About Us
At Hamilton Snowber Architects, we view the design and construction process as a creative collaboration between the client, architect and builder to create homes to meet your physical, aesthetic and financial needs. From establishing your design program all the way to moving into your finished home, we provide personal and professional services that make the experience efficient and enjoyable.
Cynthia Hamilton and Chris Snowber have worked with clients in the Washington metropolitan area, as well as other parts of the country (New England, Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Virginia, Midwest), to develop residential projects at a variety of scales and settings. With each project, we seek to develop solutions that respond to the specific needs of the client, site and surrounding context. To meet those needs, we employ the architectural language that is most appropriate, whether traditional, transitional, or more contemporary.
We consider understanding the landscape — the yard, the street, the community, the region — an integral part of any design solution. Throughout the day, through the seasons, a house should interact with its setting in ways that inspire and delight.
Environmentally responsible design leads us to seek solutions which limit a project’s impact through the use of green products and practices. In applying these principles, this means maximizing insulation and use of green materials, as well as seeking ways to employ alternative sources of energy, including geothermal, photovoltaic production of electricity and solar collectors for hot water.
Cynthia N. Hamilton, AIA
Cynthia has a wide range of experience in residential design, architectural education and historic preservation. After obtaining a Master of Architecture from Yale, Cynthia went on to work at Moore Grover Harper Architects in Connecticut and then taught architecture at Auburn University and Carnegie-Mellon University. She established her own residential firm in Washington, DC in 1985 before Chris joined her in 1990 to form Hamilton Snowber Architects. After obtaining her BA from the University of Maryland, Cynthia worked for the St. Mary’s City Commission, the Maryland Historic Trust and the Smithsonian Institution.
Christopher R. Snowber, AIA
Chris has maintained a strong connection to residential architecture since the beginning of his career. After graduating from Antioch College, he worked with several DC design firms before heading off to manage a construction project in West Africa. He obtained a Master of Architecture from Carnegie-Mellon University before returning to Washington, where he spent time at Martin and Jones Architects and Hartman Cox Architects. In 1990, he joined Cynthia in establishing Hamilton Snowber Architects. Aside from his work with the firm, Chris has also committed himself to work in the community: as one of the founders of the pro-bono service group Community Design Services, serving on the CRAN Committee (Custom Residential Architects Network) for the Capital Area, and on the board of ILO (Integrated Living Opportunities), a non-profit organization established to provide housing and other services for adults with intellectual disabilities.
Michael Rouse, AIA
Michael Rouse, an associate with the firm, received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Maryland. Since joining Hamilton Snowber Architects in 2007, Mike has managed projects ranging in size from kitchen renovations to new homes. Mike has had the opportunity to serve outside of the office in several ways: as a previous member on the Easton (Maryland) Historic District Board, as a current member of the Emerging Professionals Committee for the National CRAN (Custom Residential Architects Network) Advisory Group and as a member of the historic Lovely Lane United Methodist Church in Baltimore where he gives architectural tours of the 1887 Stanford White designed church. When he is not drawing, designing, or 3D modeling, you can find Mike in the kitchen whipping up something delicious, or out on his road bike logging his next century.
ChrisTINA fazio
Christina Fazio received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art in Painting with an emphasis in Sculpture and a Master of Architecture from Cornell University. A member of Hamilton Snowber Architects since 2014, she is happy to be living closer to friends and family in the Washington D.C. area. In her free time, Chrissy is pursuing architecture licensure and perfecting her yoga practice.
Alexander Smith
Alexander Smith received a Bachelor of Architecture, with an emphasis in Architectural History, from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Architecture from Cornell University. After graduation, he gained experience at a small Texas design-build firm and then a large international developer firm, where he discovered his true passion was for small scale, residential architecture. In his free time he enjoys cooking, playing with his dog Hushpuppy, and thinking up new and creative artistic endeavors.
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