Emily Giancarlo
Clive Pohl
On the second floor of his Euclid Avenue office building, marked by an attractive sculptural sign that reads “Pohl Rosa Pohl,” architect Clive Pohl works with a small team of creatives, designing everything from commercial buildings and beautiful homes to notable public buildings and landmarks. The firm, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is known for designs that highlight simplicity, clean lines and light-filled spaces.
After the retirement of his two original partners — his brother Graham, with whom he started the firm, and Krisia Rosa, who joined them in 2000 — Pohl is now flying solo as the principal architect of the firm, along with a tight-knit staff of two.
“The old model of growing your business bigger and bigger never sat well with me,” Pohl said. “The three of us work like a well-oiled machine.”
In addition to the numerous private homes and commercial projects Pohl has worked on over the past 30 years — always with sustainability and efficiency in mind — career highlights include the Helix Garage in downtown Lexington, the nature center at Raven Run, and the Edible Garden at Louisville’s Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest.
Pohl was raised in an artistic household. His parents were both musicians, and his father built all the furniture in their house. “Though [my father] did not directly tutor us in the art of making, we were witness to it and saw it to be a productive side job,” Pohl said. “That was a primary influence — a desire to make both family and artistry work.”
While certainly unique and eye-catching, Pohl Rosa Pohl’s designs draw much of their appeal from simplicity and a high level of functionality.
Also drawing from his lineage, Pohl has found another creative passion in playing music. He stays active in the Lexington music scene with his band, Uncle Sam’s Bait Shop, a band he formed with friends in 2018.
What brought you to Lexington?
Life in the Pacific Northwest brought me a deeper dive into studying the art of jazz guitar; my amazing wife, Lissa; a graduate degree in architecture from the University of Washington; and two beautiful children; in that order. I tried to convince my brother Graham to join me in the Pacific Northwest, but that effort failed. Seattle’s ‘Californication’ was already leading to inflated real estate prices and overcrowding — a phenomenon that has only gotten worse. With young children and aging parents in Kentucky, Lissa and I felt that it was time to close the gap. Graham and I knew we worked well together and so, during a visit in early 1999 [the pair founded the firm in 1992], we made our big decision.
What design elements are most important to you?
Collaborative spirit: I want my clients to feel heard and to see themselves and their ideas, alongside those that I bring to the table, in the result. This is a lesson young architects often must learn. The outcome is richer and more mature when the architect can facilitate a collaborative conversation and express it in three dimensions.
Simplicity: Complexity is a default in both music and architecture, and I work hard to get beyond it and to move toward simplicity — which is never easy and takes extra effort. This is often perceived as modernism, but for me, it transcends any reference to style and reflects a ‘small is beautiful’ or ‘less is more’ ethos. It reflects a worldview that I have felt intuitively all my life. It can mean embracing a subtractive approach — resisting the temptation to add layers of stuff.
“Complexity is a default in both music and architecture, and I work hard to get beyond it and to move toward simplicity — which is never easy and takes extra effort. This is often perceived as modernism, but for me, it transcends any reference to style and reflects a ‘small is beautiful’ or ‘less is more’ ethos.”
Fit: Responding to the context of any site, urban or rural, and reflecting an awareness of its place in nature, its place in history and its potential to fit is what ‘placemaking’ is all about. Particularly in an urban setting, the designer must begin by answering a simple question: Which contextual elements are worth respecting and reflecting? And sometimes, the designer simply needs to up the ante.
What are some architectural innovations you see coming?
While technology does play a significant role in production processes and component price points, the ‘innovation’ that is most needed in the coming years is a shift in human thought: an increased commitment to supporting the essential biodiversity and general health of our precious planet. And, while many of us in the building trades have long been advocating for a netzero approach to energy consumption … it is all for naught if we cannot access and utilize economic incentives to encourage responsible behavior and environmental stewardship. These economic incentives are the much-needed innovations that I hope will become increasingly available.
How do you integrate music into your life?
Music has always been a counterweight to my design life. My master’s thesis was titled ‘A Floating Stage for Seattle and the Arts.’ It was both a design solution for the Seattle Symphony and a theoretical exploration of the parallels between music and architecture. So, this integration has been deepening for a long time. I find the skills required for making music are similar to those that facilitate my design process.
What advice do you have for anyone looking to design a home?
I would suggest that they interview experienced design professionals and choose one whose work you admire and with whom you feel compatible. Then, allow yourself to be challenged and be willing to go a bit outside your comfort zone and bear in mind that small is beautiful and arriving at a simple outcome takes time, effort and attention. Simplicity is central to the appeal of a modern aesthetic, and this is why so much residential work in suburban America is overly complex — it’s the easy route.