I would highly recommend Bagnall, he designed my 3000 square-foot home and a ADU next-door back in…read more2000. Great value and reliability. Highly respected at the Santa Cruz city building department, second generation architect with his Dads office across the street, he gets lots of respect

Without Peter, we would be thousands of dollars behind in our budget. This main is a saint in our…read moreeyes. If we ever need an architect, we will go to no one else. Honest. Straightforward. Kind. You won't regret working with Peter Bagnall.

I needed help with designing a large outdoor pergola with design plans I could submit to City of…read moreHollister for permitting. I spoke with Jason and hired him as a draftsman for this project. Jason was very responsive and came out quickly to assess what needed to get done, connect with my landscape contractor and draw up the plans and specs needed. He was able to consult on some of the aesthetics of the pergola as well which was very helpful. Jason is helping with getting the permit process started and the plans he created will look great once my permits and approved and the project is completed, will update the review once completed with pictures.

I recently bought a new home and hired Symmetry design for a simple 2 dimension design for my back…read moreyard. Jason took my money and claimed to be busy for weeks....he submitted some plans to the city and city rejected the plans. Now I can't seem to get Jason to finish what I paid for. If submitting plans to the city means he is done then we should be prepared for a mediocre job. Taking my money is not really an issue for me but rather the time wasted thinking and believing someone was working on my behalf. Spending money into your own home should always be a pleasant experience however, with Symmetry design it is guaranteed it will not be that.

Guy is a great architect and a really nice guy. He drew up the plans for our recent renovation and…read moredid a fantastic job at a very reasonable price. It was clear that he put a lot of thought into everything, and he made some really insightful recommendations. We are extremely pleased with the final plans, and look forward to living in this well thought-out space for many years to come. Highly recommended! Thanks Guy!

Leif Rideout is an outstanding architect and a good guy. My builder said Leif is one of those very…read morerare architects who "gets it" about the realities of construction and the expenses involved in various design alternatives. Leif saved us a bundle by using that knowledge to design a very attractive addition to an existing century old house that blended the roof lines in a way that was far less expensive than alternatives proposed by others. Leif has a great sense of design and tempers it with common sense about construction. He accomplishes that without sacrificing visual appeal. The result is a great looking very functional structure that doesn't blow your budget when its time to build it. He has all the latest CAD tools and uses them to optimize efficiency. He is really good at squeezing every last available square foot possible into a design and still complying fully with zoning lot coverage rules. He is also very aware of sight lines and what can be seen from different vantage points. He can design additions that add a huge amount of space yet maintain curb appeal and are nearly invisible from the street. Leif also plays well with others. My builder said he will recommend Leif on other projects because Leif "gets it" about construction and is a pleasure to work with. Leif is also a great guy. Honest, smart as hell, easy to work with. I recommend him highly and without any reservations.

I whole heartedly agree with the other reviewer! Leif is such a joy to work with and such a great…read moreperson. He is mellow, flexible, extremely knowledgeable, very creative, and his work passes through the permitting process with flying colors. His designs are elegant and practical and he really understands our design aesthetic and sticks to it. We have a huge fixer upper that we divided into two living spaces, one for us and one for my mom. It turns out that Leif did work on this house for the previous owner 20 years ago, adding an addition that joined the main house with the cottage in the back yard that is on a steep slope. The addition Leif originally did is a wonderful light-filled space. The cottage it connects with was not part of the remodel he originally did (the original cottage was not Leif's design), so we hired him to design the cottage to continue the work he did on the connecting section. The results are just amazing. It's now a light filled living space with triangular decks overlooking lovely views. Leif eliminated numerous problems such as water runoff flowing into the cottage, butterfly roofs that leaked, and a really ugly entry now transformed into something from Dwell magazine. Our style is California modern, but Leif can do all sorts of styles. When working with our builder who is herself a seasoned veteran, he added a lot to the process, including explaining the expansion and contraction of our clay soil, which caused damage to a concrete slab. (Normally you would have to hire a soils engineer to explain stuff like this.) He is also extremely knowledgeable on keeping the cost of a project down and how to get beautiful effects without breaking the bank. Leif also does design/build, but we learned this after we had already hired our builder. I would trust him completely with any sized project, and he will be our architect for all future projects. You can see his work if you drive by Santa Cruz Montessori or look at their website, and I got him in touch with Tara Redwood School to design the interior of their temporary building where the old Soquel post office used to be.

I have had the pleasure of working and collaborating with Acadia Architecture on several projects,…read moreand every experience has been exceptional. Davide is a true visionary. His creativity, ability to see the bigger picture, and talent for turning ideas into thoughtfully designed spaces truly set him apart. He brings an incredible level of passion, innovation, and expertise to every project. What I appreciate most about working with Acadia is their professionalism, attention to detail, communication, and willingness to collaborate. They don't simply approach a project from an architectural perspective--they take the time to understand the vision and find creative ways to bring it to life. After working together on several projects, I can confidently say that Acadia Architecture is a team I would be happy to collaborate with again and again. Davide's vision, creativity, and commitment to excellence make Acadia Architecture truly stand out. I highly recommend Acadia Architecture to anyone looking for an architectural team that brings vision, creativity, professionalism, and genuine passion to their work.

We purchased an older, fixer upper on a hillside in Portola Valley with the hopes of rebuilding it…read moreinto our dream home. We aimed to generate income by converting the former primary bedroom into a rentable, attached JADU. This mean building a new primary BR on the back, downhill side of the house, along with creating a new family room, and office. The front of the house was definitely old style, and did not, in any way, match our vision of a contemporary, hi-tech, look. I had interviewed other architects who had suggested we add a new front foyer, but I wasn't thrilled about the look presented, which was basically to add a gable roof addition ("A" frame shape add-on) at at the front, that would be harmonious with the rest of the house. In my first meeting with Davide, he suggested something that changed the whole dynamic of the house. He suggested that rather than be constrained by trying to harmonize the new entry with the old architecture, we could add a new layer to the front of the house, and change the look completely. This also creates a new corridor at the front that greatly improves the flow/circulation from the front to the back. It was a genius idea! This new layer at the front of the house gives us a spectacular new front entrance, plus a new corridor with tall ceilings. He also very skillfully raised the ceiling heights in many parts of the house so it feels like the rooms were expanded (when only the height changed). I am attaching a photo of the original house and Davide's concept for the new design. I want to add that we are not demolishing any part of the old house so we are not losing any existing square footage. We are just adding and "splicing the old with the new". For the new room additions at the back, he integrated the complex siting of the hillside PBR & family room to flow seamlessly into the same level of the existing house on. I have very strong ideas of what I want in terms of design, and Davide has been very patient in working through my ideas. He uses his critical eye and design experience to guide me so I don't get off track, and we can get to where it is I want to end up. We are now in the building permit process, and I can't wait for construction to start. I will be updating this post when the house is finished with more photos, because I want to show off the dramatic transformation between the "before" and "after". If you are looking for a miracle transformation, Davide Gianella is the architect who can make this dream come true for you! I can recommend him 100%

Chad Williams designed and provided construction management services for a 1200 square foot ADU,…read morecompleted this year at our property near the top of Hecker Pass Road in Watsonville. The home he designed turned out great--very unique, and highly energy-efficient. Chad knew how to design in some custom touches that made the home very site-appropriate for our rural setting. He also was great in navigating through the vast number of permits required for the job, and lined up some great subcontractors to execute all aspects of the build. I highly recommend CW Design for your next complex project such as this. Bob Climo

I called asking for only structural engineering services. This company does not offer only…read morestructural engineering so could not help me. However the person I spoke to over the phone was very helpful and gave me a referral to someone who might be able to help. He was honestly just very helpful even though he had nothing to gain from the conversation.

I've built quite a few projects from aardvark architecture and Sean's designs are so cool and…read moreunique and his construction documents are so easy to follow it's a blast working on his projects. As a General Contractor, my build outs go much faster when I can get ahold of the architect to answer questions or get feedback on alternate solutions and Sean is great on that front. Plus the way he edits his 3D models on the spot is such a powerful tool for communication in our zoom meetings. Sean Rinde is a fantastic architect with a huge future ahead of him. I look forward to building dozens of more high-end custom homes for him in the coming years.

Larry designed our Santa Cruz Craftsman Bungalow inside and out. We absolutely love it. He is very…read moredetail-oriented, communicative, and takes great pride in his work. He is experienced, has a great aesthetic eye, and his fees are quite reasonable.