About

Brian Delaney

AIA | NCARB

I'm a residential architect based in Conifer, Colorado, designing custom homes, additions, and renovations in the foothills and mountain communities I call home.

With over a decade of experience at award-winning firms across the Mountain West, Front Range, and Denver, I started Dryfly Studio in 2026 to focus on the work I care most about: thoughtful design at the scale where details matter.

I hold a Master of Architecture from Kansas State University and am a licensed architect in Colorado.

When not working, I'm out in the mountains with my wife and two young kids, who are quickly learning everything this landscape has to offer.

Black-and-white portrait of a young man with short, light-colored hair, smiling and wearing a dark t-shirt, against a plain light background.

Approach

Dryfly Studio is a residential architecture practice based in the Colorado foothills, specializing in custom homes, additions, and renovations.

We are an intentionally small and focused studio, providing experienced attention from start to finish. We live and work in the mountains because we belong here, designing homes that are as considered as the life they hold.

The practice is principal-led and sole practitioner, meaning the architect you meet is the architect who does the work. Dryfly Studio takes a limited number of projects at a time. This is intentional. It allows the level of attention that mountain sites, thoughtful programs, and discerning clients require

Architectural blueprint overlay of a house design on a background of trees and existing houses.

Process

    • Brainstorming and listening session: your goals, needs, and ideas for the project, alongside any inspiration you bring to the table

    • Initial site visit and documentation of existing conditions

    • Zoning, setbacks, and site constraints confirmed

    • Program refined into a written brief that anchors everything that follows

    • Time spent getting to know you and the site, every project starts here

    Deliverable: a site analysis package outlining design opportunities and constraints including view analysis, and a written brief defining the project program.

    • 3D modeling of your site and existing conditions, if applicable

    • Two to three initial design options developed at the massing and plan level, the most iterative phase, where we work through what the project wants to be before committing to a direction

    • Massing, floor plans, exterior elevations, and a site plan developed together as the design takes shape

    • Rendered views to help define scope and bring the design to life

    • Preliminary consultants, structural, typically folded in early to inform the design

    • Preliminary cost estimate coordination with your contractor, if one is on board

    • Design options reviewed together to find the right direction

    Deliverable: a preferred scheme with plans, key elevations, and a site plan, ready for your review and direction.

    • The approved scheme developed in full. Plans refined, sections cut, key interior spaces resolved

    • Further customization to fit the design to your specific needs and desires

    • Key elements further defined; stair, kitchen, bath, built-ins

    • Materials, finishes, and building systems selected

    • Structural and consultant coordination continues, fine-tuning the design's technical aspects

    • The design refined to be efficient, buildable, and aligned with your budget

    Deliverable: a Design Development package that translates the design into definable elements and scope for contractors and building professionals.

    • Full permit-ready drawing set produced, plans, elevations, sections, and details

    • Notes and specifications developed for permitting and contractor bidding

    • Coordination with structural, MEP, and civil engineers finalized

    • Permit application support, including responses to city comments

    Deliverable: a complete, permit-ready construction document set sufficient for city review and contractor bidding.

  • Construction administration protects your investment in the design, making sure what gets built matches the intent, quality, and coordination behind every decision made up to this point.

    • Site visits through the course of construction

    • Contractor RFIs and submittals reviewed

    • Pay applications reviewed, if requested

    • Final walk-through at substantial completion to confirm the finished home matches design intent

    Deliverable: a completed home built to the design intent, with your architect involved through the final walk-through.