Ryan Stell

Principal Architect, Founder

Ryan Stell founded Objectechne Studio to build a practice shaped by intention — one where projects are guided closely from first conversation through construction, and where the direction of the work reflects both client goals and long-term impact. The studio was created to allow for deeper engagement with both clients and craft.

He has always been drawn to the larger framework of a project — how it settles into a site, how people move through it, how structure and systems quietly support the experience of a space. At the same time, he remains attentive to the details that make architecture real. Early in his career, an interest in construction and material assembly shaped his perspective. Understanding how buildings are made became inseparable from how he thinks about design.

Ryan is known for being calm under pressure and leading quietly. He approaches projects with steady focus and a long view. For him, the most meaningful architecture emerges when vision and reality are not at odds — when form grows naturally from constraint, when materials are understood, and when design and construction speak the same language. Beauty is strongest when it can endure.

Ryan is a licensed architect in North Carolina and South Carolina and holds NCARB certification, allowing for reciprocal licensure nationwide. He earned his undergraduate degree at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, and completed graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte — experiences that rooted him both in mountain landscapes and the evolving urban fabric of the Charlotte region.

Outside of architecture, Ryan is deeply family-oriented. He grew up heavily involved in sports and now coaches his children’s youth and travel teams. Time on the field, on the water fishing, or around a kitchen table matters as much as time in the studio. Those rhythms — teamwork, patience, long-term thinking — mirror the way he approaches practice.

He brings steadiness, thoughtfulness, and a depth of focus to the work — preferring substance over spectacle and alignment over noise.