People

Alchemie was founded in 1981 by Landscape Architect Bruce D. Hinckley. Whether working on a six-thousand-acre master plan or a tiny rooftop courtyard, the extension of architecture into landscape is a guiding principle. Hinckley travels regularly in wilderness areas for inspiration and has design studios in Ketchum, Idaho and Seattle, Washington.

Having developed a quiet reputation as a designer’s designer, Bruce Hinckley has had the privilege of working with many of the finest architects in the region on their own homes, including AIA National Award winner Tom Kundig, AIA Citation Award winner Eric Cobb, and AIA Honor Award winner George Suyama. Hinckley received the first Design Achievement Award presented to a landscape architect by Seattle Homes & Lifestyles Magazine and the Seattle Design Center In October 2003, and was listed as one of the Seattle 100: the People, Places, and Things that define Seattle Design, in the February 2006 issue of that magazine.

Mario Laky joined Alchemie in 2006, bringing a fresh perspective and additional technical skills. Brought up in a family of artists and designers, and educated at Rhode Island School of Design and Art Center College of Design, Mario brings a passion for design excellence and a love of the natural world to each project. Bruce and Mario frequently explore wild landscapes in remote corners of the West while engaging in a long-standing dialog about design and ways of living with nature.

During the 52nd. Annual AIA Seattle Honor Awards Program, architect Shigeru Ban of Tokyo and architect Brigette Shin of Toronto said of the Leschi Residence, with Eric Cobb, “Through an elegant landscape design by Bruce Hinckley, Alchemie, the street elevation of this surprising house generously presents itself to passerby while still retaining the privacy of life inside,” and of the Fauntleroy residence with architects Suyama, Peterson, Deguchi, “ The Fauntleroy Residence stands out as an instance of masterful design, an achievement of international stature… (it) engages its context and site at every level… a deeply, personal, world-class achievement.”

In 2005, an AIA Jury for Washington Architecture, gave the Schuchart Residence its only honor award. Of this project, with George Suyama of Suyama Peterson Deguchi, the jury said” we found everything to admire in this design, most specifically the integration of the interior and exterior spaces, the placement of house in the landscape, and the selection and detailing of materials. Each interior space relates directly to a dedicated private exterior space, while the house and gardens benefit from and add to the wider landscape beyond the site”.

Bruce Hinckley

Mario Laky