Cifuentes Studio

As we wrap up this year, we want to wish all of our clients and friends a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! It is truly an honor to reflect on the trust our clients place in us to design + build meaningful spaces.

This year saw us complete our first start to finish design-build tenant improvement for (seen above); if you still haven’t tried their macarons go give them a try they are the best in town!

Amongst our completed work was the design for the relocation of the Kusama Room at Phoenix Art Museum, the remodel of two Postino locations, and a myriad of residential project scopes. We look forward to partnering with you in the coming year to design and construct new impactful architecture. ¡Feliz Navidad!

📸 :

For the final of 2022 we thought it’d be fun to share what we approved through the city yesterday. This year was a fast-moving and exciting year for our busy little studio. To cap it off + I were entrusted with the opportunity to design + complete construction documents for a for what turned out to be my first college English teacher from when I was 15.

It’s wild how blessings like these come full circle and we’re excited to see this new addition in break ground this coming year.

365sf of remodel + 554sf of added livable = 100% Haver rad-ness!

Image 1 - Isometric render of build-out
Image 2 - Current Google Earth aerial
Image 3 - Presenting homeowners w/ same-day approved documents
Image 4 - Jacob’s post-approval euphoria! ✨
Image 5 - Design development render looking into the principal bedroom

precept 01 : what does it mean to be a master builder?

as an architect-led design build practice those two words weigh heavy on the heart and soul of the architecture we design and hopefully guide through construction. in a world full of the latest pinterest fad and catchy sustainable buzzwords, building for an architecture of conservation and stewardship of materials should be of utmost priority!

i’ve been eyeing this cellular EPDM building gasket from for a few years now and finally I pulled the trigger on it! this 75’ roll of ‘BG75’ plate gasket will be mechanically fixed to the underside of the bottom 2x plate of the by .

this technology was developed for the Swedish manufactured housing market to survive punishing elements hence designed to hold up over time. a master builder should not sell ‘sustainability’ as the latest novelty, but instead they should strive to make it one of the baseline metrics of a successful architecture.

let’s learn how to design-build better and smarter together! (air-sealing is half the battle)

We’re big proponents of looking forward into the future! Our first features the new office restack for ’s new headquarters building located at the gateway to the newly defined Tempe Maker District.
The easiest path for a building to attain a low carbon footprint is to reuse the one already built. Our task for this adaptive reuse project was to reconfigure an existing 17,000sf building (which was only 50% occupied at the time of purchase) to create a modern workplace for the United Dairymen of Arizona administrative staff.
Upon arrival, team members and guests alike will be welcomed by the new reception desk envisioned in this rendering by ! The movement in the wood slat ceiling aims to both draw the occupant towards the check-in area and also embed building elements of lighting and climactic control into one continuous surface.
Image 1 - rendering of our proposal
Image 2 - construction progress from this morning (GC: .cm.llc)
Image 3 - existing lobby condition during our site walk over a year ago
We’re ecstatic to see this impactful incision into the Broadway Innovation Hub be realized, more to come!