Architecture | Interiors | Planning
DESIGN INTEGRATION 
Charleston Home Design Magazine (May 2002)
By Katie Weil
Achieving appropriate balance, scale, detail and style - these represent but a few of the values coveted by Group 3 Design, a nationally award-winning architecture and interior design firm spearheaded by Richard Clanton and Michael Ruegamer.
With offices in Charleston and on Hilton Head Island, Group 3 Design was founded in 1986 as a comprehensive design firm, offering clients a unique integration of interior design, architecture and site planning. "We tend to focus our efforts on the design of premier residential homes where quality, originality and distinction are of the utmost importance," says Clanton. "Designing a home is an emotional journey for our clients. Understanding that has enabled us to become more sensitive to each client's needs and desires, and to create a custom home that truly reflects his or her personal vision."
The houses of Clanton and Ruegamer are known for serious architectural ambitions. The duo have received three "Best in American Living" awards, a national competition sponsored by the Professional Builder and the National Association of Home Builders. The awards included best architectural design in the South Atlantic region, best attached home up to eight units per acre, and best one-of-a-kind custom home between 4,000 and 6,500 square feet. "This contest is one of the few premier design awards given by the entire builder community," says Clanton. "We're certainly proud to have our work recognized by our peers."
This is, of course, not the first time such national recognition has been bestowed upon the firm. Among their many accomplishments, Group 3 Design was responsible for the architecture and interior design of the majestic Main Street Inn on Hilton Head Island - South Carolina's only member of the "Small Luxury Hotels of the World."
While both are studied, Clanton's style seems to follow the old Shaker hymn, "‘tis a gift to be simple." While simplicity may be Clanton's hallmark, Ruegamer's style is more instinctive, playful and daring. "We work together very easily," says Clanton.
This is precisely what makes each project by Group 3 Design so special, according to the firm's clients and business partners. The principals' level of collaboration and synergy is as rare as their designs are unique. "Our style tends to set us apart," Ruegamer admits. "There are people who can tell if we've designed a house or not - not due to similarities in style or approach but, rather, due to the integration of the interiors and the exteriors. We pay a lot of attention to quality. Our decades-old relationships with some of the region's best builders help us ensure that each project is fully realized."
Although Clanton and Ruegamer design homes in a variety of styles, depending upon location and each client's personal taste, they find that people in the Lowcountry are accustomed to tradition and appreciate beauty in every room. "We tend to enjoy the Charleston-style architecture. It's traditional yet there's a modern floor plan. It makes the design quite interesting," observes Clanton. "We have discovered that clients want more open spaces, but more and more of our clients are realizing that such designs don't necessarily complement or reflect their lifestyle. Sometimes the best floor plan must incorporate elements of the contemporary and the traditional."
Clanton and Ruegamer create homes throughout the Lowcountry that are celebrated for their proportion, balance and quality. "The basic home is not memorable," says Clanton. "Clients come to us for functional, unique and memorable homes. This requires listening very closely. We ask each client for a room-by-room description. This is often an expressive description of each room - not just about where the windows and doors are located, but where there is light, texture, peacefulness, drama. We talk about colors, finishes and how the rooms will be used. We're not designing shelter; it's not just a way to keep the rain off your head. Most people are trying to fill an emotional need with their home. That's why I ask clients to shut their eyes and to picture what this house will look like when it's done. It makes more sense for us to do this sort of programming in the client's existing home. If somebody loves the house they're in now, you can tell more in five minutes inside their home than you can in two hours inside our offices."
"We work with a client on all aspects of the home, from beginning architectural drawings through the interior design to the final accessory," says Ruegamer. Choosing the home's final accessories is often easy since the company has its own retail design accessory center. Called "Pyramids," the upscale design center is located adjacent to the firm's stunning architectural office plaza on Hilton Head Island. "It is often convenient," Ruegamer explains, "for our clients to be able to walk into a boutique environment and discover extremely unusual architectural details - something they have been searching for but could never quite find. That's what we wanted to create, a relaxed environment where our clients could see and touch some of the qualities they articulated to us during the design phase."
Over the last 16 years, the firm's commitment to its clients seems to have paid off. But there are bad days as well as good days for any architect. "Bad days are when material shipments are unavoidably delayed," says Clanton. He smiles and adds, "A good day, as my daughter would say, is when I get to color." [ TO TOP ]
