Root is an award-winning boutique architectural design firm specializing in mixed-use commercial projects and interior architectural design. Founded in 2010, Root is redefining architectural practice through innovative construction practices in the Southwest and beyond. Root’s portfolio comprises a wide range of projects, including commercial, hospitality, historic preservation, medical facilities and K-12 schools. While Root has diverse experience in many project types, our skillset is less project-focused than process-focused, where we refine and enhance the experience for clients and occupants alike.
From left to right: Irving Cuellar, Rida Asfahani, Fernanda Guerrero, Jazmin Sifuentes, Catherine Soderberg Esper, Christopher Esper, Pablo César Chávez,
Root Architects was born out of a sense of what was missing and an excitement for what could be for development and architectural design in El Paso, TX, and the Southwest. Root saw an opportunity to enhance and curate a more refined architectural experience that is truly reflective of the natural beauty and genuine cultural impact of the American southwest and Mexican landscape/region. Founded in 2010, Root has 40+ collective years of experience among our team members and licensed architects. This includes a variety of architecture and construction projects ranging from K-12, Adaptive-Reuse, and shipping container projects as well as new and disruptive commercial and hospitality concepts.
The Root team is dedicated to revitalizing, enhancing, and improving the context for its home base of El Paso through new construction and the careful enhancement of the city’s historical fabric. The motivation for our work is seeing how the community continually learns, evolves, grows and thrives. Whether we’re keeping historic spaces sacred or creating new ones that elevate our city, we are determined to elevate the community with carefully planned and designed spaces.
St. Rogers Depot
El Paso, TX
Historic Renovation
El Paso has one of the most amazing collections of historic buildings in the region. The buildings do not just exist here – they are accessible. It’s not just a high money market in El Paso; smaller developers are also able to get in the game. The most beautiful part of being an architect in El Paso is the endless possibilities for making a real difference in our community. It’s not just about designing and building beautiful buildings – it’s about the opportunity to restitch the urban fabric that made our city and region great at the turn of the century. We accomplish this through rehabilitation, revitalization, and the ability to revive neighborhoods and communities that are again on the cusp.
What Makes Us Unique.
Client Approach
- We are a boutique design firm – a small office where design principles are directly involved in each project. Our firm targets specific high-quality design opportunities.
- Each of our clients comes to us with a unique design problem, which through our analytical design process results in unique solutions.
- Our clients include entrepreneurs, real estate developers, and established professionals seeking to scale their current services and facilities. We excel in projects with precise criteria and constraints and help to ultimately craft a holistic vision for our clients.
- We take a client-first approach in order to pinpoint our client's needs, working side-by-side to learn potential pain points and balance their wants and needs. We meticulously examine several design strategies until ultimately choosing one that best serves the client's requirements and vision.
- We provide a fully immersive design approach that engages clients in all phases of design, including pricing and constructibility exercises at strategic intervals in order to maintain expectations for budget and schedule.
Developer Mindset
The Root team is not only innovative and technically ambitious in architecture and engineering, but also engages in real estate development and design-build projects for our own projects. Our nuanced construction experience on renovation projects gives the team unique insight into the construction process from economic and logistical standpoints. This allows the team to empathize with the needs of our developer clients as well as novice builder clientele.
In-House Consultants
Most of our engineering consultants are located in-house. In addition to real-time collaboration, we collectively review project design progress with our structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers who cooperate intensively during all phases of the design process.
Contractor Capabilities
In collaboration with our strategic construction partner, STEM, Root has built its own projects and projects for other clients. Our deep-seated understanding of the construction process allows us to advise on project deliveries that best suit our clients, from design-bid-build and design-build to construction management and CM-at Risk.
Technology
Root Architects utilizes the latest technologies, allowing for cross-discipline collaboration with our in-house consultants in real-time. Via a shared 3D construction documentation model, we utilize clash detection, parametric modeling, and environmental simulations to produce efficient, cost-effective responses to design criteria. The 3D design process results in a design tool whereby stakeholders can offer feedback to 3D renderings and visualizations, making the process more engaging and accessible.
Contractor Capabilities
In collaboration with our strategic construction partner, STEM, Root has built its own projects and projects for other clients. Our deep-seated understanding of the construction process allows us to advise on project deliveries that best suit our clients, from design-bid-build and design-build to construction management and CM-at Risk.