Stephanie Barnes-Castro is a 1982 graduate of the Environmental Studies program at the University of California, Santa Cruz 1982. Like her signature Stonehenge logo, Stephanie strives to design homes that reflect strength, beauty, longevity and a connection with the earth.

The variety of designs that can be seen in her portfolio is a direct result of her ability to really listen. Stephanie takes her client's dreams and desires into account right from the beginning, even when a client comes to her without a definite direction in mind. By approaching each project without preconceived imagery, each home is uniquely it’s own and is designed to reflect the natural landscape coupled with the client's personality and lifestyle.

Stephanie's goal in designing the home itself is to seamlessly tie the natural environment to the built environment by integrating light, air, proportion, scale and attention to detail in an effort to create both an aesthetically pleasing and energy efficient home.

At the beginning of each project, Stephanie Barnes-Castro assesses site characteristics, including the microclimate of the area, such as rainfall, drainage patterns, soil type, landscape elements, shading patterns, solar and wind orientation and biotic, geologic and topographic characteristics of the land. Discovering and utilizing the attributes of the existing site (including prime views) is fundamentally the most cost affective way to foster healthful living, creativity and energy efficient design.

After the general layout is established, the next step is to delve further into the systems and material selection, choosing products that have withstood the test of time yet are innovative in their application. Special consideration is given to energy performance via air-barrier detailing, maximizing insulation levels, specifying highly efficient yet simplistic mechanical and plumbing systems, always keeping an eye on indoor-air quality, and selecting renewable materials with low embodied energy. The process is collaborative and integrates knowledge from a wide range of sustainable expertise. The firm collaborates with air barrier specialists, as well as builders and subcontractors on an ongoing basis to ensure that the design strategies are sound and will not require costly retrofits during construction or ongoing maintenance after construction is complete.