The expressive architecture of Neumann Lewis Buchanan connects memory and place. Fluency and invention with the language of traditional precedent creates character, grace, and beauty for now and generations to follow.
NEUMANN LEWIS BUCHANAN homes are cherished, one-of-a-kind commissions that are deeply evocative and meaningful. Founded in 1986 by David Neumann, the firm operates from two integrated studios, one in the heart of Washington, D.C., the other in the historic town of Middleburg, Virginia, and is suited to select projects in exquisite settings across the Mid-Atlantic and Tidewater regions. The firm’s extensive portfolio ranges from magnificent estates and country retreats to ambling farmhouses, outbuildings, and storybook cottages. Each endeavor is quintessentially of a place, enriching its surroundings while appearing to have always belonged. The firm’s partners and team members — most of whom have worked together for decades or more — match expertise with personal warmth and spirit; working closely with clients to shape visions of home.
— Partners —
DAVID E. NEUMANN, FAIA
Partner
Passionate about residential architecture, David Neumann is an architect whose artistry and craft extends from his knowledge of historic and vernacular precedent. His intuitive, nuanced designs, whether for a pristine rural landscape or garden suburb, relate directly to a client’s requirements and the distinguishing context of the project. Committed to his clients and to design excellence, David’s architecture results in subtle elegance, ease of living, and quiet luxury.
A leading voice for advancing traditional design as an inspiration for modern living, David founded the firm expressly to work with discerning clients, many of whom have returned for additional work over the years. David’s partners and staff have likewise been together a long time, a reflection of his calm, organized, straightforward nature. In addition to the work of the firm, David has been an active board member for a number of organizations, including the Washington Chapter/AIA, the Washington Architectural Foundation, and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture (ICAA) among others. It is meaningful and important for David to give back to the architectural community, building industry, and the general public in ways that further the legacy and appreciation of classical and vernacular design.
A long-time resident of the family-friendly Capitol Hill neighborhood, David lives with his wife and daughters in a late-nineteenth-century rowhouse. The top to bottom renovation they undertook included the reintroduction of lost historic detail, which adds a layer of subtle visual refinement to everyday life.
David is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Architecture. In 2014, in honor of his contributions to residential design and the profession, David was named to the AIA’s prestigious College of Fellows.
ANDY LEWIS, AIA
Partner
Generous with his talents, Andy Lewis is an architect whose artistry and calm expertise manifest in clear illustrations that convey character and possibility. From walking a site to schematic design, Andy personally guides the big picture all the way to construction and completion. His imagination, versatility, and ability to render a client’s vision are skillfully brought to bear. Integration of practical technology and utility is equally refined in Andy’s hands, resulting in commissions that belie complexity, appearing serenely authentic to its surroundings. An expressive woodworker and carpenter, Andy also designs lovely, unexpected handwrought details that establish subtle connections to the overall composition and always reward a second glance.
Andy joined David Neumann’s firm in 1986 and has steadfastly defined places of beauty for the firm’s clients ever since. Whether a detailed re-creation of a period house or an inventive interpretation of a traditional style, Andy quietly advances traditions with modern functionality and ingenuity.
Andy lives with his family in Rectortown, Virginia, where he and his wife reimagined a former fieldstone smokehouse turned 1940s mother-in-law cottage into a three-story house, including the original stone cellar repurposed as a woodshop. Complete with craftsman and shingle style details, the house — with its elliptical stair and subtle visual delights inside and out — epitomizes the love of building, craft, memory-making, and home.
Andy is a graduate of Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture & Urban Studies and is a member of the American Society of Architectural Illustrators and the Piedmont Environmental Council.
MARK S. BUCHANAN, AIA
Partner
Devoted to practicing architecture in a language that imbues simplicity, grace, and beauty, Mark Buchanan is a longtime advocate for and student of the principles of classical architecture. Using historic and vernacular precedent, he creates luminous homes with primary spaces that are daylit from two or more directions; that are responsive to the immediate and broader context; present a sense of memory and continuity; and reflect the patina of a family’s life. Assemblages of natural materials — stone, wood, iron, copper, and clay — and finely crafted details reveal and reinforce connections to building customs of a given locale. Pragmatic and poetic, Mark’s masterful interpretations are rooted in the classical tradition.
Mark began his career in Dallas, Texas and later worked in the Washington, D.C. office of American classicist, Allan Greenberg before joining David Neumann and Andy Lewis in 1987.
He lives in the countryside of Warrenton, Virginia where he designed his light-filled home with his wife, also an architect, as a comfortable, practical reprieve with a wonderful front porch.
A native of Ohio, Mark is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington and holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. He is an active member of the ICAA and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
— Team —
MEHRDAD K. RAHBAR, AIA
Associate
Joined the firm in 1991
Bachelor of Architecture, University of Maryland
Master of Architecture, Harvard University
KEVIN O’DONNELL
Associate
Joined the firm in 1994
Bachelor of Architecture, Virginia Tech
KATHLEEN A. LOFDAHL, AIA
Project Architect
Joined the firm in 1997
Master of Architecture, Tulane University
SCOT MCBROOM, AIA
Project Architect
Joined the firm in 2018
Bachelor of Architecture, Texas Tech
DONNA M. LITTLE, Assoc. AIA
Project Designer
Joined the firm in 2016
Bachelor of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University
Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture, Oxford Brookes University
Postgraduate Diploma in Built Resource Studies, Oxford Brookes University
DANIEL EMBERLEY
Office Manager
Joined the firm in 2005
Bachelor of Geography, University of Chicago
Master of Business Administration, Suffolk University