ICAA Book Club: Home: The Residential Architecture of D. Stanley Dixon

On September 27th, 2023, the ICAA was honored to host award-winning Southern architect and ICAA Board Member Stan Dixon in the most recent installment of the "Book Club" series. Stan spoke about his influences and his firm's projects highlighted in his debut book Home: The Residential Architecture of D. Stanley Dixon, published by Rizzoli.

Stan Dixon’s edited approach to the classical elements of architecture creates an understated aesthetic that is historically based while embracing influences of modern design. Through contextually sensitive work of appropriate style, scale, and proportion, he crafts buildings of permanence and delight, while providing their occupants with a beautiful place in which to live their lives. Dixon takes risks in blending genres and styles, with results that are creative and original.

In his first book, Dixon shares thirteen projects that vary geographically and stylistically—from a whimsical coastal retreat on Jupiter Island to an elegant English-manor-inspired dwelling on the coast of South Carolina. Each house explores a different component of his aesthetic, instructing the reader in the nature of authentic architecture while simultaneously delighting them with moments large and small—a shadow of garden gate, a striking stairwell, a tiered veranda.

Photographed primarily by Eric Piasecki, featuring the work of Suzanne Kasler, Jackye Lanham, Carolyn Malone, Beth Webb, Tammy Connor, and other talented designers, HOME: The Residential Architecture of D. Stanley Dixon will resonate with and deeply engage readers in search of home.

Stan Dixon, AIA, is the president and founder of his Atlanta-based firm, D. Stanley Dixon Architect, Inc. Raised in Sumner County, Tennessee, a region along the Cumberland River notable for its pastoral landscape and historic structures, Stan was inspired from a young age to study architecture. The simplicity of materials and authentic beauty of the houses, which originally compelled him to pursue architecture, continue to inform his design philosophy today.

He received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Tennessee and he also attended Britain’s renowned Attingham Trust School for the Study of Historic Homes and Collections. After completing his education, Stan moved to Atlanta where he acquired experience in residential and commercial firms. This dual exposure provides a breadth of scope to his architecture and ultimately led him back to his underlying love of houses. Tutelage in residential design with the esteemed firm of Norman Davenport Askins Architect was the next phase of Stan’s career.

Stan’s edited approach to the classical elements of architecture creates an understated aesthetic that is historically based while embracing influences of modern design. His goal is to interpret individual needs and desires through contextually sensitive work that engages appropriate style, scale and proportion, giving every building a sense of permanence and delight. The resulting body of work has set an exacting standard.

In response to his work, Garden & Gun magazine named Stan one of “The New Faces of Southern Style.” He is a three-time winner of the “Southeast Architect of the Year” award given by Veranda magazine and the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center. Stan is also an eleven-time winner of the Philip Trammell Shutze Award presented by the Southeast Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. Most recently, Stan was awarded the Addison Mizner Medal for his work in Palm Beach.

Stan founded D. Stanley Dixon Architect, Inc. in 2006. His firm’s portfolio includes projects in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Indiana, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York.

Sponsors

Thank you to the ICAA's Book Club Sponsor:
Foster Reeve: Architectural & Ornamental Plaster

Thank you to our Interior Design Series Sponsors:
Allison Caccoma Inc.
Tammy Connor Interior Design
Timothy Corrigan
de la Torre Design Studio
Donald MacDonald Interior Design
Lindley Martens Design
Tucker & Marks Inc.

Thank you to our generous sponsors:
Lead Annual Public Programs Sponsor: RINCK
Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Dell Mitchell Architects
Seasonal Public Programs Sponsor: Hyde Park Mouldings

Tags: world of classicism, icaa book club