Chad DeWitt is a designer and the principal of Framestudio. His approach is collaborative and curious, shaped as much by listening to clients and understanding how they live as by the architecture itself. He brings an extensive knowledge of materials, furnishings, lighting and architectural products to his work, along with a belief that there is rarely only one good solution to a problem.

Chad has developed particular expertise in the modernist architecture of Northern California and in finding ways for significant 20th-century buildings to remain relevant and useful today. His work in preservation has been recognized by Docomomo US and widely published, and he serves as a Historic Preservation Commissioner for the City of Richmond. He is currently working to document the modernist architecture of Point Richmond and The Sea Ranch.

A resident of The Sea Ranch for more than a decade, Chad owns and has restored one of its residences listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His familiarity with the place — its buildings, landscape, history and design culture — has developed through years of living there as much as studying it.

That combination of research, lived experience and a fairly encyclopedic knowledge of design informs Framestudio’s work, whether restoring an important modernist house, reworking a more everyday building or designing something entirely new.

Chad studied architecture at California College of the Arts in San Francisco.

Andrea Cernusak is Framestudio’s project architect, coordinating everything from drawings to permitting, construction to finishes. She has an insatiable appetite for knowledge spanning Italian window structures to learning the guitar. Curious and outdoorsy by nature, Andrea spends most of her free time bike riding and taking photos of the built environment. ​ Andrea studied Architecture at the University of Idaho and is a Licensed Architect in the State of California.

Media

Framestudio’s work has been featured in Monocle, Dwell, Dezeen, Remodelista, ArchDaily, Metropolis, Sunset, California Home + Design, SPACES and the San Francisco Chronicle.

The studio’s work has also appeared in several books, including The Monocle Book of Homes, Modernist Escapes, Parklife Hideaways and 150 Best New Cottage and Cabin Ideas.

Awards

2020 Mini-Mod #3 Citation of Merit, Residential Docomomo Modernism in America Award