Tom Beil’s work as an architect is informed and motivated by community and place.

Although he is originally from Texas, the West always called to him. After a visit to Big Sur in 1984, he relocated to the Golden State. His projects for the Esalen Institute in Big Sur reinforced the providence of that first California visit: “The gestalt of the Esalen Community and the natural power of the site completely inform the architecture,” Tom says.

Tom’s portfolio includes places of worship and celebration. He’s designed facilities for Unitarian, Jesuit, Evangelical, and Tibetan Buddhist communities. He finds joy in learning how the congregants celebrate their faith and interact with the world at large - and then manifesting that energy into a building design.

Tom has always loved to draw, but his grandfather cautioned him early in life that he would need to transform that talent into an actual livelihood. The architecture vocation has accomplished that. He continues to draw, paint, expand his backyard treehouse – and hot-rod through Berkeley in his electric car.