KNOWLEDGE + AFFILIATION
My grandmother and father inspired me to become an architect. She was a drapery and upholstery saleswoman for Sears and Roebuck with impeccable taste in interiors and he worked as a steel factory engineer whose relentless high standards and driving energy influenced me greatly.
Architecture introduced me to culture and diversity in our world. My eyes are open to live well and guide others to do the same. As Frank Lloyd Wright said, “The mother art is architecture.” It is the impetus to create, connected to soul, passion, adventure, and creativity. Architects make spaces where life happens.
Our team brings projects full circle by developing commercial and residential architecture, interiors, and landscapes. We are a mission-based development firm, driven by principles that set high standards of practice to create timeless designs with exceptional value.
We create forward-thinking designs that make real-world sense while fully embracing the notion that the ideal design wholly integrates a building with its environment. For us, sustainable design is not a checklist item, it is a way of living healthy and happy everyday.
I am married to my high school sweetheart, Dr. Andrew Farkas, a board-certified dental implant specialist and Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology. When not working, we enjoy world-wide travel, great food and wine with a dash of architectural site seeing for good measure. As life-long athletes, we both enjoy cycling, swimming and golf.
Karen Lantz, AIA | LEED AP
Principal Architect
“Architecture introduced me to culture and diversity in our world. My eyes are open to live well and guide others to do the same.”
Professional Registration
Texas Registered Architect | 19000
Arizona Registerd Architect | 73527
Education
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture
Bachelor of Architecture | Magna Cum Laude | 2000
Philosophy
I support American jobs by specifying high-quality goods manufactured domestically. Raise demand: Look at the label. Each time I drive by a building fenced and prepped for the wrecking ball (aka Komatsu), I sing the song, "Another one bites the dust, another one bites the dust, hey, hey." And, I distinctly remember the personal pain I felt as I rushed to my grandmother's 1945 ranch house to rescue its glass doorknobs when it was fenced, slated for demolition and to be replaced by a McMansion.
I dedicated three years of my life as founding president of the non-profit preservation group Houston Mod, creating programs like "Mod of the Month" to save homes on a scale I felt was feasible. It worked. The group increased awareness about Houston’s vanishing architectural legacy. Now, in the same way and on the same scale, we need to educate people – civic leaders, architects, builders, developers, and homeowners —about the power deconstruction—not demolition —when the battle for preservation is lost.
What could possibly make me, along with my fellow preservationists feel better when we lose buildings we care about? Total deconstruction: the reincarnation of buildings. It can happen.
Professional Affiliations
Professional Service
TEXAS SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTS
∙ Convention Committee, 2014
∙ Design Committee, 2014
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, Houston Chapter
∙ Board of Directors, 2011
∙ Young Architects Forum Chair, 2010
MENIL CONTEMPORARIES
Steering Committee, 2012–2014
HOUSTON MOD
∙ Master Mod Board Member
∙ Founding President, 2003–2006
LAWNDALE ART CENTER
Board of Directors, 2005–2008
RICE DESIGN ALLIANCE
Board of Directors, 2002–2005