About

About Grasso Gay Architects

Founded in 2017 in Austin, Texas by Anna Grasso-Gay, Grasso Gay Architects (GGA) is a multidisciplinary design firm devoted to creating timeless homes and buildings in the Austin / San Antonio and surrounding areas. Inspired by classical architecture and traditional urbanism, our firm focuses on forever places and spaces that provide delightful experiences for generations to come. With a vision to achieve beauty through design, we strive to offer a new perspective on architecture; one that couples classical design traditions with contemporary living. We firmly believe great design should go beyond aesthetics. It should be seen, felt, and understood and it should be rooted in the needs and dreams of the client. We achieve this through listening, thoughtful planning, and detailed execution.

Our team works hard to make sure each project has a unified vision, whether it be an entirely new structure or remodeling an existing one. Each of our team members has experienced traditional architecture and urbanism first hand through the places we have lived and traveled. These foundational experiences have informed how our team approaches the profession and every project we take on. Ultimately, we strive to design structures that create vibrant experiences, are sensitive to their surroundings, and are loved by our clients and the community.

We look forward to the opportunity to create something beautiful with you!

Anna Grasso-Gay, AIA

Founding Principal

William D. Gay III, AIA

Principal

Anna Grasso-Gay, AIA

Founding Principal

Anna Grasso-Gay, AIA, is the founding principal of Grasso Gay Architects, and is a graduate of Notre Dame with a Bachelors of Architecture and her Masters of Architectural Design and Urbanism. Even before her 20 years of experience as an architect, Anna has long-been fascinated by the way architecture can shape people’s lives for the better. Growing up in suburban America and historic Mexico gave her a unique perspective on the world, which she brings to her work as an architect.

Anna is passionate about creating beautiful spaces that speak to who people are and bring them joy for years to come. She believes architecture should be accessible to everyone, and strives to create spaces that are welcoming and inclusive for all. She recalls sitting in her grandmother’s courtyard house lovingly hugging the stone pilaster, yearning for everyone to have a solid structure they could embrace as theirs through all walks of life—whether it’s a public library or a private residence.

William D. Gay III, AIA

Principal

William’s appreciation for the built environment came through his love for photography when, as an engineering student, he found himself photographing beautiful downtown San Antonio. This formed a yearning to create buildings and urban spaces as impactful, impressive, and timeless as these and ultimately led him to change his major to architecture.

Since then, William has had the privilege of working under, and learning from, some of the most prominent traditional architects in San Antonio, Austin, and Chicago. Ultimately, these experiences allowed William to be able to fulfill his dream of bringing structures to life that are functional, sustainable, and beautiful as a principal at Grasso Gay Architects.

William received his B.S. in Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Texas, San Antonio, and the University of Notre Dame, respectively. He is a member of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, the American Institute of Architects, and the Congress for New Urbanism. With over 20 years of architectural experience, William has a passion for creating buildings that are sensitive to their surroundings and loved by the community.

Our Design Process

Discuss The
Dream

As we get started, we will meet with you so we can get to know each other a little more and so we can get a clear picture of your dream. This can be a single meeting or can be done over a few meetings. During these discussions, we will get to know how you and your family, colleagues, or community live, work, and play. We want to understand how these activities work into the scope of the project and thus how the project can help you thrive. In every project there are needs and wants, and we will try to understand what these are. We’ll also look at municipal or building regulations, discuss budgets, and work together to find that perfect balance between the vision and reality. Out of these discussions, we’ll come away with an initial scope and budget and the real fun of design can begin!

Draw The
Dream

Let the fun begin! Regardless of whether you come with a plethora of imagery to give us an idea of those things you like, or none at all, we delight in discovering how to turn your dream into a reality. We’ll start with hand sketches of different plan options to give you the freedom to consider some different ideas and make changes. Often, we find, the final direction of the design is some combination of the different options we present. This phase is called Schematic Design and is meant to be relatively loose. The goal of this phase is to come out with a solid plan direction that meets your needs budgetarily and programmatically and that also speaks to your dream. This allows us to move forward getting into the more technical aspects of the project.

Build The
Dream Team

Once you’re happy with the direction of the Schematic Design, we will move onto Design Development. In this phase, we will refine the plans and start moving the drawings into the computer. This allows us to get much more precise with the design and start looking more closely at the details. A crucial part of this stage is the pulling together of the Design Team – Engineers, Interior Designer, Landscape Architect, etc. These are the outside consultants with whom we will work closely during the rest of the project to create a truly cohesive translation of your dream. In many cases, we may recommend bringing in a builder/general contractor at this time as well and go through a budgetary pulse check to make sure we’re still on track with expectations.

Refine The
Dream

Through continued reviews and conversations with you and the Design Team, we will finalize the Design Development drawings and then dive even deeper into the details of how the project will get constructed and what all the elements will ultimately look like. This is the Construction Documents phase. Millwork, Lighting, Cornices, Paneling, Ceiling conditions, and many others will be considered during this time. We will work closely with you and, if one is on board, your interior designer, to make sure that finishes and materials are considered for all these details. A permit application and set of drawings is usually issued at this time so that we can begin the review process with the City or County. We will also provide a ‘Pricing’ set of drawings to the contractor to get a final pulse check on the budget prior to finalizing the drawings. If there are any adjustments that need to be made based on comments from the City or because of Budgetary needs, we will incorporate those into our final Construction Documents, which will be used by the Contractor to build the project.

Build The
Dream

Permits have been submitted, construction documents are completed, and the construction cost has been established. Now the project becomes reality and we begin construction. Here, we actively supervise to ensure the project is executed per the design, while also assisting in reviewing expenditures, answering construction questions, and millwork drawings (just to name a few). We’re by your side until the completion of the project!

Classical Architecture & New Urbanism

We design beautiful solutions for our clients, inspired by a generational vision and Classical Design.

Contact us to learn more