Bryan Jones, AIA, was born and raised in “the woods” of Salisbury, Vermont, where, from a young age, he learned to observe and interact with the wide range of natural systems the rugged New England landscape offered – often building “forts” of various types with his brothers and friends when not swinging a hammer with his father and brothers renovating residential buildings or learning the foundations of drawings and arts & crafts from his mother.

This appreciation for nature, a sense of the poetics of space, and a strong family link between construction and the arts lead Bryan to pursue a Master of Architecture degree at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Upon completing his academic studies, he returned to VT to apply and test his sense of architecture and design in the design-build world, working closely with local builders and tradespeople to complete his first custom home, right where it all started, in the woods of Vermont.  After completing the design, construction, and custom stonework, Bryan moved to Philadelphia with his wife to pursue professional experience on the “paper-side” of the industry.

Prior to founding Skyplane Studio Architects in 2019, he worked for several architecture firms of various scales and expertise in Philadelphia, exploring further the professional world of architecture, city planning, and civic engagement through volunteer roles with youth building programs and as a member of the Community Design Collaborative’s Design Review Board.

After nearly 10 years in Philadelphia, Bryan returned to VT and brought Skyplane with him, once again focusing his efforts in architecture on self-building.  Experimenting with the comprehensive remodel of a cozy 1850’s era clay factory worker house, he transformed it (with the help of his wife and local tradespeople) into a contemporary vernacular New England home.

His portfolio spans a range of built and planned projects, from adaptive reuse and historic restoration to custom homes, multifamily residential developments, mass-timber development projects, prefab prototype buildings, and more.

Bryan’s architecture is inspired by the intersection of art, construction, context, and people.  Thinking of architecture as “frozen music”, Bryan believes all things resonate within the larger “bubble” of planet earth (and beyond), and, like most architects, that architecture’s chief aim is to contribute beauty, innovation, and value to the world to improve the quality of the built-environment and through it — the lives of all those who engage it — whether they have a fancy vocabulary for it, or not.  In this way, he sees the architect with their colleagues as “priests of the built-environment”, responsible for bridging the gap between our connection to landscape, culture, the environment, and ourselves to foster and expand our sense of the spiritual connection we have to the spaces we inhabit – as chief builders within the larger planetary ecosystem.

He approaches each project with a practical understanding of construction, a poetic sense of tectonics, and a creative desire to experiment with the meaning and function of space.  Showcasing materiality, elevating details to inspiring heights, and finding opportunities for innovation in each project, he works to create architecture that is sculptural and alive within its surroundings, continually aiming to unveil architecture that moves the human mind and spirit - aspiring always to create Architecture with a soul.