Resort Design Associates International was incorporated in 1995 by Gordon R. Pierce, A.I.A., the founder and Chairman of the firm RDA is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Boulder, Colorado and McCall, Idaho.

Mr. Pierce began his architectural career in 1959 with the firm of Fitzhugh Scott as a graduate of the University of Illinois. This Milwaukee-based architectural partnership specialized in a variety of design projects ranging from high-end residences to large-scale industrial complexes. As an associate with the firm, and later as vice president and then partner, Mr. Pierce was an integral part of the award-winning design team and finalist in the Yale University Mathematics Building Competition – a national competition that included the top U.S. architectural firms. Among his many professional accomplishments with this firm was his role as project architect for the Milwaukee School of Engineering and the University of Wisconsin Libraries at Milwaukee and Madison.

In the early 1960's, Mr. Pierce was selected to oversee the firm's design work for a fledgling Colorado ski resort on the Western slope of the Rocky Mountains, called Vail. The proposed plan for the resort outlined a European walking village at the base of a large ski mountain. Mr. Pierce was instrumental in carrying through the concept as a member of Vail's original design team and as architect of many of the village's earliest structures. In 1972, Mr. Pierce opened a full-service branch office in the Vail Valley from which he was better able to manage a growing list of design projects. In 1978, he established his own practice in the Vail Valley.

As well as designing some of the region's most prominent buildings, Mr. Pierce has further influenced the direction and character of this international resort area as a member of the Vail Town Council and the Vail Planning Department. Additionally, he has served on numerous design review boards and created the design guidelines for several community developments, such as the Mountain Star Residential Development near Beaver Creek. He was also an instrumental team member for the design of the Beaver Creek Village Center. The Urban Land Institute honored Mr. Pierce and his fellow team members with the 1998 Award of Excellence for their efforts.

Gordon Pierce is proud to share partnership and management duties of the firm with his son, Andre, a licensed architect and principal designer with the firm.

The solid body of successful work accomplished by RDA in Colorado has rewarded the firm with numerous commissions for work outside of this region. Individuals, corporations and development groups have engaged RDA for a variety of international projects in over twenty countries. Currently, RDA is engaged to provide planning and design services for projects in the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean.

The firm has, most recently, become a recognized expert in the field of fractional ownership clubs, such as the Austria Haus Club and Hotel, in Vail, Colorado, which was designed by RDA and completed in 1998. This project won the prestigious Gold Award for Resort Architecture for 1999, given annually by the American Resort Development Association.