PBLC is an architecture and design studio based in Los Angeles, operating globally. We begin each project by identifying the specific problem embedded in a site, program, or existing condition. Rather than imposing a predetermined formal language, we develop geometric solutions that respond directly to the particular demands of each project.

Structure, circulation, material, and form are developed together so that the architecture grows from the logic of the problem itself. This process produces buildings that are both precise and surprising: clear in their organization, yet capable of offering richer spatial experiences over time.

Working across residential, workplace, cultural, and speculative projects, PBLC is interested in architecture whose distinctiveness comes not from style, but from the careful transformation of constraint into form. The name reflects a broader conviction that even the most private building enters a public world through the lives it shapes and the community it impacts.

The aim is to create architecture that is rigorous in conception, exacting in execution, and rewarding in experience. 

Principal: Steven Christensen AIA NCARB LEED AP

Steven Christensen is an architect and founder of PBLC. A graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, he has taught design, construction, and representation at the University of Michigan and UCLA, and has served as an invited critic at institutions including Harvard, SCI-Arc, USC, Woodbury, Michigan, and Cambridge. Before establishing his independent practice, he worked on widely published and exhibited projects for Preston Scott Cohen, Gensler, and CORE. His work is shaped by parallel interests in architecture and psychology, and by an ongoing interest in how geometry, perception, and use intersect in the experience of buildings. His projects have been widely published, exhibited, and recognized through awards from The Architectural Review, Architizer, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architect, AZURE, Interior Design, and the AIA.

Our environmental approach:

PBLC approaches sustainability through restraint, precision, and longevity rather than image. Each project is an opportunity to preserve more of what already exists, reduce unnecessary intervention, simplify where simplification improves performance, and use material with greater discipline. The goal is not to make environmental responsibility visible as a style, but to embed it in buildings that are durable, resilient, and exacting enough to justify the resources they require.

Awards:

2017 AR Future Projects Award, The Architectural Review + MIPIM: Liepāja Thermal Bath

2017 Jury Award, A+ Awards, Architizer: Liepāja Thermal Bath

2017 Special Mention, A+ Awards, Architizer: Emigration House

2017 Special Mention, A+ Awards, Architizer: Heptagon House

2016 Young Architect’s Award, The Architect’s Newspaper

2016 American Architecture Award: Liepāja Thermal Bath

2016 American Architecture Award: Bandersnatch

2016 Best of Year Honoree, Interior Design Magazine: Emigration House

2016 Architect Magazine Residential Architect Design Award (Honorable Mention): Emigration House

2016 American Architecture Prize (Silver): Liepāja Thermal Bath

2016 American Architecture Prize (Honorable Mention): Heptagon House

2016 IIDA Utah Best of the BEST Award (Project of the Year across all categories): Venafi Headquarters

2016 IIDA Utah BEST Award, Work over 15,000 SF: Venafi Headquarters

2016 IIDA Utah BEST Award, Live – Single Unit: Broadway Loft

2015 AZ Award of Merit, AZURE Magazine: Liepāja Thermal Bath

2015 People's Choice Award, AZURE Magazine: Liepāja Thermal Bath

2015 Architect Magazine Residential Architect Design Award: Heptagon House

2015 AIA Los Angeles NEXT LA Design Award (Citation): Bandersnatch

2015 IDA International Design Award (Gold): Liepāja Thermal Bath

2015 IDA International Design Award (Bronze): Heptagon House

2014 AIA California Council Residential Design Award (Merit) Heptagon House

2014 AIA Los Angeles NEXT LA Design Award (Merit): Heptagon House

2014 AIA Los Angeles Next LA Design Award (Citation): Liepāja Thermal Bath

2014 AIA Los Angeles NEXT LA Design Award (Citation): Pop-Up Chapel

Curriculum Vitae