Hudson Valley Architect Juhee Lee-Hartford Deepens Firm’s Commitment to Regenerative Design

COLD SPRING, NY — Juhee Lee-Hartford, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, CPHC, Founder and Principal of Hudson Valley architecture and design firm River Architects, has earned Living Future Accreditation (LFA) through the International Living Future Institute. Building on the firm’s proven commitment to Passive Building standards and Net Zero design, Lee-Hartford plans to lead her team in integrating Living Building Challenge standards to the firm’s daily practice.

Widely regarded as the built environment's most demanding sustainability standard, the Living Building Challenge provides a rigorous framework across seven performance categories including Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity, and Beauty.

For Lee-Hartford, Living Future is a natural evolution of the firm’s core mission: “For years our work has been guided by Passive Building principals, minimizing our environmental harm and shaping spaces that improve occupant health, comfort, and safety,” she explains. “Living Future takes this a step further, pushing us to interrogate how our buildings can truly give back.”

Under Juhee’s leadership, River Architects is nationally recognized for its expertise in Passive Building standards and Net Zero design, earning honors from programs including the NYSERDA Buildings of Excellence competition, Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development competition, and the AIA New York State Excelsior Award. Juhee also serves as a consultant for the New York State Department of State Downtown Revitalization Initiative program, providing guidance on implementing carbon-reduction strategies.

As River Architects continues to grow its portfolio of high-performance projects across the region, Lee-Hartford’s LFA credential positions the firm at the forefront of an industry shift from buildings that do less harm to buildings that actively restore.

About River Architects

River Architects is a full-service architecture and design studio based in New York’s Hudson Valley, specializing in high-performance, sustainable design that integrates rigorous building science with refined architectural expression. Founded in 2002 by managing principal Juhee Lee-Hartford, the firm is a New York State-certified Woman- and Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (W/MBE). The studio's portfolio spans custom residential homes, multi-family housing, and public and civic projects across the Hudson Valley and beyond. Each project is guided by close client collaboration and a careful response to site, climate, and program, resulting in architecture defined by clean lines, natural materials, and abundant light, with a strong connection between indoor and outdoor environments. A recognized leader in Passive Building and Net Zero design, River Architects delivers measurable results in energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and occupant comfort through airtight construction, heat-recovery ventilation, and low-embodied-carbon materials.  River Architects operates from a belief that enduring design and environmental performance are not competing values, but one and the same. To learn more, visit www.riverarchitects.com/