PRACTICE
Stick is a Birmingham-based architecture firm. We work on engaging, collaborative projects of all scales. Our clients include individuals, non-profits, academic institutions, municipalities, and public land stewards at the local, state, & national level.
We are in love with the problem of crafting built environments that support the health and wellbeing of people and that harmonize with the natural world.
Although we are not a design/build firm, our practice draws heavily on years of designing and building. And while we (mostly) live and work indoors, our practice is informed by years of work and recreation in the outdoors - hiking, cycling, paddling, gardening, farming, construction, and harvesting & milling timber.
Our firm is small by design. Smallness affords us the ability to pay greater attention to a select number of projects. It enhances our capacity to stay nimble and experimental even with projects at scale. And it allows us cultivate particularly rich working relationships with our clients.
Experimentation is central to our identity as a firm. We regularly conduct wood research driven by our curiosity about this beautiful, strong, renewable, and abundant building material.
PEOPLE
Will McGarity, AIA
Principal
Founder and Principal of Stick, Will McGarity comes from a design-build, urban agriculture, and community-based project background. He is a registered architect with a passion for distilling complex problems into tangible design solutions in conjunction with multidisciplinary teams.
Will has coordinated all aspects of project delivery including serving as primary client liaison, developing design concepts, managing schedules and budgets, leading project teams, producing detailed construction documentation, and administering construction contracts.
He was the 2021 Auburn University Forestry Architecture Fellow. The research, writing, and design-build outreach projects for the fellowship allowed Will to continue to follow his passion of furthering wood architecture, the seeds of which were planted when he was a student at Auburn’s Rural Studio.
Outside of his role at Stick, Will serves as the vice president of the board of directors for Paint Rock Forest Research Center. He is an avid gardener and paddler.
Registration: AL, GA, VT
Charlie Hunter-Cook
Project Manager, Designer
Charlie Hunter-Cook brings more than 15 years of practical design-build experience to his role as Stick’s utility player. Aside from his capacity as drafter, designer, and project manager, he serves as Stick’s resident wordsmith and administrative assistant.
Charlie received his BA in American Civilization from Brown University. Before arriving at Stick, his love of creative making led him on a winding path through small-scale sustainable agriculture and forestry, experiential education, and custom millwork & furniture. Most recently, he worked in design-for-manufacture, designing custom utility truck bodies for Altec, Inc.
Outside of his role at Stick, Charlie is a woodworking instructor at Red Mountain Community School. He is also an accomplished fiddle and banjo player.
Previous Team Members:
Pallavi Borde
Abby Best
Jake Cocke
PHILOSOPHY
Concepts and beliefs that guide our work:
Architecture should be responsive to place. Even as we favor a contemporary aesthetic, we study and incorporate vernacular forms, strategies, and materials. We believe our work should harmonize respectfully with landscapes. Our projects are successful when they propose, not impose.
Material sincerity. Material sincerity means we are passionate about understanding the implications of the materials we select for your project. We think the materials and methods of construction should be selected with intentionality to be resilient & affordable, and to mitigate our work’s contribution to the global climate crisis. We strive to use materials in the best and most sustainable way possible, and we evolve our selection of materials as we curiously learn more.
Stories. History and narrative form as vital a part of a project’s context as its physical location.
Craft. Our work is marked by the careful, rigorous application of method, skill, and experience.
Collaboration and Dialogue. Two heads are better than one. Three or more heads are generally better than two. We work intentionally to cultivate working teams with diverse backgrounds, expertise, and viewpoints.
Architecture should be approachable and accessible. Thoughtfully-designed, well-built structures should be available to all and improve the health and well-being of occupants and users. Familiarity with architectural jargon and the architectural process should not be prerequisites for accessing architectural services.
We believe in using everything. Our practice is enriched when we poke holes in the silo of our discipline. We relish opportunities to open ourselves to influence and inspiration from unconventional and unexpected sources.
PLACE
Stick locates itself within rings.
Our studio is part of the vibrant community of creative practitioners at MakeBHM, in downtown Birmingham, in Alabama, in the southeastern United States, on planet Earth. All of these rings matter to us. Each successive layer of context informs our practice in some meaningful way.
The analogy of growth rings provides a conceptual framework for continuity across size and scale within and between projects. Details matter as much as site plans. Bathroom renovations deserve the same care and intention as comprehensive multi-building projects and master plans. Small rural places carry as much inherent value as large urban centers. Our ability to operate comfortably and effectively at all these scales is predicated on acknowledging their mutual importance and interconnection.
One of our favorite poets said: “What I stand for is what I stand on.” Our practice gives expression to the desire to leave our place better than we found it. That’s our goal, whether designing a home, coordinating plans for a state-wide trail system, or simply sweeping up the sawdust after a day in the workshop.
(Detail: Flagg Mountain Cabins)