Aimee Buccellato

Partner

“Our work is defined by our belief that good architecture can both elevate and deepen the meaning of the lives that we lead and our relationships with the people we love, live with, and work with. Our unwavering dedication to our clients, craft, and community comes from that commitment and the desire to build houses that are beautiful and meaningful.” 

Aimee Buccellato, credits her childhood in California for fostering an interest in architecture from a young age. She and her family split their time between the manicured, side-walked neighborhoods of Orange County and the bucolic countryside of Sonoma County. Experiencing these different ways of living, she realized early on that how a house is crafted and how the land (it sits on) is cared for can impact not just one life, but generations.

Aimee graduated with her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame in 2000 and earned a Master of Design Studies degree from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University in 2005, where she studied early Renaissance theories of composition. It was at Notre Dame, on the first day of an architectural drawing class, that she met Kevin, and as business and life partners, the two have been each other’s best critics and champions ever since.

Aimee started her career at Curtis & Windham Architects before joining G. P. Schafer Architect in 2002 as the firm’s very first employee. While at GPSA, Aimee led several of the firm’s first award-winning projects and was a formative part of the firm’s development.

In 2008, Aimee accepted a position teaching at the University of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture and received tenure in 2017. She founded Buccellato Design with Kevin Buccellato in 2011, designing residences around the country. In 2023, Aimee, Kevin and their team at Buccellato Design joined forces with G. P. Schafer Architect to create Schafer Buccellato Architects.

It’s no surprise that Aimee would continue to practice architecture, even during her time in academia. “I love every step of the design process, but what really motivates me is what happens long after the process is complete—the experience of architecture: the floor that squeaks, the feel of the knob when you open the door, the smell of the landscape that’s particular to the place you’re in. Like a great story or a beautiful painting, a house captivates the senses. People come to us because they want to cultivate a particular sense of place, a certain rootedness for themselves and their families, to feel thoroughly at home.” 

In addition to having projects featured in an array of national media, Aimee has authored and co-authored 28 academic papers — remarkably completed in conjunction with faculty across six disciplines — and served as both a member and Vice President of the board of the City of South Bend Venues, Parks, and Arts Commission, appointed by Mayor Pete Buttigieg in 2015.      

Aimee, Kevin and their four children live in Essex County, New Jersey.