Christopher & Jenny Liberatos, principals of Liberatos Architects.
Liberatos Architects is an international award-winning architecture firm designing custom homes as well as commercial and institutional buildings. We are classically trained and specialize in designing new buildings in traditional styles, buildings that fit into historic neighborhoods, and additions to historic buildings. We also design renovations, interiors, and site masterplans following traditional urban design principles.
Christopher and Jenny Liberatos are the principals. Christopher is a twelth-generation Charlestonian and a graduate of the College of Charleston, and Jenny is from Tidewater Virginia and a graduate of the University of Virginia. Both earned Masters of Architecture degrees from the only classical architecture school in the world - the University of Notre Dame. Christopher and Jenny are dedicated to their craft and give personal attention to every project in the office. Their extensive experience includes work in England, France, Italy, and New York, enriching their approach to design. They have taught classical architectural design at the University of Notre Dame, at the College of Charleston, and they were the directors of the prestigious Engelsberg Summer School in Classical Architecture in Sweden. Their leadership and vision ensure that each endeavor reflects the highest standards of craftsmanship and tradition.
There is no typical project at Liberatos Architects - our process depends on the size and location of the project. We will work closely with you to ensure the design meets your needs and aesthetic preferences.
We look forward to hearing from you.
— Christopher & Jenny Liberatos
Our Approach
We believe there is a place for traditional architecture in our time, that there is wisdom in traditional architecture that contributes not only to the longevity of a building - pitched roofs, projecting eaves, drips, moldings and ornament that redirect water, sills, etc. - but also, of course, to the beauty of a building.
The principles of traditional architecture are timeless and cross-cultural, they are universal yet capable of producing an endless variety of uniquely beautiful particulars. The beauty found in traditional architecture reflects the rhythms and proportions found in the human body and throughout all of Nature.
We believe in the importance of good manners and that etiquette extends into the design world. Most buildings should fit in when necessary, some should stand out when appropriate. Both kinds should be well-proportioned and beautifully detailed.
Bad design is harmful to the human spirit. Dissonant proportions enter the body through the eyes and cause subconscious irritation and dis-ease just as dissonant sound can. Good proportions cost no more than bad ones.
There are no new ideas. What seems new is actually a novel configuration or composition of preexisting ideas. Art, therefore, is fundamentally imitative, and the art of design lies in knowing what, where, and how to imitate.
“We should ask our architects that our buildings
be not only of our time but of our place.
If we do this we can hope for
another age of distinguished architecture.”
Awards, Publications & Features
Rottier European Prize for New Construction, new townhouse in Charleston, 2024
Building Optimism by Coby Lefkowitz, 2024
Carolopolis Award for New Construction, new townhouse on Queen Street, 2023
Norfolk, VA Design Guidelines for new construction in a Historic District, 2023
Building a More Beautiful Borlänge, 2020
Vision for Civic Conservation & Case Study for A New Neighborhood in a Historic District, 2018
Charleston Home Magazine, May 2017
TEDx Charleston, “Our Disposable Architecture” 2015
Traditional Building Magazine, The Forum, October 2015
CNU 26, Designing for Vitality and Authenticity
INTBAU Havana, A New Preservation Charter, 2015
Vitruviana, “Practical Lessons in Classicism from Charleston’s First Sources”, 2014
Institute of Classical Architecture, “What is Classicism?” 2014
Sir John Soane Museum Foundation Fellowship, 2012
“As human beings we are meant not simply for solving economic problems on a tottering platform, but for solving all the problems of the material life into which we have been placed by the laws of nature.”
- A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, 1969