OUR STORY
FRED is a work founded in hope.
We hope that a FRED house will make life better, calmer, happier and more productive for each family that lives in one. We hope that focusing the design of a house on the health, well-being and peace of its occupants will change how society perceives the role of a house in modern life. In fact, “FRED,” means “peace” in most Scandinavian languages, a region whose design inspires us deeply.
FRED.HOUSE was co-founded by Chad Workman and Sterling Mennear. We have both earned graduate degrees from colleges of architecture (Texas A&M University and the University of Houston, respectively) and we have spent our professional lives trying to create meaningful places. Chad has focussed primarily on real estate development and Sterling on residential and product design.
As husbands, fathers and creators we’ve become obsessed with making our homes places of refuge, joy, calmness and efficiency. We can sense how badly our families need — even crave — these things. Granted, much of creating such a home life depends on the effort of the people living in the house, but as students and practitioners of architecture, design and development, we believe that the design and form of a house can help create that type of home experience. For years we have read, contemplated, studied and interviewed every applicable thing and qualified person we could find related to this belief.
FRE.HOUSE is the result of that effort.
“Although the house may lack solutions to a great many of its occupants’ ills, its rooms nevertheless give evidence of a happiness to which architecture has made its distinctive contribution.”