The top 15 HOME INDUSTRY INFLUENCERS // 2020

1 THE STARCHITECT

CHERIE GOFF

Principal, HMH Architecture + Interiors

Goff is a champion of modern homes that are livable.

hmhai.com, @hmh_ai

WHO: As one of the principals of Boulder’s HMH Architecture + Interiors, Cherie Goff is a champion of modern homes that are livable (i.e., the opposite of ginormous McMansions). Her firm runs Boulder’s Month of Modern, a September-long series of lectures, home tours, and other events celebrating modern design that sells out each year.

WHY:“In the third grade I was asked to write about what I wanted to be and why,” Goff recalls. “I said I wanted to be a teacher so that I could arrange the classroom the way I wanted. Of course, I didn’t know what an architect was, and I would have been a terrible teacher, so I’m glad I found architecture.” Her yen for clean lines may derive from the year the Colorado native spent living in Denmark, and her mantra—“quality over quantity”—has helped shape innumerable timeless homes throughout the region, including a remodel of a 1976 house designed by Charles Haertling.

THE IMPACT: HMH Architecture + Interiors recently won three ASID awards and an AIA award for a geometric folding stair inspired by origami trees. Goff also happens to be a woman helming a largely female firm in a mostly male-driven field (just 37 percent of American architects who completed the core requirements for licensure in 2018 were female).

IN THE WORKS: Goff just designed her own 1,800-square-foot home—which is currently under construction—where a cantilevered “birdhouse” of a living room will offer panoramic views from all sides.

2 THE HISTORY BUFF

LAM LA

Estimating & Procurement Manager, Factor Design Build

factordesignbuild.com,@factor_designbuild

WHO: A skilled woodworker with a background in preservation carpentry, Lam La brings a knack for historical accuracy, architectural detail, and on-site problem solving to Factor Design Build, a Denver-based construction and interior design firm known for its meticulous renovation projects.

For La—whose project portfolio includes the restoration of a 123-year-old church building in Boston and the renovation of the 1912 Cheesman Park Italianate house that was one of 2018 Top Denver Design winners—reviving structures from bygone eras is an act of reverence. “There are people who worked on these buildings before us who put a lot of hard work into what they did,” he