Fireplaces do far more than warm a space—they shape how we experience it. They blur the boundaries between indoors and out, foster social connection, and anchor architectural compositions. And with today’s innovations, architects have more options than ever, seamlessly blending form, function, and technology.
For expert insights, we spoke with the three firms that won Honor awards in the Residential Architect Design Awards (RADA) fireplace category, sponsored by Heat & Glo. Erin Casey, an interior designer at Boston-based The Architectural Team; Gage Reese, an associate at Aspen, Colo.-based CCY Architects; and David Shone, principal at Vancouver-based Patkau Architects, shared how they used fireplaces to enhance their projects.
Shape atmosphere and social connection. Fireplaces help create ambiance, mood, and opportunities for interacting with one another. “Even when they’re not lit, fireplaces are important compositional elements because they’re always present,” Shone says. “But then, when there’s a fire, the fireplace provides a powerful focus and is sort of mesmerizing. It provides that low-level lighting we’ve all seen when we’ve been around campfires and how it lights up people’s faces.” Fireplaces also focus the social intimacy of the space, Shone says—something his team considered when designing the RADA-winning Arbour House fireplace in Victoria, B.C. “The homeowners can enjoy these contemplative moments on their own but also with family and friends, with grandkids who curl up with around the fire,” he notes. “I’m not saying that it wouldn’t happen without the fireplace, but the fireplace supports it and reinforces it.”
Connect to nature. Fireplaces naturally serve as focal points that bridge indoors and out, enhancing a home’s link to the landscape. “That fireplace is really the start of the connection to the outdoors and to the view of the Elk Range Mountains,” Reese says of the RADA-winning Elk Range Overlook fireplace by CCY Architects in Aspen, Colo.
Create multiple functions within a larger space. For the prize-winning Atwood multifamily project in Saugus, Mass., Casey’s team specified a fireplace to define yet unify adjacent lobby areas—in this case a sitting/dining area and a work-from-home hub. “You have a visual connection, but the fireplace grounds and also divides those two spaces,” she says.
Incorporate technology. Modern fireplaces can accommodate technologies from automation to heat management to integration with home electronics. The Elk Range Overlook provides the perfect example of the latter. “A 75-inch TV raises from the hearth—and when the TV is activated, the fireplace shuts off automatically,” Reese says.
Design for lifestyle and safety. The Arbour House project combines wood-burning fireplaces in spaces like the living room, for example, and sealed gas fireplaces where convenience and easy cleanability was more of a priority, such as the kitchen. And in the high-traffic multifamily Atwood project, Casey took safety into account. “We chose a fireplace that does not put out heat because we don’t want someone to touch it and get hurt,” she says.
Make fireplaces a design statement. The firebox shape and surround materials can help a fireplace—an inherently classic design element—lean into a look that’s more traditional, more modern, or somewhere in between. In Elk Range Overlook, the stone fireplace dominates the room as you’d expect in a mountain setting, Reese says. “It’s a showpiece. It’s just less of a ‘national park’ huge stone kind of look and more of a modern twist on stone mixed with glass and steel.” For the Atwood multifamily project, Casey also opted for a balance. “By combining this traditional fireplace shape with a more modern [Calacatta marble-look porcelain] finish, the fireplace really stands out,” she says.
