Howard Backen

Eschewing narcissistic styles as fads, Backen opts for architectural design that mesh with the landscape and its occupants.

[3] Knowing he did not want to practice architecture in rural Oregon, Backen moved to San Francisco, partly attracted by the 1960s culture.

William Wurster's practicality and attention to detail resounded with Backen, and he took much of it to heart, instilling much of it into his own design vocabulary.

[1][4] During his time there, he played a major role in several distinctive projects in the film industry such as the Sundance Institute, Skywalker Ranch, and the Disney Burbank Sound Studios.

[4] Backen found himself spending more time managing a large firm than doing design work.

He and his former wife, Lori, purchased a five-acre property with an existing house at the bottom of a hill in 1996.