It was mainly the influence of John Cage, a student of the Buddhist scholar D.T. Suzuki, and Jiro Okura, that led me to Japan. There were a lot of amazing Japanese architects at the time, such as Fumihiko Maki, Tadao Ando, and Shin Takamatsu, and initially, I planned to work for one of these firms. 

However, my plan quickly changed when I arrived in Kyoto because the traditional architecture and Japanese carpentry immediately blew me away. Realizing that’s what I wanted to study, I was able to eventually get an introduction to a temple carpenter, where I apprenticed for several years. It was hard work, six days a week, and learning from such highly skilled craftspeople was humbling. I was in my mid-20s, the youngest on the crew; the next youngest carpenter was 55 years old, and the oldest, the master carpenter, was 75 years old. It was a deep dive into a part of Japanese traditional culture that even most Japanese rarely saw, outside of being tourists who visited the temples and shrines. 

AL: How has your time in Asia influenced your architectural aesthetics?  

PL: Even though I’m a licensed architect, I’ve spent most of my career on the client side and as a builder, and not so much as a designer. Asia’s most significant influence on me as a builder and businessperson, however, is how I developed my ability to focus on the task at hand. Not to multitask but to give a task the time and attention necessary to complete it properly, an approach that stems from Zen Buddhism. My personal preferences, aesthetically, are heavily influenced by the concept of Wabi-Sabi and In Praise of Shadows, a book by Junichiro Tanizaki. 

AL: You also worked in Doha, Qatar, and Gurgaon, India. What were the differences and similarities between the built worlds there and in the United States? 

PL: I worked for Hines, an international developer, when they opened an office in Gurgaon, India, in 2009. I raised my hand to lead the construction of a new two-tower commercial office high-rise project for them there. My family and I uprooted from San Francisco and moved to Delhi, close to Gurgaon. The diversity of cultures in India is mind-boggling, and the differences between the built worlds of India and the U.S. are so far apart in many ways. However, the high-rise project was meant to align with international norms at the time for Class-A commercial office space and sustainability. Finding and procuring the right general contractor and subcontractors who could pull off glass towers to such standards was the biggest hurdle, and just as we were able to lock in the right contractor and subs, the global economic crisis caught up to India, and the project was shelved.

My family and I had been there almost a year when this happened, and without any significant construction happening in the U.S. at the time, I had to look elsewhere for employment. Through some connections, I landed a job in Doha, Qatar, working for a development company chaired by Sheika Moza, the wife of the Emir at the time and someone I consider a visionary for what she’s done for Qatar. We were in Doha for five years, and on the client side, I led many aspects of master planning, sustainability, and other design initiatives for a $6 billion urban renewal project comprising 100 buildings. Like India, there was significant focus (and success this time!) on delivering quality buildings that met the highest standards of international architecture, construction, and sustainability. 

The Middle East is by far the most international in culture, design, and construction compared to the U.S., Japan, and India. That’s not to say anything negative about the latter countries, but rather, the Middle East has put a lot of emphasis on raising its standing in the eyes of the world by appropriating buildings, brands, and events typically found in the international sphere of influence. Countries like the U.S., Japan, and India have evolved more organically into unique identities over a longer time span.

AL: You started at FMA as a project manager, and after a 12-year segue into the commercial sector, you returned as a Principal; how does that trajectory influence your management style?  

PL:  Working on the client side for 12 years was foundational to my approach as a principal at FMA Builders because a builder needs to understand as much as possible from the client’s perspective to build a great project for them; this has been invaluable to me, as well as the experiences I gleaned from working on the client side in Northern California, India, Qatar, and Oklahoma City—four locales that taught me so much about people, processes, and culture. Ultimately, however, I think the most effective management style I strive to do well at is engaging people clearly and positively: treating people well and leaving the BS behind. 

AL: How do you balance aesthetics with technology?

PL: As an architecture student at university, I was immersed in a design pedagogy influenced by the Bauhaus. We learned that form follows function and that there’s a balance or inextricable relationship between them where neither should subvert the other.  

As an apprentice carpenter in Japan, I learned that technology (e.g., power tools and CNC machines) was great for quickly transforming a rough-cut wooden member into a nearly finished product. However, the skilled use of well-maintained hand tools achieves the best results for fine joinery or exquisite finishes. In my opinion, there’s a whole aspect of Japanese culture around the use and maintenance of tools, machinery, and implements that gives one a sense of how to strike a balance between aesthetics and technology. 

Ultimately, technology should never undermine the user experience or built form (building or object) and should always support the creation of something meaningful in terms of use, form, and sustainability. 

Amplified Lifestyles is fortunate to collaborate with many elite industry partners on their projects. One of these is the lighting designer Eric Johnson of EJA Lighting Design. Lighting was Eric’s destiny as his father, Merlin Johnson, invented, developed, and manufactured an optical lighting framing projector in 1969 for fine art. Today, EJA Lighting Design’s portfolio ranges from a fanciful Victorian-styled Sonoma Valley Lake House designed by Ken Fulk to EYRC Architects’ award-winning modernist home in Palo Alto. Amplified Lifestyles worked on both projects, and the two teams blended aesthetics with technology while focusing on the client experience. 

AL: Your lighting legacy extends beyond your father, Merlin Johnson, to his mentor, Rudolf Wendel. Did you always want to be a lighting designer?
EJ: I started working in my father’s business in high school, so I was interested in the lighting and electrical world from the start. At the time, I wasn’t sure where it would lead, but over the years, it was clear that lighting design was where I wanted to go.

AL: With your origin story starting in art lighting, what are your thoughts on Ketra’s abilities to illuminate art and residences?
EJ: Ketra has elevated the LED color and control options beyond what has been done in the past. It can be an excellent tool for art lighting to enhance all types of art, but the lighting also needs to be designed by a true lighting professional for the best outcome.

AL: What have been the most significant changes in lighting design over the last forty years?
EJ: The big ones are energy codes (i.e., Title 24), lighting product technologies (i.e., halogen, fluorescent, LED), and lighting controls. Lighting design has become a highly technical field that requires constant product knowledge updates and very detailed integration into the architecture. Also, project teams are much larger, which requires a higher level of collaboration in terms of frequency, efficiency, and setting expectations.

AL: How do you balance the artistry of lighting with technology?
EJ: There are a lot more tools to work with than in the past, which opens up more opportunities to create the design you are after. Architecture and interiors have also gotten more diverse, so there is also more opportunity to be creative with lighting. From my perspective, it is important to keep in mind that even though there are many new lighting solutions, try to be thoughtful and not to overdo it (bling).

AL: How does the lighting designer coordinate with the architect, interior designer, builder, and systems integrator? 
EJ: We take the team approach very seriously to achieve the best outcome. Each design/construction discipline requires intentional effort to get to know the teams and understand how to best merge all the information to achieve the desired result. Ongoing relationships are beneficial in strengthening the team and the process. We are very fortunate to have had so many great collaborators to work with over the many years.

AL: What questions do you ask the homeowner to determine how they want to live with lighting? 
EJ: There are many questions to ask at the beginning of the process. The first question is, what knowledge do they have about lighting and controls, and what have their experiences been like in the past, good or bad? We then dive deep into all aspects of lighting and controls to gather as much information about their intent as possible before starting the process. The more experience you have with different clients, the better you become at obtaining the information you need.

AL: What was your favorite job? 
EJ: It is hard to come up with just one, but one of my first major residential projects was with Ricardo Legorreta, who was one of the top architects in the world at the time. The owner had confidence in me and said that I would be taking over the lighting design. It was an amazing experience all around, and it didn’t hurt that they had a world-class art collection.

AL: Where do you see lighting design going in the next decade?
EJ: LED technology and lighting control will continue to improve, but they will also become more technical. Energy codes and dark sky compliance will continue to have a big impact on all aspects of design. AI is starting to impact certain levels of design, and I assume that will continue in the future for all aspects of design.