“Less Is More” Mentality.

Some architects push you to go all-in for the most expensive design services because their fee is a set percentage of the construction cost. It’s simple: the longer your to-do list is, the more costly it will be to get done… and the more money they can make off of you. But is this the right approach? Sometimes our biggest achievement is talking you out of something, if we really don’t think that the time and expense will satisfy you. Again, it comes down to listening to what you say to us and get down to the why you want something, not just the what and how much. There are plenty of people ready to take your money and could care less about what makes you happy.

It’s a privilege to be an architect, and a service to provide for you. There are cold-hearted people out there that just look to design the biggest building for the cheapest cost and the most profit and say this is the only way to run a business. and that if you don’t think that way, you’re an idiot. Well, color me blind, we care more about solving problems than we do about making a buck off of it. That’s the way to a better world.

Obviously designing a new house is going to take longer and have many more questions to answer than just finishing out a basement (and nobody would argue that). But we would only advocate for designing a whole new house if all you have to work with is a vacant piece of property.

unless you own a vacant piece of property and WBut it’s easy to claim that doing more work now will save you money in the long run. This isn’t necessarily a lie, but how long are you planning to run for? 20 years? 50?

Instead, we listen first to what your needs are and prioritize working with what you have. Not only is this the responsible approach, but the sustainable one as well, as the reuse of existing spaces cuts down on new construction waste. Does this mean we make less money off of you? Of course it can. But our business will take care of itself - it’s you we’re concerned about.