OUR MISSION
Architecture from the Occupant Perspective
[Intuitive] + [Architecture] = IntuArch
Our company name is short for “Intuitive Architecture,” stemming from our consistent belief that users of a building have intuitive perceptions of space. We can design our buildings to be more successful by understanding the true nature of how users would interpret our buildings. We utilize design strategies that encourage and respond to how occupants perceive their spatial environment, bringing added value to users, clients, and all project stakeholders. Successful architecture creates spaces of comfort, delight, enjoyment, and movement.
We believe that design must constantly be evaluated for effectiveness. Our designs are produced by determining the most important goals of a project in reference to context, economics, program, circulation, and the environment. Our clients are presented with clear strategies and options of how we can create a successful building together, by sharing applicable data, logic, and diagrams, to facilitate the design process.
PEOPLE
Michael Wacht AIA LEED NCARB
Michael has been practicing Architecture since 2002, responsible for over $200 million of construction throughout New York, Los Angeles, and China. His designs have been recognized internationally, and his clients have ranged from local institutions to multinational corporations. Michael’s bold views on a how to design responsive architecture have also brought him success via publications and speaking engagements. Established to fulfill a need in the marketplace for designs that engage with community and stakeholder context, IntuArch began as a freelance effort for Michael in 2012, and became full-time in 2014. Previously, as Director of the Los Angeles Studio of MADA s.p.a.m., Michael acquired his focus on creating innovative and effective design strategies while working for the Dean of the University of Southern California School of Architecture, Qingyun Ma. Michael is now an architectural critic at USC.
Michael is a graduate of the Bachelor of Architecture program at Cornell University. After graduating in 2002, he spent several years in New York apprenticing at acclaimed B Five Studio and rising to Project Manager at Stephen B. Jacobs Group. His successful mixed-use projects included: 325 Fifth Avenue, be@schermerhorn, and historic renovations proposed for the famous Puck Building in SoHo.
Seeking further advancement in the design field, Michael obtained a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design in 2009. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to work for MADA s.p.a.m., frequently flying to Shanghai to manage the design of projects ranging in scale from public institutions to urban masterplans. In Los Angeles, Michael also spent several years working as a Project Architect for the local design firm JFAK, where his experience expanded to include clients such as: UC Santa Barbara, Occidental College, The Taubman Company, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, ALTA Charter Schools, and Icon Venue Group (AEG).
Community Leadership
- Board Member, ONE Archives Foundation, 2020 – ongoing
- Board Member, Destination:Pico, 2019 – ongoing
- Committee Member, P.I.C.O. Neighborhood Council Land Use, 2020 – ongoing
NEWS + ACCOLADES
September 2018
“LA’s Most Inspring Stories” in VoyageLA features IntuArch Principal Michael Wacht
August 2018
IntuArch Project for Brand Doll’s Kill opens in Fairfax Village, Read a review here
July 2017
Michael Wacht represents IntuArch at the 11th Space Syntax Symposium in Lisbon, Portugal
May 2017
Michael Wacht is an invited panel speaker at the LA Cleantech Incubator (LACI) spring cluster meeting for “The Impact on Infrastructure From the Fast Approaching Shift to Self-Driving Vehicles”
May 2017
Michael Wacht is an invited lecturer at UCLA to present “Architectural Design: Process, Trends, and Value” to students in the seminar: Real Estate Development, Construction, and Management
September 2016
Invited Poster Presenter at ANFA (Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture) Conference in September at the Salk Institute, for paper titled: “Utilizing Architectural Diagrams to Create Geometric Forms that Anticipate User Responses”
May 2016
Winner, AIA SPP Pop-Up Competition for the AIA Convention in Philadelphia for project “A Sense of Place. . . Is Context”
April 2016
Contributing Author for website Architect EM, first published article: “The Broad: Synergy of Architectural Diagram and Art”
June 2015
Invited Presenter and Organizer to LGREG (Lesbian and Gay Real Estate Group) for: “Architectural Design: Process, Trends, and Value”
January 2015
ArchDaily publishes article: “Defining a More Purposeful Architecture: A Guide to Current Architectural Trends”
January 2009
First Place Prize at the Tel-Aviv Conference on Sustainability, Housing Competition for “Above: Tel-Aviv”
June 2007
Society of American Registered Architects NY, Design Award for Excellence: 325 Fifth Avenue; 2007