Kevin Buccellato

Partner

“Great architects must be more than just great designers — we must be great communicators, able to intuit our clients’ needs and desires, then effectively express them to everyone involved in the project: the artisans, craftspeople, builders — all who join together in the making of a beautiful house.”

Before joining forces with G. P. Schafer Architect to create Schafer Buccellato Architects in 2023, Kevin Buccellato, AIA, ran Buccellato Design, the award-winning architecture and design firm he founded with his life and business partner, Aimee Buccellato.

Kevin’s passion for design and craft started at an early age, when he started taking painting classes at the Ridgewood Art Institute not far from his childhood home in Bergen County, New Jersey. His instruction continued throughout his youth and was central to his decision to study architecture in college.  

Kevin earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame in 2000, but often says that the most important part of college was meeting Aimee on the first day of their very first drawing class. Since that day, the two have worked “elbow-to-elbow” and have built an impressive portfolio of projects around the country, as well as their own beautiful family. “Having a family really impacts how we think about design and certainly gets woven into our work. It’s important to create a personal connection to the arrangement of a house knowing the many ways this can enhance and enrich daily life for our clients. We always consider what life looks like for our clients today, but also what they will want — and need — in the years to come.”

After graduating from Notre Dame, Kevin worked at Curtis & Windham Architects, where he received a strong foundation in exceptional residential design. In 2003, he joined G. P. Schafer Architect as one of the firm’s first employees and became a crucial player in the firm’s first major commissions and early leadership. 

In 2008, Kevin accepted a faculty position at the University of Notre Dame and established the Building Arts Concentration within the undergraduate curriculum of the School of Architecture, promoting an intense focus on craft, material connections, and fine architectural detailing. After getting the School’s program off the ground, Kevin and Aimee founded their own practice, Buccellato Design, in 2011. Their designs for houses and small institutional buildings inspired by historic precedent but conceived for comfortable contemporary living have received multiple awards from the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art and the American Institute of Architects.

In addition to working on projects across the country, Kevin has presented his joint academic research on the origins of the Doric order nationally, and his findings were published in 2015 in The Classicist magazine. He served for 4 years on the Board of the Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County. He is licensed in New York State, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois, and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB).

Kevin and Aimee live with their four children and beloved family dog in New Jersey.