About the Architects

About Michael Burch, FAIA

Michael Burch (B.A., University of California, Berkeley; M.Arch., Yale University) was an architect widely recognized for his mastery of Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean Revival architecture. Period Homes Magazine described him as “the greatest living practitioner of the Spanish Colonial/Mediterranean Revival,” reflecting his exceptional ability to interpret and advance these traditions through contemporary architectural practice.

Burch was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an honor bestowed on a select group of architects whose work and contributions have demonstrated a significant standard of excellence. According to the AIA College of Fellows, “AIA Fellows are recognized with the AIA’s highest membership honor” for exceptional work, architectural excellence, and significant contributions to architecture and the profession.

Throughout his career, Burch was deeply committed to the study and practice of traditional architecture. His work drew particularly upon the Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean traditions that became an important part of Southern California's architectural identity during the early twentieth century. His buildings were distinguished by their attention to proportion, materials, craftsmanship, landscape, and the relationship between architecture and place.

Burch was also a dedicated educator. He taught architecture at Yale University, the University of Southern California, and UCLA, sharing his knowledge of architectural history, design, and traditional building practices with successive generations of students. His academic and professional work reinforced his belief that traditional architecture could remain both historically grounded and relevant to contemporary life.

Michael Burch's career left a lasting contribution to the architectural heritage of California and to the broader revival of traditional architecture in the United States. Through his buildings, teaching, writing, and mentorship, he demonstrated how historical architectural traditions could be practiced with both scholarly understanding and creative discipline. Michael Burch passed away in August 2026, leaving behind a body of work that continues to exemplify the enduring qualities of Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean Revival architecture.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Burch

https://michaelburcharchitects.com/pile_portfolio/firm-profile/

Michael Burch and Diane Wilk both worked on the design and addition to the original Arthur Kelly house. Diane and Michael collaborated togehter for almost 30 years and she has now taken over the firm.

About Diane Wilk, AIA, NCARB

Diane Wilk is a California architect, architectural historian, educator, and preservationist whose career spans architectural practice, teaching, research, and historic preservation. A native Californian, she received her B.S. in Architecture from the University of Southern California in 1977 and her Master of Architecture from Yale University in 1981, followed by graduate study in architectural history at Stanford University. She is a registered architect in California and holds an NCARB certificate.

Before returning to California and joining Michael Burch Architects, Wilk was a tenured faculty member at the University of Colorado, where she served as Director of Graduate Programs in Architecture and Urban Design. She taught architectural design, drawing, and history and was a visiting critic at Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Syracuse University, and UC Berkeley. Her research focused particularly on architectural and landscape history, and she was instrumental in producing guidebooks documenting Denver's historic architecture. She has also published extensively on architectural and landscape history.

Wilk joined Michael Burch Architects in 1998, bringing her academic training and knowledge of architectural history to a practice specializing in California's Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean Revival traditions of the 1920s and 1930s. As Director of Research, she has contributed historical research to the firm's projects while collaborating on architecture, interiors, landscapes, restorations, and historic preservation. Her work with Michael Burch has included the restoration and rehabilitation of significant Southern California residences and historic properties, combining historical research with careful attention to craftsmanship, materials, proportion, and architectural character.

Among their notable projects was the restoration of the Everett Babcock House in La Cañada Flintridge, recognized for its sensitive treatment of the original Spanish Colonial architecture. Wilk and Burch also advocated for Mills Act protection in La Cañada Flintridge, helping establish a mechanism for preserving historic properties. Their own residence, originally designed by Los Angeles architect Arthur Roland Kelly in the 1920s, exemplifies their preservation philosophy: the historic house was carefully restored and later expanded with a major addition designed to distinguish new construction from the original fabric while remaining sympathetic to its character.

Wilk has a particular interest in the architecture of California's mountain communities, especially Lake Arrowhead, where her family has had a connection since the 1940s. Summers spent there fostered an early appreciation of its distinctive historic architecture and eventually led to specialized research into the preservation and continuation of California's mountain architectural traditions. She and Burch have lectured for the American Institute of Architects and historical societies on interpreting California's architectural heritage in contemporary practice. Her most recent book, Lake Arrowhead Architecture, traces the development of the community's mountain architecture.

Throughout her career, Wilk has occupied a distinctive position between academia and practice. Her training in architecture and architectural history, combined with decades of teaching, research, writing, and professional practice, has shaped an approach that views architecture not simply as style, but as the product of history, craftsmanship, culture, and place. Her work has contributed to the preservation and continuation of California's architectural heritage while demonstrating how historic traditions can remain relevant in contemporary practice.