As a student at Highland Hall, Sorensen took classes in metal smithing, woodworking, sculpting, painting, and gardening where he gained a deep appreciation for working with nature. Architectural history classes and class trips to the Anaszi ruins and Canyon de Chelly helped form an early understanding for design and architecture. These experiences translated well into his professional life where he has used them successfully to create dwellings that blend in with their natural surroundings. Recently his firm completed a passion project in Santa Monica Canyon called “The Rustic Oasis.” Built mainly out of reclaimed teak with seamless indoor/outdoor living spaces, the home is so well integrated into its landscape that is hard to realize that the home and guest house cover 13,000 square feet of space.
To give back to the community Sorensen guest lectures at UCLA on sustainable architecture. As a LEED accredited architect, Sorensen applies sustainable design concepts and utilizes organic or reclaimed building materials as much as possible. Part of the process involves educating his clients about alternatives to the conventional construction process which he feels is wasteful in terms of energy and material consumption. Virtually all of his projects incorporate photovoltaic power, solar hot water heating, water reclamation, passive cooling, and natural ventilation techniques to create buildings that use far less energy. “Generally, this adds a bit more cost to our projects, however the savings are made up in the operational costs of the building by using less energy.”
Another current project that Sorensen is passionate about is the development of a pre-fabricated modular home which he says will conserve half of the construction schedule and save on building costs. “Our goal is to make beautiful, high quality buildings readily available and more affordable.”
Christopher lives next door to his office in Marina del Rey and is happily married to his wife Adria Cristina who heads his interiors department. They have two young daughters, Venevia Ellie and Gianna Giselle.
More information about Sorensen Architects can be found at www.sorensenarchitects.com