Archer & Buchanan Architecture Named to Forbes America’s Best-in-State Residential Architects 2025
December 19, 2025
Archer & Buchanan Architecture is thrilled to announce the firm has been named to a second Forbes list: Forbes 2025 America’s Best-in-State Residential Architects. Following the great honor of our inclusion in the Forbes America’s Top 200 Residential Architects 2025 list, this additional recognition is an affirmation of our commitment to designing beautiful and functional homes that specifically and intentionally respond to the history and context of place. Archer & Buchanan, as one of only ten Pennsylvania firms cited, is grateful to Forbes for highlighting the firms who are guided by the same basic tenets of our own design philosophy in the Best-in-State Residential Architects list.
“Some of the criteria that the team at Forbes Architecture used to delineate what makes good architecture serve as our core beliefs,” says Archer & Buchanan firm partner Michele Thackrah. “Context, understanding the world around us, how well a building is sited, how it speaks to its environment, to its history. It is gratifying to see that our values align regarding what can be an important part of architecture.”
Our Design Compass
The Forbes Architecture lists draw attention to the principles that guide our work. We believe that the best architecture comes from the discourse that occurs between client, team, site and historical context.
- Site and Context: Recognizing and responding to site and landscape sets the tone for our approach to every project. The agrarian roots and history of our immediate area here in Southeastern Pennsylvania undoubtedly exert a strong influence on regional architecture with the iconic Pennsylvania farmhouse playing a starring role. However, varying settings within the region invite a variety of styles that can appear entirely appropriate when both context and landscape are properly considered.
- Craft and Detail: Our projects are elevated by the meticulous attention paid to detail and craft. While arriving at a form that meets all functional needs is our primary goal, intense collaboration between designers, builders, artisans and craftspeople transcends beyond the obvious and imbues the character that gives each home its soul.
- Design for Generations: It is our belief that each home we design should be built to last for at least one hundred years and should continue to grow in character and style with time. We avoid trends and instead emphasize a timelessness in design combined with enduring materials to deliver homes with genuine longevity.
“It’s important to us that the Forbes organization really dug into understanding what architecture firms do,” states A&B founding partner Richard Buchanan. “And I think the opportunity to be recognized is a valuable way for the public to understand there are firms that care deeply about quality, about detail, place, context. We spend so much time thinking carefully and in a detailed way about the quality and craft of our buildings.”
Collaboration
We are truly indebted to the amazing clients, builders, craftspeople and artisans that comprise the partnerships essential to each project’s success. The dialogue between and commitment by each team member is a cherished element of the design process that fuels our collective drive for excellence.
The Forbes System of Evaluation
The same 3-tiered system of evaluation that resulted in the Forbes America’s Top 200 Residential Architects 2025 list was applied to discern the Forbes America’s Best-in-State list. We once again applaud the efforts of editor Richard Olsen, the Forbes Editorial Team and its Architecture Advisory Board for their commitment to such a rigorous effort. And congratulations to our fellow Pennsylvania firms as well as those throughout the country with which we are proud to keep company!
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