About
Ipswich, MA — The Bates Design Collaborative (TBDC) established in 2008 is a comprehensive sole practitioner design service dedicated to affordably precise solutions. Daniel’s chosen path to his current station, although unconventional in many ways, is also the key to his success as an architect. Time logged as a history teacher, museum curator, carpenter and deck hand have all influenced the designer he is today. Inspired by his work on several South Mountain Company designed buildings on Martha’s Vineyard during the late 1980’s, Mr. Bates approached his formal architectural training at the University of Pennsylvania with a builders sensibility honed by six years of swinging a hammer. His understanding of the complexities of construction is thus based on hands on experience which helped inform his graduate school design explorations and serves him well today in private practice.
Daniel’s early grounding in the humanities at Brown University also distinguishes him from most of his peers affording him different skill sets from many who took more traditional educational paths into the profession. The liberal art background and its focus on diversification and expression via the written word, in contrast to the parochial and often one dimensional training of the modern architect, provide an ability to clearly communicate in non-visual methods. Graduating from Brown University in 1984 with a BA in History he has maintained his interest in Americana and historic preservation to this date, most recently with the three year epic renovation to his First Period Ipswich home completed in 2005.
Senior enough to have learned to draft by hand, he is also fortunate to have acquired his Masters of Architecture amidst the multimedia and digital design explosion of the 1990’s which has helped revolutionize architect’s methodologies for expressing design solutions. Considering himself a generalist, Daniel is equally comfortable designing a 42,000 sq. ft. biotech lab fit-up as he is detailing an eave assembly. “Working with Daniel, I continue to be impressed by the collaborative spirit with which he encourages as his design evolves and is built” states celebrated Ipswich architectural designer and carpenter Robert Weatherall. “There is a clarity to Dan’s architectural vision of a project, but he also has an easy way of getting ideas and solutions from everyone on the building team. Perhaps it is Dan’s understated but resolute expression of the scheme, balanced by his relaxed openness to alternate ideas of building process and materials, that results in energized and creative projects. Daniel’s work is reaffirmation that the result of a collaborative approach to residential design and construction is architecture of the best quality-well built, with heart.”
While with OLD&D Daniel's innovative design work and project leadership in the Biotech market sector greatly contributed to the firm's success. Principal Randy Lewis stated Daniel has acquired a comprehensive depth of knowledge in the Life Science field. His thoughtful design work and overall project management are outstanding and we felt lucky to have his expertise on our team. No matter what Dan touches, the designs keep getting better and better."
TBDC represents a fitting culmination to nine years of higher education and the exploration of several different careers. We invite you to actively participate in what is sure to be an exciting venture.
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