Leadership
Glenda Flaim
Managing Principal
M.Arch | University of California Berkeley
Licensed Architect in CA | 2010
LEED AP for Homes | 2012
Glenda graduated from UC Berkeley with a Masters in Architecture in 2000 and has been with Butler Armsden Architects since 2004. Glenda’s design sensibilities are informed in part by her education and upbringing in Italy as can be seen in several of her projects where she has melded modern architecture into a historical context. She came to architecture via a long lineage of builders, including her father and both grandparents. Suffice to say, she has been at home on the job site since a young age.
Rather than being tied to a particular style, Glenda draws inspiration from her clients’ stories and the unique elements that each site offers before crafting her designs. This is vividly present in her award-winning Valley of the Moon Retreat which mediates an artful balance between the organic Sonoma landscape and the precise composition of the built environment. Her emphasis on context and a careful selection of site-appropriate materials is rewarded with designs that both reflect and enhance the beauty of their setting. Above all she strives for a true partnership with her clients and the many artists and craftsmen involved.
Glenda has led numerous projects in the Bay Area and beyond including several comprehensive renovations of Sea Cliff and Pacific Heights homes and expansive ground-ups in the South Bay.
Over the years Glenda’s work has been honored and recognized by numerous organizations and publications. Her Valley of the Moon Retreat won both an AIA Award and a California Home & Design Award. The San Francisco Chronicle ran stories on her project in Stinson Beach - Inlet House - as well as the Portola Valley Courtyard House. She was also pivotal in establishing Butler Armsden’s interior design department.
In her spare time, Glenda enjoys working in her garden,
entertaining and cooking for friends, traveling with her
partner, and finding beauty and inspiration wherever she
goes.