Gary Harcourt

Principal Architect

Born in San Jose, California, Gary Harcourt grew up dividing his time between the San Jose area and Southern California. He graduated with honors from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo—widely regarded at the time as one of the nation's premier architecture programs—earning a Bachelor of Architecture degree.

Early in his career, Gary had the opportunity to work with prominent architectural firms along the Central California Coast, including RRM Design Group (now a nationwide practice), both during and after his university years. In 1981, amid one of the most challenging economic recessions in modern history, he founded his own firm, GFH Architecture. What began as a modest two-person office steadily expanded to a team of up to ten, delivering a diverse portfolio that encompassed single-family residences, multi-family developments, banks, commercial projects, and even an innovative Iwerks large-format theater at the historic Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California.

Gary and his wife, Molly, raised their five children in a home he personally designed and built along the Central Coast, where the family remains rooted. He attributes much of his firm's enduring success to a combination of favorable economic growth and an unwavering commitment to creative, high-caliber design in a fiercely competitive field. While today's market presents distinct challenges, the same core opportunities persist—driving continuous evolution and the pursuit of ever-more sophisticated solutions to each new project.

With more than four decades of experience, Gary brings refined design elegance and a thoughtful philosophy to every commission. His approach seamlessly blends historical influences with forward-looking innovation: drawing from timeless precedents while embracing modern technologies, materials, and lifestyles. By skillfully balancing site constraints, programmatic needs, timelines, and budgets, he transforms each endeavor into a harmonious artistic journey—whether the result leans classic, contemporary, or somewhere in between. This synthesis is the essence of architecture at its finest.