Architect Mark Asher, Rose Randa, project architect, inspect Avalon home they designed. Photo by Leslie Truluck

AVALON –– Architect Mark Asher, founder of Asher Associates Architects in operation since 1993, provided a guided tour of homes he designed here to “get out of the office and see the end product” on April 25.

Asher, a graduate of Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. has 25 years of experience as an architect and designed the Yacht Club of Avalon and Stone Harbor, the Whitebrier Restaurant, the Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May, and the Ocean City Yacht Club among many homes in coastal New Jersey and throughout Pennsylvania.

“It’s a continuing evaluation of each house built on the shoulders of the last one, “ he said. “We are constantly refining the details.”

Asher and Rose Randa, project architect, said they enjoy seeing the homes after the interior and landscaping processes are complete. Randa has worked closely with Asher for five years.

“Mark gives a lot of freedom yet he’s involved in the projects,” she said.

The firm’s architectural philosophies subscribe to “New Urbanism” and “Smart Growth” characterized by pedestrian-based neighborhoods and influenced by the American small town aesthetic like Nantucket, Mass.

Asher said out of the hundreds of homes he’s designed his favorite is a small cottage on West 21st Street here, an area where a garage was demolished, sharing a 70-foot wide lot with another house.

“This is non-conforming to every zoning code imaginable,” he said.

The now 10-year-old house was previously made into condos. Asher said years of legal difficulties gaining zoning variances slowed the process.

The snug home has a large baseboard around the living area.

“There is a combination of comfort and function, not just opulence,” Randa said. “It’s not just a show-piece.”

Asher said the house complements the surroundings as opposed to competing with a loud design.

“We enjoy a glimpse into our clients’ lives,” said Rebecca Lauer, associate licensed architect with expertise in historic design and preservation. She said a client requested a bay window where her granddaughter could snuggle with a book on a rainy day.
“We are building multigenerational homes and there is a level of care because there is nothing more personal than someone’s intimate space,” Lauer said.

Asher said his designs combine aesthetic value with functionality needs.

At a recently-built house at Dune Drive and 75th Street, Asher designed a shingle weave at the border of the side porch. He said his goal was to give the rear door as much credence as the front because it would be used frequently from the driveway.
“The backdoor is celebrated and doesn’t compete with the front door,” he said.

He describes this design as “a refined, well-mannered symphony of parts.”

Randa provided the drawings to Asher’s design featuring traditional rooflines, generous front porches and open, airy interior spaces.

“The house is tailored to the client’s needs and demographic,” Asher said.

The 75th Street house was designed for a young woman in her 30s, which was unusual because most of his clients are generally older, he said.

“We create the opportunity for things to happen. This [room] isn’t just a box, every inch is thought out with a format and framework for interior design to happen,” Randa said.

“Nothing is an accident or an afterthought.”

“Building is two bricks put together, architecture is two bricks put together carefully,” Asher said.

Inside, the halls segment into sequences of public and semi-private vestibules that segue into the bedroom. Thick solid doors testify to the old new-world style. A wooden split door peeks from the laundry room. A raised landing at the foot of the staircase serves two directions and creates a mini two-step staircase in the hall beyond the entrance.

“It’s designed to be lived-in,” Asher said. “ I can imagine a kid notching his height on the wall.”

Asher Associates Architects was voted “Best of the Shore” by Philadelphia Magazine in 2006.

Contact Truluck at (609) 886-8600 Ext 24 or at: ltruluck @cmcherald.com.