Firm founder Marc Appleton and his team are renowned for site-sensitive houses and hotels immersed in traditional design languages yet animated by a decidedly contemporary spirit. Key Influences: Sir Edwin Lutyens; McKim, Mead & White; George Washington Smith; Louis Kahn. Places of Inspiration: “Old Havana in Cuba—beautiful but crumbling—and Italy.” Up Next: A book on California ranches, to be published this year by Rizzoli. Santa Monica and Santa Barbara, California; appleton-architectom