Most architects who win 85 local, regional, and national awards don’t bother with home plan libraries. They focus on high-end custom work where fees match their reputation. They serve wealthy clients who can afford bespoke design. They stay in the exclusive territory their awards earned them.
Thomas Retnauer took a different path.
As Chief Visionary of RBA Home Plans, Retnauer is doing something rare in the architecture world: making decades of award-winning design expertise accessible to families and builders who can’t afford full-service architectural fees.
“Great design shouldn’t be a luxury item, It should be the foundation of every home.”
-Thomas Retnauer
That philosophy led to creating RBA Home Plans, the residential design division of RBA Architects. The firm has shaped residential development across Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and beyond over more than 30 years of architectural practice. Those 85 awards weren’t handed out for theoretical concepts. They recognized real homes built in real communities, tested by real families, and refined through actual construction experience.
The distinction matters in an industry flooded with generic home plans created by designers who have never walked a construction site or lived in the spaces they draw.
“Most home plan websites sell mass-produced drawings created with little real-world testing,” Retnauer explains. “RBA Home Plans offers architect-designed plans backed by decades of experience, thousands of built homes, and a firm that still practices architecture every day.”
That active practice provides something online plan libraries can’t replicate: continuous feedback from builders, homeowners, and the construction process itself. When a detail doesn’t work in the field, RBA learns and adapts. When a floor plan creates unexpected livability issues, the firm refines future versions. When building costs escalate due to design choices, value engineering improves the next iteration.
This continuous improvement cycle has been running for three decades. The plans in RBA’s library aren’t first drafts. They’re refined solutions that have been built, lived in, modified, and perfected through hundreds of real-world applications.
For builders, this translates into fewer field issues, cleaner details, and smarter engineering. Plans that actually work as drawn. Specifications that reflect real material availability and cost. Construction sequences that make sense to framers and contractors.
For homeowners, it means spaces designed around how people actually live. Kitchens with proper workflow. Primary suites with genuine privacy. Storage that appears where you need it. Natural light that floods spaces without sacrificing energy efficiency. Outdoor living areas that feel like intentional extensions of the home.
“We don’t design for trends,” Retnauer states. “We design for real life. Our plans focus on flow and functionality, storage that makes sense, kitchens that work, primary suites with privacy, outdoor living that feels intentional, natural light, circulation, and comfort.”
This focus on livability over trendiness emerged from RBA’s extensive work across the Mid-Atlantic. High-end coastal homes taught lessons about durability and weather resistance. Community master plans revealed patterns in how families use spaces. Multifamily developments provided data on what features residents actually value versus what looks good in marketing materials.
Those lessons shaped every plan in the RBA library. Coastal designs reflect genuine understanding of salt air, hurricane loads, and flood zone requirements. Craftsman homes incorporate authentic details that builders can execute without custom millwork shops. Modern farmhouse plans balance contemporary aesthetics with construction methods that control costs.
The awards recognize that balance between design excellence and buildability. Judges don’t hand out 85 honors to pretty drawings that can’t be built. They recognize completed projects that solve real problems, enhance communities, and improve how people live.
Retnauer’s vision extends beyond just offering better plans than generic competitors. He wants to transform RBA Home Plans into the industry’s most advanced, architect-led plan ecosystem powered by AI, BIM, and automated design tools.
“The future of home design is interactive, adaptable, and digital,” Retnauer states. “And we intend to lead that shift.”
Plans that adjust automatically to lot conditions. Instant cost and material data for builders. Floor plans previewed in 3D within seconds. Homeowners personalizing layouts through guided AI. Renderings and elevations updating in real time.
RBA has positioned itself ahead of competitors through early adoption of BIM-based design, TestFit, and AI visualization. The firm already uses digital twin workflows, AI-assisted rendering, and automated feasibility studies. The infrastructure exists to scale those capabilities across the entire plan library.
But technology only matters if the underlying design is sound. And design quality only comes from the kind of experience that produces 85 awards over 30 years of practice.
The combination of proven design excellence and emerging technology creates something the home plan industry has never seen: architect-quality plans with the accessibility and customization potential of digital tools.
For families choosing between generic online plans and unaffordable custom architecture, RBA Home Plans offers a third option. Award-winning design tested through thousands of builds. Architectural expertise at a fraction of bespoke costs. Modern technology enabling personalization without starting from scratch.
The 85 awards sitting in RBA’s office represent more than professional recognition. They represent 30 years of learning what makes homes work. What creates lasting value. What enhances daily life versus what just looks impressive in photographs.
Thomas Retnauer could have kept that knowledge exclusive, serving only clients who can afford custom architecture’s premium fees. Instead, he’s making it accessible to anyone building a home.
That’s not just good business. That’s a architect using his expertise to improve how America builds.
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