One of the things architect’s often hear is a variation on the idea that what we do is draw buildings. We do, of course, draw buildings. It is not, however, the only thing we do, and, probably is not the majority of what we do, if by drawing buildings the […]
What an architect does
32 posts
It is that time of year. The trees are dropping their leaves. There is a crispness in the air. Mountains of enormous turkeys have appeared in the grocery stores. Pumpkin spice has permeated almost every food group. Yup. It is Thanksgiving week! I want to take this opportunity to offer […]
The question is often asked, if not out loud, at least in people’s minds, “what does an architect do?” Most of us don’t have any experience dealing with architects. Sometimes we see them on TV or in the movies. The work in barns and talk to horses (Mr. Ed), or […]
You have been thinking about remodeling or adding on to your house. You called you’re local building department and described what you wanted to do. They said, “You’ll need plans prepared by an architect for that in order to get a permit.” You had a contractor come over to discuss […]
People have preconceptions about what architects do. Some people think we are “diva designers” who swoop in and impose our personal style on others. Some people think that all we do is draw, making pretty pictures of buildings. Some people think we work in barns and talk to horses (Mr. […]
The process of getting a permit for construction in the Bay Area can be onerous, lengthy, and seemingly expensive. Believe me: I know. Helping people get permits is part of what architects do. The degree of onerousness, how long it can take, and how expensive it will be will vary […]
One of the things that architects do is provide site inspection services. In most cases, when we go to visit a project under construction, we are there to observe. If we see anything that is not according to the documents, we raise the issue with the contractor and with the […]
You may have heard about accessory dwelling units – sometimes referred to as ADUs, Secondary dwelling units, or in-law units – and you’ve been wondering if you could build one at your property. But you don’t know where to start. Here’s what you can do: Call your local Planning or […]
I can’t recall if I’ve written about this project or not. Years ago, I did a project for these clients in this house, enclosing a carport to be a garage. That was successful. But the owners soon had to relocate for work, and the house was rented out. They’ve returned […]
This project in Danville was recently completed.The project was to build a pied a terre for the owners of the home, who would hand over the main house to their children. This would allow them to be able to help care for their grandchild and to be able to lock […]
“Gas meter locations! Be still my heart,” I hear you saying. I can just imagine you are trembling in anticipation of this gas meter location story! What excitement! Not really. Right? Well, this is the reality of construction. Sometimes it is the most plebeian of things that make life, shall […]
2017 has been a busy year. As the year wraps up, and before we head into the holidays, I thought I’d share just some of what has been going on “behind the screen” here in the studio. I wrote and published a book: Working With An Architect was published in […]
October is National Architecture Month, also known in some circles as Archtober. To commemorate the month, I am going to post a brief post every day of the month. October has been Architecture Month. At the very last minute, October 1st to be precise, I decided to jump into the […]
As architects we do a lot of different things. It’s more than making drawings. As an example, in August I finished the permit drawings for a commercial project in San Francisco, an accessory dwelling unit in Sunnyvale, the conversion of an existing garage into an accessory dwelling unit in Oakland. […]
The project in Danville is under construction and the contractor is making good time. I was out to the site last week to look at the construction, answer questions, and take some pictures. As a reminder, this is a 900 square foot addition to a 1950’s house. The addition is […]
The project in Danville, adding a retirement apartment for the owners onto a house they will be deeding over to their children, has finally broken ground. This project has been in my studio since the late Autumn of 2015. We applied for permits back in the early Autumn of 2016. We […]
Projects are rarely, if ever, perfect from their immediate conception. Some come together quickly. Others take longer. This project in Berkeley is somewhere in between. But it is coming together fairly quickly. We are working within the city’s planning regulations for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). The projects need to be […]
I kicked off a new project about a month ago. It is for a backyard cottage, an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), in Berkeley. We have been working on getting the plan arrangements right. Still in Schematic Design, I’m starting to look at what this little house might look like. The […]
Things are busy here in the studio. I thought I would post an update on the progress of some of the projects in the studio, and introduce a couple new projects. My project in Danville is out of plan check! The owner picked up the permit about 3 weeks ago. […]
Any successful architectural project needs three quality partners and one healthy attitude. The successful partners are The Client, The Architect, and The Builder. The healthy attitude is that designing and building any architectural project is An Adventure. This post is about The ADVENTURE. These 4 essential pieces to a successful […]