Our Story
Hunter Paul Coffey Architecture, PLLC is a licensed, full-service architecture and interior design firm, located in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Under the direction of Hunter Coffey, a native of the North Carolina High Country with over twenty-five years of experience in a variety of project types, the firm is dedicated to creating meaningful, carefully considered, accessible, and complete designs.
"Good Design"
Our Philosophy?
Good design improves peoples’ lives.
Design’s fundamental responsibility is to provide solutions to problems. Good design provides meaningful solutions. It may offer a better way to do something. It may conserve resources. It may add tangible value, or it may solve a problem in a "poetic" way. Whatever our clients’ aspirations happen to be, we take great care to understand them and create designs that are specifically tailored to them.
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Good design should not just be a luxury item. Rather, it should create the greatest value, given the resources available. As a result, we try to offer good design to the
broadest audience possible, by making or services available to clients possessing varying degrees of resources and by seeking to, positively, influence our built environment both directly and indirectly.
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We are fortunate to work with many clients who value good design and allow us to create exceptional pieces of architecture for them. To meet the desires of discerning clients, we take great care in our work. To fully develop our designs, we pursue a high level of detail and quality in our work. To ensure that our attention to quality and detail is successfully applied, we offer attentive service to our clients from project inception through the completion of construction.
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Our work doesn’t stop at the front door. While architecture is the foundation and focus of our practice, we see it as part of a broad spectrum of design opportunities. Therefore, we concern ourselves not just with our buildings but, also, the things that influence the use and experience of them. In addition to creating, what is traditionally considered, “architecture”, we offer a variety of services that are “related to architecture”.
Good design should be accessible.
Good design requires extra care.
Good design should shape as much of our environment as possible.
Driven by collaboration. Guided by design.
meet the team
Hunter is a native of Boone, North Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree in Design from Clemson University, where he participated in the CAC program in Charleston, South Carolina and graduated with Senior Departmental Honors. His graduate work, culminating in the design of a Center for Appalachian Culture, earned Hunter a professional degree in Architecture from North Carolina State University.
His interest in design and travel led Hunter to pursue his architectural career in various places. Among those were architectural firms in London, England and Laufen, Switzerland. While living and working abroad, he traveled and studied architecture throughout Western Europe.
In 1995, Hunter moved to the North Carolina coast. He spent eleven years there, contributing to the growth and success of Wilmington-based Kersting Architecture and developing a portfolio of work focused on highly-crafted, custom residential and commercial design.
In 2006 Hunter returned to the North Carolina High Country to open a branch office and, in 2008, he purchased the office to establish Hunter Paul Coffey Architecture, PLLC. In addition to directing the architectural firm, Hunter also serves as an Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment at Appalachian State University, a community Architectural Review Board Consultant, and a volunteer with Watauga County Habitat for Humanity.
Hunter Coffey, AIA, NCARB
Principal Architect
Biography: Pamela, from Charlotte, North Carolina, joined Coffey Architecture in the fall of 2019. She keeps the office up and running with over 15 years of experience in office management that she brings to the Coffey Architecture team.
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Pamela Chanthabury
Office Manager
Biography: Chloe, originally from Traverse City, Michigan, joined the Coffey Architecture team in the summer of 2022. She received her Bachelor’s in Interior Design from Appalachian State University and has lived in the high country for 6 years. With her experience in IDEXlab during her studies, she learned how to successfully work in a multidisciplinary environment. Chloe believes in human centered, intentional and inclusive design, and is dedicated to ensuring each project has these elements.
Chloe Wiles
Interior Design
Biography: Brean joined the Coffey Architecture team in the spring of 2017. She received her Master degree in Architecture from Lawrence Technological University in Detroit, MI. She worked professionally in Detroit for 5 years, engaging the community through good design. She has enjoyed traveling to both experience and share her architectural interests across the world. Florence, Italy, New York City, NY and Havana, Cuba are among a few places where she has shared her work. As a young Architect at Coffey Architecture, Brean enjoys working through the unique challenge of each project. The individual needs of Coffey Architecture clients become the inspiration which forms the High Country's built environment, inspiring creativity and thoughtfulness in design.
Brean Wilkes, NCARB
Architect
Biography: Joel, from Johnson City, Tennessee, obtained his Associates degree in Building and Construction Technology, and B.S. in Graphics and Engineering Modeling from Eastern Tennessee State University. He has lived in the high country of North Carolina with his wife and three children since 1981. Joel joined Coffey Architecture in early 2019, and brings over 45 years of experience from the fields of construction and architecture to every project.
Joel Shipley
Project Coordinator
Biography: Liza, from Mocksville, North Carolina, joined the Coffey Architecture team in the spring of 2024. In May 2023, she received her Bachelor’s in Interior Design from Appalachian State University, where she was also a member of the University's cheerleading team for 4 years. During her time at school, she became very involved in the local community and fell in love with everything the area has to offer. Liza is excited to be in the beginning phases of her Interior Design career here, and hopes to assist in expanding upon the built-environment that further highlights the high country's natural beauty.
Liza Howe
Interior Designer