Charles Sholten Designs
Integrated, Organic, Ecological, & Regenerative Architecture
Integrated & Organic Design Services
Integrated and organic design services is a comprehensive and holistic approach to producing architectural designs. Charles Sholten attempts to take into consideration all of the important factors necessary to the decision making process. This naturally includes the principles of Universal Design which addresses the needs and requirements of everyone involved. Charles Sholten produces creative design solutions that are authentic, innovative, and one of a kind. Charles Sholten loves sharing his knowledge and design methodology with others who are committed to finding creative freedom through integrated and organic design. The ideas and principles promoted on this site are what Charles Sholten stands to offer and deliver to all of his clients. Please telephone or email Charles for more information regarding his design services.
Ecological Design
A commitment to creating environmentally appropriate designs that are integrated with the building site and regional context. Natural & Healthy Building Materials. Indoor & Outdoor Living Spaces. Active & Passive Solar Design. Ecological design via Eco-Machines, first developed by John Todd, uses sunlight, biodiversity and natural processes to create clean water with the byproducts of natural gases and biological material.
Regenerative Architecture
"Regenerative Architecture represents a departure from conventional building practices, aiming not merely to minimize harm but to actively contribute to ecological and social well-being. It involves designing and constructing buildings that restore and revitalize the environment and its inhabitants."
― Climate Sustainability Directory
Nature Based Architecture
Nature Based Architecture & The Role of the Designer
Nature has always been a source of inspiration for architecture. By integrating natural elements into our built environments, we create spaces that are harmonious, balanced, and deeply connected to the world around us. Also known as Nature based design, this approach enhances well-being, fosters sustainability, and blurs the boundaries between the interior and exterior of a home. Geometry also plays a central role in structures that are inspired by natural forms.
Designing beautiful and functional homes must meet the unique requirements of the client and their building site. From the initial concept to final construction, Charles guides his clients through each step of the design process and ensures a result that exceeds expectations. Charles begins with clearly defining project goals, timelines, budgets, and the designer's responsibilities to his clients.
“This is a house that is not only joined to it's site but appears born of it. The limestone and sandstone of which the house is built are the same rocks that lie strewn over the landscape."
― E. Fay Jones
Site Specific Design
Site Specific Design
Minimal disturbance to the building site and natural landscape promotes a respectful and timeless quality. Buildings specifically designed as an enhancement to the landscape. Good architecture should address the physical and aesthetic needs of the inhabitants while remaining in harmony with the natural environment and specific characteristics of the site.
Local & Natural Materials
Choosing local & indigenous building materials compliment & enhance the building site. Low energy embodiment of localized building materials like straw bale can save the client large sums of money. Re-purposed & reclamation of existing building materials, where permitted, can also produce a lower construction budget.
Water elements, tress, planting, and flowers bring movement, life, and tranquillity into architectural designs. Features like fountains, indoor gardens, and small waterfalls promote relaxation and improve mental health, while plants contribute to cleaner air and add vibrant visual interest.
"You leave yourself open and it all starts flooding in. You’re listening for more than superficial things. The most powerful things come in when you listen. You have to find the architecture, you don’t come to it preconceived"
― Warren Callister
Light Filled & healthy Living spaces
Light Filled Spaces
Beautiful and great buildings throughout history have employed colorful art glass to enhance interior spaces. Window walls with clerestories add to an airy interior which creates a sense of open space. Insulated windows and well placed skylights add natural light to recessed interiors as well as providing pleasant views to the outside world. Frameless fixed windows create a seamless view to the natural environment. Key benefits of natural lighting include; lower energy costs which reduces the need for artificial lighting, thus saving energy. Boosts mood as sunlight increases serotonin levels, reducing stress and enhancing wellbeing. Supports sleep cycles as exposure to daylight regulates circadian rhythms, promoting better rest & health.
Healthy Living Spaces
Healthy living spaces refers to environments designed to promote physical, mental, and emotional well being. These spaces focus on minimizing health risks and creating a balanced, harmonious lifestyle for occupants. Natural building materials, when organized properly, radiate healthy & vibrant energy. People often visit natural environments for rejuvenation & healing. Dwellings should and can reconnect us to healthy energies and qualities found in the natural environment.
"The future of healthy buildings must be one where they are the norm, not the exception. Health cannot and should not be a luxury item, afforded to only those that can afford it."
— Joseph Allen, Director of the Healthy Buildings Program
passion, creativity, & beauty
Passion, Creativity, & Beauty
Passion is the wonderful emotion that opens the door to creativity. If you are passionate about creating beautiful buildings, you are willing to take more risks and ultimately succeed in being creative. And to be creative means to be alive and to be in love with life.
“The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.”
― Frank Lloyd Wright
Early Design Work
Early Design Work
The Biohaus is one of Charles Sholten's first concept projects for the Arizona desert. Conceived in 1994, this hand drawn project was designed around a large rock out cropping and was intended as a primary residence, design studio, and research lab for the architect of Biosphere 2 - Phil "TC" Hawes.
The site specific off-grid design has an open floor plan with a generous living room and a cantilevered terrace facing south with unobstructed views of a distant mountain range. Adobe brick, rammed earth, reinforced concrete, and earth based natural finishes are the predominant building materials. A rainwater catchment system collects water and directs it to underground cisterns. This captured water system is also used for fire suppression and fire safety protection.
A second level zen garden above the carport directs one to the third level circular observatory. There is a south facing green house at the rear of the property along with an array of solar panels that power the residential complex with low voltage electricity. Eco-Machines clean the gray-water and waste-water using aquatic plant life in covered pools. Working with nature to recycle and purify the properties' water system.
concept design to working drawings
Concept Design
A concept design evolves from the essential requirements of the client & from analyzing the building site. Designer conducts an in-depth interview with the client & synthesizes their needs & requirements into a comprehensive building design. Models are sometimes produced to develop the concept design.
Working Drawings
The designer often works with structural engineers as well as other design professionals to help facilitate and produce working drawings. Working drawings are used for cost estimates, building permits, & construction. Working drawings, also known as construction drawings, serve as a common language between architects, engineers, contractors, and other stakeholders in a construction project. They are a comprehensive set of documents that provide detailed, graphical representations of a building’s components. The primary purpose of working drawings is to illustrate how a structure should be built, providing a clear and concise guide for construction teams.
DESIGN EDUCATION & Experience
Design Education
Charles Sholten grew up near Chicago, IL. He earned a Master of Architecture Degree at The San Francisco Institute of Architecture in 1997 and studied at The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture in 1991-1992. BA in Studio Art from The University of the South in Sewanee, TN. New Trier West HS, Northfield, IL. 7 years Swimming & Diving. NCAA Div III competitor. Studied Art History in Vienna, Austria in 1984.
Design Experience
Charles has worked with many influential architects, like Warren Callister and Mickey Muennig, before starting an independent design practice in Marin County, CA. 37 years of architectural design experience in Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington State. Charles will travel to out of state building sites and can work remotely from his design studio currently located in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
Client references, sample drawings, and fee schedules available upon request. Site surveys with topo elevations to be provided by the property owner for hillside designs.
Contact info:
Telephone: 509 369-0034
Email: csholten@gmail.com
Charles Sholten at Fine Line Photography
https://finelinephotography.com/
Image Credits: Use command + to increase images to full size
Top Elevation Drawing: Hillside Residence. Columbia River Gorge. Designed by Charles Sholten in 2014
Floor & Site Plan Drawing: Ecological Design Studio & Residence. Designed by Charles Sholten in 2009
Site Plan Drawing: Design by Architect E. Fay Jones. Stoneflower Cottage, AR. Drawing by Charles Sholten
Photograph: Bird's eye view of the Hall Residence in Kentfield, CA. Designed by Hillmer & Callister in 1948
Photograph: Sea Ranch Chapel interior. Sonoma County, CA. Designed by James T. Hubble circa 1990
Photograph: Mickey Muennig Architect of Terra Mar House. Big Sur, CA. Photographed by Charles Sholten.
Working Drawing: Fivis House Section. Designed by Callister & Gately Architects, Tiburon, CA 1996
Preliminary Plan & Elevation Drawing of the Arizona Biohaus Project by Charles Sholten in 1994
Photograph of Charles Sholten standing on a traditional bridge at Taroko Gorge, Taiwan 2008
Recommended Reading:
Frank Lloyd Wright: Natural Design, Organic Architecture by Alan Hess. Penguin Random House 2012
New Organic Architecture: The Breaking Wave by David Pearson GAIA Books Limited 2001
The Natural House & The Future of Architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright. Horizon Press 1954
Places of the Soul: Architecture and Environmental Design as a Healing Art by Christopher Day 1990
The Natural House Book: Creating a Healthy, Harmonious and Ecologically Sound Home by David Pearson
A Safe and Sustainable World: The Promise of Ecological Design by Nancy Jack Todd. Island Press 2005
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction by Christopher Alexander. Oxford University Press, 1977
The Timeless Way of Building: by Christopher Alexander. Oxford University Press, 1979
Site updated: August 2025