When Tresna Taylor’s youngest child went off to college, she took up ballet. And as Principal and Owner of DFDG Architects in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a leadership position that has challenged her to take on new roles beyond that of project architect, Taylor, AIA, NCARB, CPHC, embraces the learning experience. She has a proclivity for graphic design and book design, dabbles in letterpress and aspires to identify typefaces upon sight. She is in the process of replacing her lawn with pollinator gardens—in an exploration of landscape and temporal design—and sees the beauty in honest materials, in structural systems, and in the world of language and design.
That ballet class, which led to a newfound appreciation for dancers and their craft, epitomizes her approach to life in which design is a way of thinking, of viewing the world, highlighting not only an academic and professional career dedicated to constant growth, but also a lifelong personal journey to exploration, appreciating the work put into craft, and finding joy in the making.
“I signed up for an adult beginner ballet class and in just a couple of weeks, I was suddenly so aware of how amazing ballet is, like I look at dancers and think ‘oh my gosh, it is really hard to do what you are doing.’ And I want people to have that feeling about architecture, that they get how thoughtful it was that you designed [a building] that way, and how it all lines up and there is this sense that it is all there,” Taylor said.
“I think the world would be a better place if more people did that, were present and appreciative of the work that people put in because it is what they do, and it is important to them to have it be right and good. We, as architects, want to make people aware and experience that joy in the built world. That is the goal, really. I don’t need to change the world, I just want people to appreciate design more; to be able to design a house for them so their families can live in a place where they benefit from good design,” Taylor added.
Taylor, is a Phius Certified Passive House Consultant, or CPHC, and registered architect in the states of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Massachusetts, and Kentucky. She studied architecture at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and at the University of California, Berkeley where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Master of Architecture, respectively. It is a profession and field that seemed like a practical blend of her interests in art and sciences, and while she self-admittedly believes she would have been equally happy as a graphic designer or book designer, it is her love of learning, interest in how structures are built and expressed, and the relationships of bodies in space that has helped fuel her affinity for architecture.
“I always had been one of those crafty kids, always been good at math, that stuff came easily to me, so I had been thinking about architecture, because it seemed like a logical meld of art and sciences. I was interested in it, but looking back, I was very naïve. I didn’t know anything about architecture, I really only knew Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect,” Taylor said.
“So, I put myself on that track, went to college at UofM for undergrad and had a great experience there. That experience, learning more about architecture, that’s when I started to understand and fall in love with architecture and the way that it ties culture and technology and art together. I’ve also realized that this constant learning has always been important to me,” Taylor added.
It was also about this time she discovered a passion for graphic design and book design when working on her own portfolio, and upon graduation, Taylor took a couple of years off to intern at Albert Kahn Associates Inc. in Detroit, which provided an eye-opening experience into the corporate, professional field. Taylor said she then went on to attend University of California, Berkeley, which proved to be another great, formative experience.
“When you are young, you don’t often realize how much a seminar stayed with you and shaped you. You don’t necessarily realize it at the time about that experience, that exposure, until suddenly you look back and it’s like, ‘That’s where it started,’ and ‘That really shaped me,’ or what I’m interested in now, whether or not it’s something I’m actively using in my profession, a side hobby, came from that,” Taylor said.
“I mean, I’ve always been interested in construction and structures, understanding how things are built and not just what materials are, but the order, the operations, and how somebody actually built it—and then expressing those things so the structures have a legible building. I like when you can see structures and how that creates a form, how that protects you from weather. I really appreciate the whole system, it is something I love about architecture,” Taylor added.
Her time at University of Michigan and University of California, Berkeley also fostered an interest in bodies in space and ergonomics, the idea that one designs for a particular body, and that the object has language often associated with the body itself, such as in the design of a chair which has arms and legs. She also had the good “fortune to fall into letterpress printing” during a seminar, which she completely fell in love with—and has been a hobby and creative spark she has continued to pursue to this day, often visiting the public library system in Ann Arbor to use their open letterpress lab.
“It has been a really nice thing to get back into,” Taylor said. “And this whole world of language and design I thought was interesting, and the idea that when you design something custom it is very personal, and you are imagining its use. I’ve always been interested in this future aspect, looking to the future, imagining the future use, and how is it going to be how I want it to be.”
In 2000, Taylor joined the architectural team at , quickly taking to the versatile and dynamic small firm environment. She noted as a Michigan native and long-time Ann Arbor resident, it was an intuitive move to return to her home state and had the opportunity to make use of her interest in graphic design and marketing in addition to architectural skills under the leadership of South African native, the late Damian Farrell, FAIA, founder and owner. Taylor then took some time away from the field to raise a family—during which time she also obtained licensure so when she did return to the field, she did so as a licensed architect.
“I just casually mentioned I was thinking about coming back and Damian said, ‘When are you ready to start?’ I didn’t even search, and that was 10 years ago, so I’ve been with DFDG for a long time, had a long history with Damian, and I loved working with him. He had this beautiful sense of scale and proportion and he drew beautifully, and he was gregarious. He had this magnetic personality and just was a really talented designer. I am really grateful for having him as a mentor,” Taylor said.
“We have a small, but good team who has been together for a long time and when Damian passed in 2023—after recovering from the shock—it kind of kicked in that we had clients to take care of, we had projects, and the team was a machine. I don’t think it occurred to us to just stop. We, the senior team members, just kept on taking care of clients, because that is what Damian would have wanted, that is something that has always been in our ethos, to put clients first, to take care of their needs, and advocate for them,” Taylor added.
It was around this time that the team began to talk with the family about carrying on the tradition and legacy of the firm, and in May 2024, Taylor officially took over as principal and owner. DFDG Architects, which has undergone a logo design evolution, remains a resilient, adaptive design firm committed to the core beliefs it was founded upon in 1992. Taylor said the firm is very client-focused and believes good design transcends style. As DFDG Architects, the team continues to take on residential and commercial work, and while the pace of work and emotional investment may differ, the dedication to service and advocacy for their clients is constant. The team has also embraced a focused direction for sustainability in design and multi-family housing work, and while she admitted she never thought that she would want to own a firm and felt she had big shoes to fill, Taylor has met it head on.
“It’s a learning experience. I’m always about constant growth,” Taylor said. “The practice of architecture is a service industry. My job is to make the design process a smooth and enjoyable one. I want it to be a good experience, I want the client to enjoy that process and love the product at the end. And that product, for us, means it is something that reflects the client. It’s about what the client likes and wants, and what is important to them. That is my understanding of architecture as a profession. Damian liked to say that ‘We’re not shaping architecture at a world level, that is not what we do, we’re doing it at the personal level, for an individual client.’”
Taylor noted the firm’s focus on sustainability reflects an industrywide shift toward better sustainability and better energy efficiency, which prompted her certification as a CPHC. It was a move to understand the philosophy and technology behind some of the solutions to help clients, whether that is in integrating progressive idea or simply designing better building envelopes and making informed recommendations about mechanical systems. And while inflation, cost, and budgets continue to be challenges—as well as raising awareness in terms of the value of architecture and design in the face of the “faster, cheaper” mindset—she believes the sustainability movement and the necessity of play, of connecting in a physical world in a post-pandemic world, has the potential to shift architecture away from some of the “flatness” of the last couple decades into something more expressive and inherently more sustainable.
“In the early 2000s and 2010s, I felt like there was this flatness to buildings, where architecture had these skins applied and there was a lack of real depth, shadow, or beauty, and culturally, in my mind, there was this parallel with avatar culture when cellphones were introduced. It lacked substance in a way, where windows were installed at the surface of the building and the skin was all the same plane,” Taylor said.
“The richness of architecture of the past is in the thickness of materials and being true to these ideals, and it was getting lost. With sustainability, there is a movement toward thicker walls due to its insulation and there is an expression of thickness in windows. The building science indicates moving the windows to the center of the wall assembly alone is better, and I think it is going to start to change the way that residential architecture looks and feels again with shadow and articulation. That does come at a cost, so the challenge is to work against that faster, cheaper mindset, moving toward something better, something more sustainable,” Taylor added.
For Taylor, fostering an awareness, an understanding, and an appreciation for architecture is a passion point, and for the team, it is a tradition that began with Damian Farrell, who was active in the Michigan Architectural Foundation, and continues to this day in MAF’s Damian Farrell Architecture Awareness Grants. The grant provides financial assistance to individuals and organizations that work to increase the awareness of architecture.
“It is about getting the public to understand the role of design, the value of design in life, and why that is better, why life can be better if you invest in design,” Taylor said. “I mean, architecture is a part of culture. It is a part of art. It is a part of the whole humanistic tradition. I do my small part with that experiential focus on the clients and their lives, but like any profession, there is so much diversity in architecture, and I appreciate it all and want to share that love and appreciation with people. It has to start at some level and for most people, it starts at their personal level, and there is nothing more personal than your house.”