DAVID REDDY AND BETTY DUFFY

R & D ARCHITECTS

TRANSCENDANT ARCHITECTURE

David Reddy and Betty Duffy, principal designers with R&D Architects, transform common materials into sequences of space and light that connect people to each other and to the natural world. Our architecture engages the city and provides detachment from it at the same time, amplifying and enhancing the experience of living through our senses.  Our projects touch the planet lightly, setting the stage for living, working, and playing in the 21st Century. We believe that great design has the power to transcend and transform.

We are experienced innovators who seamlessly integrate conception, design and construction.  R&D Architects provide consulting and design services during every aspect of residential and commercial construction projects.   

MORE THAN JUST BUILDINGS

Choreographed sequences of space and light, sustainable materials and methods, consideration of the details that matter in our daily lives, and deep experience in construction combine to distinguish David Reddy and Betty Duffy's work.  Their life mission is to build a more sustainable, livable, and beautiful world.

SPACE AND LIGHT

choreographing flows of energy

Space is the dominant figure of our designs, creating dances of light and shadow where inside and outside merge. Betty’s experience as a dancer and choreographer informs her powerful compositions of light and space.

SUSTAINABILITY

Nurturing the health of the planet

Living systems form delicately interdependent webs, and achieving cradle-to-cradle carbon neutrality is a mandate. Sustaining ecologic balance is our duty to the future.

FUNCTION AND UTILITY

Celebrating the ordinary

Surfaces and objects that can be touched are carefully considered and designed for convenience of use. Design elements  gracefully receive the hand that grasps them.  

STICKS AND STONES

building the vision

David worked as a carpenter for the first ten years of his career. His deep understanding and love of construction materials and media illuminates every design he creates.

LIVING WITH INTENTION AND COMMITMENT 

Venice  in the 20th century was rundown, tough, and economically accessible. Poets, musicians, inventors, surfers, painters, sculptors, body builders, writers, and others found cheap space in the urban mashup of industrial buildings and bungalows.  A vibrant spirit of creative experimentation prevailed. What has come to be known as the "Venice School" of architects built their first projects on the streets and in the alleys, working with limited means and common materials. Our work extends and amplifies this tradition.

David Reddy worked for ten years on the construction side of the housing industry before starting his education as an architect. His work with Antoine Predock, Frank Gehry, and others over the next twenty years matured his unique synthesis of construction knowledge and innovative design thinking.  

Betty Duffy has a background in the arts. Her experiences with the biosciences, metalworking, and dance led her to a Master’s Degree in Architecture at SciARC. She is a design leader in the retail industry, and has managed urban scale projects for the Jerde Partnership, Westfield, and Gensler. She leads large interdisciplinary design teams in her current role of Vice President for Design at Macerich in Santa Monica.

David Reddy and Betty Duffy’s work with R&D Architects is rooted in a tradition of creative exploration that reaches far beyond the boundaries of our home.