PROFILE

Robert Shachtman was born in Los Angeles, California. A gifted artist at a very early age, his natural talents were further developed with additional painting, sculptural and graphic studies prior to college.

Robert attended the School of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. Upon graduating, he apprenticed with a Beverly Hills architectural firm specializing in civic architecture before receiving his license to practice. A move to Newport Beach enabled him to find his true calling in residential design. Never concentrating only on a single type of architecture, he honed his skills in all vernaculars. With over 25 years of experience in high-end residential design he has expert knowledge from Classical to Contemporary. His ability to hand draw and sketch a client’s dreams in such detail and realism and then to transfer them to finished plans is uncanny.

His return to Los Angeles has resulted in a rich portfolio of residential projects. He has consulted with an eclectic mix of clients, including Jerry Sanders, Dr. Raj Kanodia, Les Lederer, Bo Hirsch, Andrew Leigh, Brian Bosworth, Jason Sehorn & Angie Harmon, Don & Shelly Sterling and Barbra Streisand. He is the designer and architect of the very spectacular Malibu estates: La Villa Contenta for Richard and Liane Weintraub and La Villa Casada for Gregg and Audrey Ruth. Both of these estates have been featured in film, television and print.

PHILOSOPHY

In my studies at Berkeley, the mantra for architectural students was Form Follows Function. To this day, the essence of good design follows those very words. I believe the interaction of functions within the home and the circulation in around them is paramount to defining the exterior design of residential architecture. With meticulous attention to detail, I believe that any particular form of architecture is defined from the study and visualization of the relationship of those elements.