Margaret McCurry's father was an architect, and family vacations often involved visits to construction sites. No surprise, then, that today she is a standout for her sensibility that combines a grounded pragmatism with a respect for the character of place. Her choices are governed by how long construction takes, costs, a conviction that big is generally not better, and a high regard for sustainability-be it in passive solar or geothermal energy or simply in sensitive site development.

She is also guided by an appreciation for regional architecture and the use of historically appropriate details: Despite its corrugated sheet metal and plywood, the weekend house she shares with her husband, architect Stanley Tigerman, has a quiet symmetry that still evokes a traditional granary. "My work involves establishing a sense of place and, in a way, a search for a new American architecture," she once told this magazine. "I don't discard the past, but build on images of older homes."

Often partnering with her husband, with whom she is a principal in the Chicago architectural firm, Tigerman McCurry, she specializes in that brand of comfort that is derived from attention to proportion, a respect for the emotional resonance of local building traditions, and not least, a sensitivity to light and landscape.-Akiko Busch

Margaret McCurry's website:
www.tigerman-mccurry.com