Welcome to Stone Soup 6 Architecture. If you were looking for Beckham Design Group Architects, you've found us. Don't let the new name fool you. We are still the same quality design & service team, we've just scrubbed our faces and are taking the next step. Come on in! Explore Stone Soup 6 Architecture and all we have to offer.


PROJECT FOCUS

Whole Foods Market - Austin (Bee Caves), Texas

Check out the opening day video over at YouTube!.

For this forty-thousand square foot store our client, Whole Foods Market, wanted to project a strong branding message ... Read More!


IN OUR WORDS

200 Years From Now

I predict that the historians of the not-so-distant future will sum up much of the 20th & 21st centuries with three little words: Car was King.

Our love affair and near total dependence on the private automobile has caused us to make so many terrible decisions ... Read More!


 

Whole Foods Market

Roseville, California

Stone Soup 6 Architecture designed this Whole Foods Market to be included as a cornerstone and largest tennant for The Fountains development in a suburb of Sacremento.

Both the shell and interior were designed...Read More.

Whole Foods Market

Oakland, California

At approximately 56,000 square feet the Whole Foods Market designed by Stone Soup is a revolution in grocery design.

The new store is located at site of the historic Cox Cadillac building and integrates the original building into the design... Read More.

Whole Foods Market

Reno, Nevada

The design of the Market in Reno was inspired by the peaks of the Sierra Nevada moutains that lie as a backdrop for the store.

With a cooking school, indoor/outdoor fireplace, exterior covered seating and indoor coffee lounge,... Read More.

Whole Foods Market

Austin, Texas

Stone Soup 6 Architecture designed the Corporate Headquarters store for Whole Foods Market in Austin in 2004. The market is located at the base of a 6 story building and includes a stand-alone cooking school with two separate classrooms.

Still the largest Whole Foods Market in the United States at over 80,000 square feet; the store pushed the edge... Read More.

Santa Rosa House

Austin, Texas

The Santa Rosa House was a joint venture between John Beckham and his former employee, Amy Dempsey. The pair each designed a home funded through Austin's low income housing program. Dwell magazine featured...Read More

Whole Foods Market

Chicago, Illinois

Kingsbury Square, a LEED Silver certified market, was openend in May 2009 with a spectacular reception from the public. At 75,000 square feet the store is the third largest store in the chain behind the Austin headquarters and the London store.

Stone Soup 6 Architecture was asked to create an experience never before seen in...Read More

 

Whole Foods Market

Austin, Texas

Stone Soup 6 Architecture designed the Corporate Headquarters store for Whole Foods Market in Austin in 2004. The market is located at the base of a 6 story building and includes a stand-alone cooking school with two separate classrooms.

Still the largest Whole Foods Market in the United States at over 80,000 square feet; the store pushed the edge of grocery design when it opened. More than just a grocery store we included small cafe's and eating venues around the store to create a shopping experience like no other.

Today the store remains on the leading edge of new ideas as Stone Soup Six continues to try new ideas on small remodels around the store.

 

Whole Foods Market

Oakland, California

At approximately 56,000 square feet the Whole Foods Market designed by Stone Soup is a revolution in grocery design.

The new store is located at site of the historic Cox Cadillac building and integrates the original building into the design by adding approximately 40,000 square feet of new construction to a the historic structure. A truely unique customer experience has been accomplished by moving the typical perimeter services of a typical market to the center of the store. The design has created a space as interesting as the Architecture of the original historic building.

We encourage you to stop by the store if you're in the area to experience the atmosphere created by this revolutionary design.

 

Whole Foods Market

Reno, Nevada

The design of the Market in Reno was inspired by the peaks of the Sierra Nevada moutains that lie as a backdrop for the store.

With a cooking school, indoor/outdoor fireplace, exterior covered seating and indoor coffee lounge, the store truly provides a gathering place for the community. At just over 51,000 square feet the market is the largest in the Reno area. The project was constructed by Eric F. Anderson and completed on schedule and budget in 2008 and today remains a sales leader for the company.

 

Whole Foods Market

Roseville, California

Kingsbury Square, a LEED Silver certified market, was openend in May 2009 with a spectacular reception from the public. At 75,000 square feet the store is the third largest store in the chain behind the Austin headquarters and the London store.

Stone Soup 6 Architecture was asked to create an experience never before seen in Whole Foods by bringing the experiences of many Chicago cultures into the store in celebration of the rich diversity.

We encourage you to stop by and see this wonderful creation on your next Chicago visit

 

Whole Foods Market

Roseville, California

Stone Soup 6 Architecture designed this Whole Foods Market to be included as a cornerstone and largest tennant for The Fountains development in a suburb of Sacremento.

Both the shell and interior were designed by Stone Soup 6 Architecture. We also followed the design of the 60,000 square foot store with full construction administration services working with general contractor Eric F. Anderson.

The structure was completed on schedule and budget in 2008.

 

Santa Rosa House

Austin, Texas

The Santa Rosa House was a joint venture between John Beckham and his former employee, Amy Dempsey. The pair each designed a home funded through Austin's low income housing program. Dwell magazine featured the 'blue' house on the cover in March 2007.

Amy has since left the firm and started her own sucessful firm, Studio Robins Dempsey.

 

Whole Foods Market - Austin (Bee Caves), Texas

Check out the opening day video over at YouTube!.

For this forty-thousand square foot store our client, Whole Foods Market, wanted to project a strong branding message while also remaining a respectful neighbor in the community.

The strict development code of the City of Bee Cave requires articulation (changes in building mass) and variation (changes in finish and materials) to mask the scale of large buildings, yet the client wanted a cohesive building that reflected both the community and their brand. Taking inspiration from Whole Foods frequent use of antique farm trucks in their marketing strategies, our solution was to reference historic Central Texas general store forms that not only evoked the local area, but also provided a ready kit of design elements to satisfy the City's development requirements. The historic detailing also helped the building remain human-scaled; an important consideration because the store is sited in an outdoor lifestyle center with pedestrian traffic on all four sides.

 

200 Years From Now

I predict that the historians of the not-so-distant future will sum up much of the 20th & 21st centuries with three little words: Car was King.

Our love affair and near total dependence on the private automobile has caused us to make so many terrible decisions about our cities, our neighbors and our lives. It is no coincidence that the personal space of the average American is about the size of the interior of our cars.

We have engineers design our roadways without apparent consideration of human nature and act surprised when people resort to road rage. We park our cars in our driveways, otherwise known as thrones for our cars, and we proudly show them there.

Many so-called neighborhoods have only the streets for the children to play in, and were "shocked" when children are run over in those same streets or driveways each and every day. Many times we drive directly into our garages and close it afterwards, only emerging from our cocoons to take out the garbage or get the newspaper, and wonder why we don’t know many of our neighbors.

Our cities are sprawling messes of strip centers and home clusters still called neighborhoods. The defenders of the sprawl justify the results by claims that all will be wonderful if simply driven by the free market economy. The "neighborhoods" have cute names and entry monuments, and occasionally an amenity center or pool. Almost always though, they are devoid of any of the facilities for food, clothes or work. Walking has become simply an exercise of exercise, not because there’s actually somewhere to go.

All architects take at least one course in college in Community and Regional Planning. It seems as if no one questions the very basis of the structure of where we live, and I’d like to see that changed. If you develop homes for a living, let’s sit down together and explore a way to make a small corner of the world a better place.

 
The Fabric of Stone Soup 6 Architecture

We don't believe in pedigree. We believe in the underlying quality, ability and character of people. In our history we've had ups and downs, and on both ends of the spectrum the quality of our people have pulled us through to the next challenge. All companies are only as good as the talent of those who work there.

 

Architecture firms are renown for taking talented individuals, sitting them in corners to produce drawings for pennies a sheet. Our philosophy is quite a bit different. Each individual has a hand in every aspect of our projects from its inception, and we expect people to become proficient in all aspects of architectural design and the tools necessary to tell and sell the design.

 

Every new project creates a spontaneous office meeting where we discuss the project and client and we spend some time imagining what the best possible outcome for both the project and client might be. Then we get to work making it happen.

John Beckham
John
Marcus Gore
Marcus
 
How To Make Stone Soup.    Stone Soup 6 Architecture is the evolution of an idea. It all started in the Spring of 2000...
John Beckham had been a project manager with Hatch Partnership, Architects for 7 years when the chance to set out on his own was presented. Beckham Design Group Architects was born.
Over the next few years work grew more steady and Beckham Design Group moved into their office space.
The firm grew, the office expanded a couple of times and times were good. Whole Foods Market became a cornerstone client with new stores in Seattle, greater San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, Sacramento and others.
Amy Dempsey (StudioRobinsDempsey) and John Beckham partnered on two residence built in East Austin as DB2 and Dwell magazine published one of the houses in March 2007.
BDGA was doing well and expanding their horizons; then came the mortgage crisis.As construction slowed, Beckham Design Group Architectus was forced to slowly reduce in size and began looking for new clients. It was during this time that they entered into the education field with Austin ISD and weathered the storm
In 2009 Mr. Beckham took stock of the company and decided that BDGA was not what he had originally envisioned as a company. The employees were all brought together and it was decided that a new beginning was in order. Stone Soup 6 Architecture was conceived.
What's In Stone Soup?

The heritage of the name of Stone Soup 6 is very dear to us. Mr. Beckham's mother, a wonderful and prolific painter, organized a group of diverse artists that worked together to persue their passions. They called themselves The Stone Soup 6.

It is out of the same passion for creativity and diversity that Stone Soup 6 Architecture has arisen. We eagerly drive forward into a bright future, never forgetting the shoulders upon which we stand on.

Whole Foods Market Architect Whole Foods Market Architect Whole Foods Market Architect Whole Foods Market Architect Whole Foods Market Architect Austin Home & House Architect
 
Architecture + Design Services

An ideal architectural experience tells a story. It can take a person on a journey, express ideas, elicit emotions and reveal knowledge. Here at SS6, we passionately believe this, and as such, it informs everything we do.

Whether it's a campus master plan, a home, or a grocery market, we begin with an analysis of the project context and an immersion into its content. We work with the clients to understand their vision and goals, which inform all decisions from concept to construction.

  • + Architecture
  • + Interiors
  • + Stategic Planning
  • + Master Planning
  • + Design Consulting
  • + Sustainable Design

Building Performance

SS6's architectural design department works integrally with clients and the individual teams during programming, schematic design, and design development.

We believe communication is key in the design process. Each of our projects reflects the unique mission, vision & program of our client.

 
 
BIM

Building Information Modeling or BIM is, in a root sense, an Architectural database of an entire building. Software platforms such as Revit allow Architects to work in a virtual three dimensional space but using tools that are very natural to our traditional CAD processes. In addition to the three dimensional aspect of the software every element within a drawing contains information about that element. So, if we insert a window into a wall, Revit knows the size, manufacture, price, environmental coefficients or any other parameter you set. The term for this is Parametric Modeling.

Parametric Modeling is the lifeblood of BIM. Architects now have the ability to efficiently analyze the performance of a building from a sustainable viewpoint while comparing the cost between different systems. When our Mechanical and Structural Engineers implement the same BIM software we can now compare similar parameters across the entire building and all of it's functions.

 
 

Spaces that our clients rarely even think about typically becomes one of the biggest problems in the actual construction of a building - above the ceiling and in the walls and in the floor. Air conditioning duct work, electrical piping, structural beams create a mind-boggling network of spaghetti that almost always interfere with each other. Your contractor spends time and money trying to work to find solutions with the Architect and Engineers solving these issues. BIM helps to solve this by allowing all disciplines to see each others systems in 3D.

BIM is destined to change the processes of Architecture and Construction in an order of magnitude equal to the introduction of CAD in our industry. Stone Soup 6 Architecture supports the implementation wherever possible to help clients fully understand their buildings even before a contractor is selected. If you'd like to find out more, give us a call or stop by the office.

 
Sustainable Design + Architecture

Sustainable design is more than a process of reducing environmental impact. It is rethinking the relationship between humans and nature. It is a holistic approach that incorporates environmental concerns into the design process from the start. At Stone Soup 6 Architecture, sustainability is an essential part of everything we do. It is our philosophy to design buildings that contribute to human well-being while enhancing the future of our planet. Sustainable design methods benefit society and provide direct financial returns to our clients.

Building Performance

Strategic building orientation and site design, integrated energy system design, careful mechanical system analysis and high performance building envelope design reduces the negative impact of a building on its ecosystem. Sustainably-designed commercial buildings can routinely see a 30-35% reduction in operating costs over buildings designed to minimum code standards.

 
 
Contact Us
Current Jobs

phone  +1-512-343-2225
fax  +1-512-343-8725

email  info@stonesoup6.com

web  www.stonesoup6.com

 
 
 

Sorry. We have no open positions at this time. If you would like to be considered for a future position, please mail a CV & portfolio to: