With a father in the military, the San Francisco Bay Area-based James Welch attended 7 schools over 18 years. During high school in Madrid, Spain, he traveled constantly with his family, north to France, east to Italy. When young, He traveled to Japan and South Korea. After high school, James attended the San Francisco Art Institute on Russian Hill, then transitioned with an architecture focus, and graduated from the San Diego State University with a degree in Environmental Design.
That led him to his first job with RNT Architects, of which his professor was a principal. His initial twelve-year work journey took him from RNT, San Diego, then to FMG, San Francisco, then to ELS, Berkeley. James became a LEED Accredited Professional in 2009 and a Registered California Architect in 2010. Today, he collaborates with Charles Doell at MR. IMPORTANT DESIGN. This collaboration has led to many exuberant and highly curated interior design projects that have won awards. Select award winning projects are W Punta Mita, W Costa Rica and the Hard Rock Hotel, Palm Springs. Also, notable award winners are interiors for multi-family projects that include Avalon’s West Hollywood and Belltown Towers and UDR’s The Residences at Pacific City and Vision on Wilshire, Los Angeles.
Together with Veronica Romano, James co-founded Romano Welch Architects and has completed numerous residential, retail, hospitality, and commercial projects. On the interiors side, He collaborates with Charles Doell with MR. IMPORTANT DESIGN and the leads the hospitality studio of RWA