LGA Studios celebrates 40 years in the custom home design business
Larry Gilland & Associates, Inc – doing business as LGA Studios – was established in 1982 in Colorado Springs, making this our 40th year in business as a custom home design firm! Where did the time go?!
It’s not every day that a small business reaches such a milestone, and we owe it all to the incredible clients we’ve had the honor of working with over the years, as well as the peers and colleagues we’ve been privileged to collaborate with, and, of course, our dedicated team. Today, we wanted to take a look back at where we came from and highlight some of the steps that tell our story along the way.
Larry Gilland, a Colorado Springs native, grew up with an interest in houses and design from a young age. He started visiting the Parade of Homes with his mom when she was a realtor, and he remembers watching the way neighborhoods developed and how architectural trends and patterns moved through the city as it grew. In 6th grade, he won the design study award for best floor plan and elevation in an architectural class, and from there, he was hooked. He began taking independent study courses in high school. His drafting instructor even had Larry draft some of his small summer projects, and Larry could often be found working late into the night over his dad’s homemade drafting table – pencils and scale rulers in hand and electric eraser at the ready.
As he furthered his architectural studies, Larry gained a summer job with a local firm. His mentor, Charlie Morrison, gave him a love of design and building codes. After working with a number of local architects, Larry worked for contracting firms as well. He received his Contractor’s License at the age of nineteen and worked as a Project Manager, Construction Superintendent, and Design Lead before he was twenty years old. In addition to hand-drafting, Larry was encouraged to take on challenges in specifications and cutting edge design. At twenty-one, he teamed up with Judy Ashcroft to start Design Brokers, an interior design firm.
In the early 1980s, Larry shared an office with his good friend and colleague, Del Doty, at 309 E. St Vrain.
In 1982, Larry leased space from Ed Rudolph’s office on 8th Street.
Between 1983 - 1985, he had an office space on Nevada Avenue.
Larry and Mary were married in 1981, and started their business a few months later.
He started drafting on the side for Del Doty in 1981, and has always credited Del as being an important mentor – both in terms of keeping an active and creative mind, and as an example of how to take care of clients and relationships.
Mary Brunette, also a Colorado Springs native, grew up in a family of builders, makers, and small-business owners, and it was when she was working in her brother’s real estate office that she met Larry. At the time, Larry was doing project management and design for production, semi-custom, and custom homes, as well as construction administration work for mountain condos.
In spring of 1982 – seven months after they were married – Del invited Larry to share an office and put a shingle out for his own firm. That was the official beginning of Larry Gilland & Associates, and the business hasn’t slowed down since. After all these years, that same drive and creative spark the company started with has remained central to our culture to this day.
Mary started a scrapbook back in 1982 to keep track of some of the early milestones of the business, including newspaper clippings, awards, and her own notes printed out on a dot matrix printer. The company went through many moves over the years, as shown in the photographs throughout this blog.
As HBA Code Chair, Larry’s code knowledge and sense of design helped him grow from a one-person office to a multi-person firm of drafters and associates including early team members Rand Stockton, Bernie Kern, and Harlan Mager. Larry and Mary remember building the office furniture themselves in those early days, including creating a conference table out of an old door and using trusses for legs.
At other times, the company was smaller, needing only a one-room office. Dawn Streb joined the firm during one of these phases, and her drafting table ended up squeezed into a room no larger than a closet before the team decided it was time for another move.
Larry’s always had a home office, and when Larry and Mary’s daughter, Heather, was little, she had a reserved seat in the drafting table drawer.
Early on in the company’s story, the team found steady work with production builders, working with around six of the ten major builders in town at the time – one of which was the second largest in the United States. A recession in the mid-80s caused a bit of panic in the building industry, and it was then that Larry started working more with the custom home market. This brought a lot of creative freedom and energy to work directly with clients, as well as the satisfaction that comes with helping them achieve a vision they’ve been dreaming of for years in building their personal homes.
The team had an office on Sinton Road for a time, featuring a conference table we still use today, and coffee mugs painted by Larry’s mom.
Jamie Peterson and Eldon Bontreger joined the team at a time when AutoCAD was beginning to take off, and Larry Gilland & Associates embraced the new technology, finding innovative ways to incorporate it into the business and opportunities to set the standard for how their plans were drawn. This commitment to quality is still a cornerstone of how the team operates.
LGA Studio’s second-floor Old Colorado City office, circa 1996.
After leasing office space in several locations around Old Colorado City for years, Larry and Mary decided to build their own office on an infill lot on Colorado Avenue. This live/work space was designed in a Victorian style to match the historic West Side neighborhood and ended up winning a local historical award. The office was located at 1331 W. Colorado Avenue. At that time, Jim Willard, Scott VanSchaardenburg, and Mike Hentschel worked with Larry on a number of churches, restaurants, and small commercial projects. We also had satellite offices up in Salida and Buena Vista, which were staffed by Stacy Austin and Will Payne. Larry also joined AIBD at this time, which gave his family a chance to travel and network with peers nationwide – a richly rewarding experience.
A few years later, Larry and Mary became founding members of the Collaborative Design Group (CDG), prompting a move downtown. The CDG included Mark Tremmel, John Olson, Eric and Ann Fetsch, and Jennifer Dastur. The vision of CDG was to create a collective team of building designers, architects, urban planners, interior designers, and artists – all of whom kept their own independent firms but were able to team up on larger projects at will and share office space. LGA Studios also welcomed Lisa Ehli, Michelle Williams, Ben Tabolt, and Levi Regalado, who brought excellent technical abilities and high-end interior and exterior design expertise to the team.
Our current office at 201 E. Las Animas Street, Suite 113.
The current LGA Studios team.
Our current office at 201 E. Las Animas Street, Suite 113 shares space with Tremmel Design Group, Galletta Architecture, Goodloe Architecture, and Eric Fetsch Fine Art. We love our downtown location in the Colorado Springs Creative District. Since opening our doors at this address, we’ve weathered economic downturns and housing booms, and we’ve been blessed to grow our team further, hiring previous team members Rebecca Moeller, Katy Notess, Abby Smith, Leslee Wommack, Mike Powell, and Selandia Toote, as well as our talented current members Lacey Wells, RaeAnn Rustenburg, Elena Hepworth, and Joni Zimmerman. Read more about our incredible team here.
A few professional highlights and milestones that stand out for Larry over the past forty years include:
Presenting multiple design and historical architecture workshops to the Housing & Building Association, the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, and the American Institute of Building Design
Studying passive solar and keeping up with sustainable practices and developments, including becoming a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Certified Rater through the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) and a US Green Building Council (USGBC) Green Rater.
Being certified by the International Code Council (ICC) as a Building Inspector and Plans Examiner
Completing the professional certification process through the National Council of Building Design
Becoming a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional for Building Design and Construction
Teaching as an Adjunct Professor at Pikes Peak Community College
Taking part in civic design events with the American Institute of Architects and Collaborative Design Group, including Better Block Pikes Peak, Gold Hill Mesa, and winning an American Residential Design Award (ARDA) for a conceptual master plan design for downtown Castle Rock
Tackling challenges in church design, townhomes, commercial buildings, and restaurants
Being a founding member of Design Brokers Interior Design, Rocky Mountain Plan Company, and Collaborative Design Group
Serving on the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) Leadership Board, the Pikes Peak Community College Advisory Board, the USGBC, the local Habitat for Humanity Building Committee, and the El Paso County Planning Commission
Helping every client bring the vision of their dream home to life
Larry and Mary after Larry’s induction into the AIBD College of Fellows.
Above all else, our company believes in relationships. Larry and Mary recently had dinner in Arizona with one of their very first clients. What started with a bedroom remodel developed into many other projects over the years for them, including a memorable passion project. Their custom home was designed and built in a traditional Southwest style, which ended up being featured in Colorado Homes & Lifestyles Magazine. We’re proud to have many stories like this one. Nothing makes us happier than when a client returns to have us design another home for them, or when we get the opportunity to design homes for the children of our previous clients.
Today, Larry is still a central visionary of the LGA Studios team. He loves looking at the big picture and being able to stay on the cutting edge of innovation and design. Mary and Larry are both committed to fostering creative growth and expression in the LGA Studios team.
We’re proud to say our business has been built through word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business, rather than through advertising. Going above and beyond for our clients is the most important part of what we do, and we understand on a core-deep level that we are creating one of the most meaningful and lasting products in our clients’ lives – their home.
We never lose focus on making every client and team member feel valued, and it matters to us that this is our reputation in our community and our legacy in our industry.
LGA Studios was founded with a spirit of creativity, hard work, and humanity, and these same values – enhanced by collaboration, innovation, and dedication – are what make us who we are today.
We’re truly grateful for every single client and builder who has chosen LGA Studios over these past 40 years. What we’ve always loved about this business is the fresh energy that comes with every concept, as well as the opportunity to take on unique challenges and grow.
From designing new homes for families who’ve lost everything in a wildfire, to working with Habitat for Humanity, to creating a family’s dream home they’ve been planning for their entire lives, or helping empty nesters downsize to a space that fits their ideal architectural style, we’re so happy to be in the business we’re in and to have met the people we have. Thank you for entrusting us to create the spaces where you build your lives.