About
With the physical and built environment as our studio and trade, we’re in the business of nurturing and celebrating life, both for humanity and nature, and fostering the sustainable co-existence of the two.
With that aim, Life Design Build was born, along with our sister commercial, civic and industrial focused business, Life Architecture + Planning, and the digital media platform we launched to help humans better connect with nature, Outdoor Project.
As a full service design, architecture and construction company our mission is to A) create exceptional, one-of-a-kind projects for our clients; B) create solutions for humans to more intelligently inhabit this planet; and C) provide phenomenal jobs for our team and partners.
Design + Construction Philosophy
1. You
Our aim is to help you create your dream home that is a physical representation of who you are, your story, your values and your lifestyle - leading to a design that like you is truly one-of-a-kind. We aim to give you agency in the design process, and how you spend your money, but we also don’t shy away from sharing our opinions, recommendations, or safeguarding you and others with our professional expertise.
2. Biomimicry + Sustainability
For 3.7 billion years life has been evolving on Earth - perfecting itself. We believe their is no better source for inspiration than the ecosystems, habitats and species that have perfected themselves over that course of time. They are perfectly in harmony with their place, surroundings and cohabitants. They efficiently utilize the sun’s energy (and their own), the ground’s/water’s nutrients, and protect themselves from winds, freezing, and all of the harsh elements of our planet. Their form is function and they are absolutely beautiful.
Simply, we believe in protecting our planet and ecosystems, and drawing inspiration from nature and our surroundings. This is biomimicry.
/ˌbīōˈmiməkrē/ noun
the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes.
3. Innovation
We believe that humanity is better off when we learn from our past and pursue improvements and smarter ways of doing things. We believe there’s immense value in constantly questioning why things are the way they are, and if perhaps there’s a better way of doing things.
4. Authenticity
We believe structures, materials and systems (and people for that matter) should be true to themselves, and express their inherently unique and dynamic qualities, and not pretend to be something they’re not.
5. Process + Communication
We strongly believe good design process and communication produces exceptional results, and poor or broken processes and lack of communication result in extremely unfavorable outcomes. There’s no taking shortcuts, and communication should be upfront, candid, transparent and consistent.
6. Quality, Cost + Schedule
Every project has to find the right balance between quality, cost, and schedule. That said, we believe every project should be one-of-a-kind and well crafted, be on budget, and delivered on-time.
7. Safety + Wellbeing
We make no compromises when it comes to the safety and wellbeing of our team members and those we work with.
Meet the Team
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Tyson Gillard
FOUNDER, PRESIDENT, LICENSED ARCHITECT + GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Tyson Gillard is a progressive entrepreneur, licensed architect, licensed contractor, and designer who has worked for 20 years with multi-disciplinary professionals, stakeholders, and users across various fields in the Pacific Northwest and beyond…
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TJ Boatright
PROJECT MANAGER + HEAD OF CONSTRUCTION
Originally from the Portland area, TJ Boatright is a recent transplant to Central Oregon. He discovered Project Management while studying at Eastern Washington University where he was also a member of their football program. Over the last six years he has lead teams on a wide variety of projects, ranging from adaptive housing remodels to commercial retrofitting, and luxury residential homes…
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Lauren Lynn
SAFETY MANAGER, PROJECT COORDINATOR + GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Growing up in Bend, Oregon, Lauren Lynn developed a love for the outdoors early. Studies in South Africa furthered her passion for travel, which eventually landed her in the outdoor paradise of Alaska. There, she pursued a career in hospitality management and eventually insurance management. 12 years later she returned to Oregon with her family and is now leveraging her management and people skills with Life Design Build to assure projects run smoothly…
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Brandon Fulton
SR. CARPENTER
Born and raised in Riverside, California, Brandon Fulton’s love for making things started early. His career in building began at the age of 21 in Fresno where he joined the union, Carpenters Local 701. Quickly he built a portfolio of commercial work ranging from schools, city halls, and mixed use office buildings…
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Shadric Dowden
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGER/SITE SUPERINTENDENT + SR. CARPENTER
Shadric Dowden was born in Clackamas, Oregon, but from a very early age he was globe-trotting around the world. The son of a dad who built embassies, industrial facilities, and more around the world, Shadric grew up with a unique global perspective, living in countries such as Bolivia, Singapore, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Jamaica, the Cayman Island, and various locations in the middle east…
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Nicholas Davidson
SR. CARPENTER
Ever since he was a teenager, Nicholas Davidson could be found on a job site. Following in the footsteps of his stepfather, he honed his craft of carpentry throughout Oregon, eventually solidifying Central Oregon as his home. Ever since, he’s been building homes top-to-bottom, with framing and siding as his specialties…
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Sarah Pierce
SR. DESIGNER
Sarah Pierce received her degree in architecture at Portland State University in 2014. Since graduating, she has acquired a range of experience from big box industrial to small-scale commercial project design throughout the Portland metro area…
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Kelik Summer
SR. CARPENTER
Born in Dallas, Texas, raised in southern Utah, and transplanted to Bend, Oregon over a decade ago, Kelik Summer has experienced a lot of different ways to live. He majored in deaf studies in college, but his father-in-law introduced him to carpentry in Central Oregon. With a passion for precision work and a talent for mathematics, finish carpentry is a natural fit for Kelik…
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Josh Meharry
LICENSED ARCHITECT + DESIGN PARTNER
Josh Meharry has spent the last 20 years working with some of the premier architectural firms in the Pacific Northwest, collaborating on the design, project management, client and consultant interactions, and construction management. Now a Design Partner with Life Design Build, he's a frequent collaborator on an array of our projects, predominantly in the architectural/design phases. His portfolio includes a wide range of project types including custom single family residential, multi-family residential, mixed use/ commercial, office, retail, educational, and master planning developments. These years of experience gave him a passion for sustainable approaches to design, systems, materials, and construction as well as an interest in expressing materials and structural systems in an honest and straightforward way.
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Dawn Robison
ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER + ACCOUNTS SPECIALIST
Born and raised in the small southern Oregon coast town of Coquille, Dawn Robison moved to Central Oregon 20 years ago, first to Bend, but eventually settled and built a home in Terrabonne…
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Pat Diamond
CARPENTER
In 2000, Pat Diamond moved up to Bend, Oregon, where his dad had earlier relocated, and years later at Cabin 22 (a local watering hole) he met Life Design Build’s, Brandon Fulton, who at the time ran his own framing company. Pat honed his expertise as a framer, focused his career in that direction, and as they say, the rest is history.
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Joshua Davidson
JR. CARPENTER + GENERAL LABORER
Joshua Davidson joined Life Design Build to gain valuable on-the-job training alongside his dad, Nicholas Davidson, as he prepares to launch his career. He plans to join the US Space Force (the Air Force/NASA collaboration) as an Intelligence Offer where he’ll operate satellites and be a data analyst. The 4-6 year service will then help finance a software engineering degree (ideally from Oregon State University) so he can eventually pursue his passions as a video game developer…
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Ben Houser
CONSTRUCTON PROJECT MANAGER/SITE SUPERINTENDENT
Ben Houser grew up in carpentry and custom home building through the support of his father, a general contractor in Virginia. From a young age, and every summer throughout college, he was helping on job sites. Once he graduated from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia in 2012, Ben began managing the company’s communications, project management, and carpentry. In 2018, Ben relocated to the Pacific Northwest…