Adams Design Associates, Inc.

Firm Profile

Adams Design Associates, Inc. was formed in 1985, and continues as a relatively small, five-member design studio specializing in projects that harmoniously integrate architecture, landscape architecture, and environmental planning.

Stephen Adams, the principal design partner of the firm, was born and raised in San Diego, and graduated from the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley in 1967. He has owned and operated his own architectural and landscape architectural design practice in Southern California since 1972. In addition, over the past twenty years, Stephen Adams has served as the senior design partner in a local development firm, Wave Crest Properties, and as such has been intimately involved with the design, entitlement processing, and construction of numerous high-end “spec” homes, as well as two highly successful ocean-front resort projects – the Wave Crest Resort in Del Mar, and the Tamarack Beach Resort in Carlsbad, California.

The other principal designer in the firm, Andrew Wilt, originally came to Adams Design from a background of interior furnishing design and manufacturing, and is now involved in all aspects of projects in the office. 

Adela Clayton, originally from Madrid, Spain, is the primary in-house interior design professional at Adams Design.

Over the years, Adams Design Associates has been cited for numerous professional awards, including an AIA Award of Honor, three Gold Nugget Awards from the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, a National ASLA Merit Award, three Orchid Awards from the San Diego Chapter of AIA, seven AIA awards for landscape design, and numerous landscape design awards from the CLCA.

Projects by Adams Design have been featured in many national and international publications, including Progressive Architecture, Global Architecture, Architectural Record, Architectural Digest, Sunset Magazine, Designers West, Home Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Builder Magazine, San Diego Home/Garden, San Diego Magazine, Casa y Estilo Costa Rica, and Conde Naste Traveler.

Adams Design has been involved in a wide variety of projects on a scale ranging from community complexes such as the 90-acre Cashman Field Convention/Sports Stadium/Civic Theater Facility in Las Vegas, and the Branson Hills Theater Complex in Branson, Missouri to numerous custom residences.  Additionally, ADA has designed a number of unique projects in Costa Rica, Mexico, Hawaii, and most recently the Lalati Surf and Dive Resort in Bequa, Fiji, and the Flor Blanca eco-resort in Play Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.