DRAWN BY DESIRE...

Blue Heron Architects (BHA) helps folks create simple, comfortable, rural homes away from the suburbs and urban centers.  Every project is unique and managed in an efficient and effective manner to provide you with the results you desire.  Whether your project is a new custom home or a substantial addition (remodel) of an existing structure; we want the opportunity to learn more.

BHA is a full-service architecture firm specializing in custom-designed, high-performance, new and bespoke homes, based in Wolcott, Morrisville, Lyndonville, and Newport, Vermont, also with operations in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.  

The objective of the BHA is to be intensely involved in all stages of the projects, from the first sketch until the last screw. By thorough detailing and involvement of specialist companies in the early stages of the projects, the balance of ambitions and budget can generate a maximum result of quality. The BHA team combines the dynamic of a creative office with two decades of top-level architectural experience. Combining architects as well as technically trained staff in the design, as well as building stages, leads to maximum results.

our approach

Quality design is about more than materials and elevations; it is also about strong business practices. The better we are at internal operations, managing teams, and streamlining processes, the more efficiently your project will be run.

Blue Heron Architects (BHA) is a part of a rare network of small architecture firms committed to improving all aspects of business practice.

Your project will not only receive excellent design services; it will be supported by a design firm that is also a well run business. This translates to a better use of your dollars, as well as confidence that our architect/client relationship will continue to grow into the future.

Jay Caroli, AIA

Jay chose architecture as a means to live a creative life.  Founder and lead architect of Great Blue Heron Studio Architects (BHA), he is especially interested in creating beautifully simple designs that are environmentally inspirational.  Jay has the ability to think unconventionally in order to create a myriad of design solutions for your project.  He brings humor to conversations while realizing the importance and seriousness of the business at hand.  He will artistically consider different options and help you decide the right direction for planned construction.

With a background in construction, Jay became an architect more than 20 years ago.   Like many children, Jay’s primary play was designing spaces with whatever materials he could find inside or outside, whether it was building with common household objects, creating spaces in canopies of trees, digging caves in hillsides, or building with sticks.   In his early 20s, Jay took a job as a carpenter’s apprentice and became fascinated with the process of creating new spaces throughout the course of the day.   Those first houses he helped build were designed by Robert A. M. Stern (a nationally renowned architect) and once Jay saw the architectural drawings, served to inspire Jay to attend college and become an architect.  Jay has worked for five different firms since then gaining experience as an architect and a leader. Taking the best from each place of employment, he has created a firm based on integrity, respect, and values.
 

family

Jay has a son and daughter and has been married to his wife Sharon, since 2009.  The family has a 50-acre farmstead where you'll typically find chickens, pigs, and a large garden.  We are in the process of adding goats and maple sugaring operations into the mix. We believe rural life is best for us and our family. The children have been homeschooled since birth, although their son has recently asked to attend school a few days a week and he is loving it.  They enjoy skiing, travel, and swimming.