About Anthony O. James
Anthony O. James, sole proprietor of Anthony O. James, Architect (AOJA), has well over 30 years of experience in architectural design and historic preservation, having worked for government preservation agencies, non-profits and private architectural firms on a wide variety of projects. Anthony specializes in working with historic buildings, both restoration and respectful renovation, and traditional design of additions and new construction.
Significant areas of expertise include not only restoration and renovation of historic buildings, but also fine residential work (from kitchen renovations to design of new houses), churches, and small commercial projects. Additionally Anthony has expertise in historical research and writing, having prepared historic structures reports and building histories, including the research and report preparation for determination of National Register eligibility. Anthony also has experience in master planning and has worked on campus master plans and the layout of residential communities.
Anthony, as a proponent of contemporary traditional architecture, has written a short paper on that concept and how it relates to architectural design today. This paper, linked here, explains how he feels that new buildings built today can be based on lessons learned from the past, yet still embody the spirit of today, the contemporary world. This also relates to additions attached to older buildings, and how relating to the earlier work in a complementary, rather then a contrasting, way makes a great deal of sense.
Link to article: Contemporary Traditional Architecture and Why We Should Consider It
In the February 2016 issue of Traditional Building magazine, Anthony is one of the featured architects in an article about how some of today’s architects who practice traditional architecture came to that conviction. Link to article: Paths to Traditional Architecture