Firm Profile

History

Watkins founded the firm in 2007 when he left his position as Director of Town Planning with Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company.  While with DPZ, he established their Washington, D.C. office in 1988 to serve as Town Architect for Kentlands, a 352-acre neo-traditional neighborhood northwest of Washington, D.C.  Under his direction, the work of DPZ’s D.C. office grew to include projects throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Likewise, the work of Michael Watkins Architect extends throughout North and South America and includes a wide variety of projects:  working with existing communities to rediscover and promote the cultural heritage of their built environment and assisting developers by planning new sustainable communities and neighborhoods.

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Current projects include the preparation of master plans for towns, neighborhoods, and hamlets, revitalization and extension plans for existing communities, preparation of design guidelines, various town architect services for new and existing communities, and leading and participating in urban design charrettes.  The firm has collaborated with other new-urbanist firms, among them:  TortiGallas + Partners, Placemakers, Urban Design Associates, and the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community.

Watkins and his staff speak on the subject of traditional architecture and urban design at universities and conferences in the U.S. and abroad.  Watkins is a member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, the New Urban Guild, the National Town Builders Association, the American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows, and the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows.

Watkins is one of several contributing co-authors of DPZ's SmartCode, a zoning ordinance that legalizes the development of traditional neighborhoods.  He edited and produced A Guidebook to Old and New Urbanism.

A Guidebook to Old and New Urbanism

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This guidebook is intended to offer a brief description of places in the Baltimore / Washington region, both old and new, that illustrate the principles of the Charter of the Congress for the New Urbanism.  This guidebook is not about the history of the planning of Washington, D.C.  That history is far too rich and complicated to include in a guidebook such as this, and a number of excellent books have already been written on this subject.  As interesting as that history is, so is the history of the planning that has gone on around our nation’s capital.

The Baltimore / Washington region is home to a collection of some of the most significant planning projects of their era.  It boasts the first cities of Virginia and Maryland, as well as communities offering a summer escape from the city.  Early examples of garden suburbs, including work by Frederick Law Olmsted and the Olmsted Brothers, are found here.  The area is also home to planning efforts by the Federal Government, a modern company town, the flagship planned communities of the 1960’s as well as some of the first New Urbanist projects.  This capital region is a remarkable cross-section of planning history in this country.

Like good urbanism, this guidebook permits exceptions with the intention of making the thing more interesting.  Plans that will never be built are included here because of the valuable lessons they offer and as encouragement not to miss similar opportunities in the future.

News and Other Media

By Watkins

Mike Watkins writes about urban design and shares his expertise in professional and lay publications throughout the U.S. and abroad. Examples include:

  • Writer, Journal of Urban Design, “The Kentlands Code,” Winter 2007. East Hendred, United Kingdom: A discussion of the role of vision, history, leadership and enforcement in contemporary codes.

  • Editor, CNU XI of the Congress for the New Urbanism, "Guidebook to the Old and New Urbanism in the Baltimore/Washington Region," 2003. A guide to the exemplary plans and projects of the region, edited and produced by Watkins.

  • Writer, Kentlands Town Crier, “The Role of the Town Architect,” March 2001. Gaithersburg, Md. This column explains the role of the Town Architect and history of the position.

  • Contributor, Congress for the New Urbanism, “Kentlands Council Report," Spring 2001: A critique and review of Kentlands, one of the first neo-traditional towns.

Books, video, and other media

In the news

In other media