Architect-Led Construction

Fuse Architects + Builders
Written by Claire Suttles

Fuse Architects + Builders is known for its progressive modern architecture. Partner and Architect Dan Gomez describes the firm’s approach as “rooted in modernism, clean lines, truth in structure and form—but we also are very much about materials, textures, color, bringing nature into the place we live in.”

Based in the stunning Monterey Bay area of California, the company has no shortage of inspiration. “The surroundings, the nature, [there is] so much to respond to,” he says, “and our architecture really ties that together.”

This philosophy leads to projects that utilize “materials and colors that are inspired by the ocean, the forest,” to create an “immersive experience between the built environment and the natural environment.”

Fuse, a full-service commercial and residential architecture and construction firm, delivers a wide range of projects. “We like challenging projects, where people are seeking our style and they want that lifestyle of indoor-outdoor living,” Partner and Architect Dan Townsend says. The company handles everything from coastal and mountain homes to restaurants and business headquarters. “We’re very versatile,” he says. “We take on all kinds of projects. It’s more about the design challenge; if we have a similar vision, similar goals, it’s usually a good fit for us.”

Townsend and Gomez are both licensed architects with backgrounds in high-end commercial and residential projects. Their passion for delivering their vision to the client led them to add construction services to the firm in 2009. The problem was that their designs were not always being carried through on-site, and the core focus would be lost. If “we’re not on-site often enough, things get missed; things get changed or misinterpreted or whatnot,” Gomez explains.

“We weren’t big fans of that,” he adds. “It really took away from some of the design that we had put into it, a lot of the thought and the care.” After working closely with a client for a year or more, achieving the agreed-upon design is paramount.

Eventually, the partners decided they had had enough. The solution was clear, albeit bold. “We decided to become contractors,” he says. “We knew if we were in charge, that we would have the design intent, the budget, everything, because we were deeply ingrained in it. Then we knew we would make the right call, whether it be for detailing purposes, to create the design concept, [or to stay] within the budget and the schedule. We had more control over all of that,” he shares.

“We grew from there,” Gomez says. “One of the big key factors is that we are what we call architect-led construction. Whereas typically, if a contractor is in charge and that’s their training from the beginning, and they bring on a designer, that’s contractor-led design and construction. We feel it’s a little bit different, because we are licensed architects that have a vision, that have a thing that we want to carry through, and now we’re making sure that is the priority.”

The company does not stop there. “We not only do architecture and construction; we also have an interiors team that helps select all the hardware, furniture, finishes, fixtures,” he says. “We have a landscape team that designs the exterior landscaping, mainly because we want our designs to be tied in with the nature and the environment. And it only makes sense, if you’re doing that indoor-outdoor living, that the landscaping also ties in with architecture.”

The firm’s projects always include a sustainability focus that can be traced back to Townsend’s and Gomez’s education at the University of Arizona at Tucson. The curriculum dealt with the lack of resources in the desert and promoting sustainable practices.

“A lot of our training and our background is based on what we call passive sustainable design, meaning you take advantage of everything you have: sunlight, time of year, the winds, water storage,” Gomez explains. “So even though we introduce active systems into our designs, we make sure that they’re optimized for all the passive advantages of a site and the location.”

This means that, when launching a project, the company’s initial site analysis “takes into consideration how we’re going to handle the water, how we’re going to handle the sun at different times of the year, and how we’re going to handle the winds and whatnot. We’re very keen on maximizing all the passive solar potential and enhancing the design, and then we supplement it with active systems.”

Materials are also carefully considered in the design of every project. “We try to use a lot of locally manufactured products, because that’s a big source of sustainability,” Gomez says. “We like to reuse a lot of trees from the site.” This often includes cypress or redwood. “If any tree has to be removed or it has fallen on the properties, we like to use those for furnishings, finishes—in any aspect we can.”

For instance, Fuse is currently using redwood for a house on a site that suffered a fire. “We harvested all the wood and had it milled down and are using it for the finished ceilings, the structural framing where allowable. So, we really try to reuse whatever is available on-site or in the area.”

In another notable project, the team is rebuilding a girls’ camp that was destroyed in the CZU wildfires in 2020. “All the buildings were lost except for two buildings,” says Townsend. “We had designed and built two bathroom/shower buildings on the girls’ camp property in 2010, and it turns out that, after the fire, those are the only two buildings that were still standing. They were still functioning. The solar panels were still working. There was still toilet paper on the toilet paper holders, where every other building on the property burned down to the ground. And this property is in the dead center of the fire. In fact, some of the lightning strikes that caused the fire happened on this property. So, the entire 1,000 acres was scorched. We went out three weeks after the fire happened, when the ground was still on fire and smoldering, and we saw our buildings were still standing there, the lights were still on. So, the owners of the girls’ camp hired us to rebuild the whole camp.”

Understandably, the owners have requested that Fuse rebuild using the same materials and methods used on those surviving structures. At the moment, the company is working on a large amphitheater and a new dining hall “that will all be sealed, all fireproof,” Townsend says. “So, these buildings will never burn down again.”

To be sure, the future looks promising. “We’re continuing to grow,” Gomez says, and the team is monitoring that growth carefully. “Obviously we like to grow smart—what we can manage, what we can handle,” he adds. “We are looking at expanding our office into the Monterey Carmel area because we’re doing a lot of work in that area.” Armed with a strong vision and the capacity to oversee and execute every design, Fuse is sure to continue its success, wherever it expands.

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