Justin is great to work with. I had a bad experience with a previous architect who overpromised and under delivered. Justin not only delivered as promised but also stayed in constant communication with me. If I had a question about the design or the process he made himself available and helped me. He also helped me identify issues with the existing design that could have made it more costly and helped me navigate the changes through his thoughtful explanations. I highly recommend Justin for any of your upcoming projects, he is honest, straightforward, respectful, and takes pride in his work. read more

Justin was amazing to work with throughout this entire process, though our communication mainly took place via email. He was prompt with every response wither it was from myself or with the city for various revisions and documents submittals. His work is excellent, i have no reservations with working with him again for future projects and rates are competitive for the A+ work that him and his staff provide. read more

I had an excellent experience working with JZ Plans Design. To be completely transparent, I was still recovering from a really disappointing experience with another company just a few months earlier, so I was understandably hesitant to sign another contract. Despite my reservations, I decided to move forward in the hope of finally advancing my project--and I'm so glad I did. From the start, JZ Plans Design provided a clear timeline, maintained excellent communication, and gave regular updates throughout the entire process. We agreed on a flexible payment plan, and they followed through on every step exactly as promised. Now I have my completed plans in hand and am ready to take the project to the next phase. I highly recommend JZ Plans Design to anyone looking to build or add on--whether it's an ADU, home addition, or new construction. They turned my skepticism into complete confidence! --ADU San Pedro read more

The other reviews are spot on. Justin (or JZ, not to be confused with the rapper) did an excellent job on my remodel plans. His fee was fair and reasonable vs other estimates. More importantly, JZ is a total pro. He was always punctual, quick with communication, made my changes fast and accurately, and explained everything (helped educate me as I had never hired an architect before). I was slightly nervous that I paid all the fees before the permit was approved but JZ kept his word and was just as great up through approval. He works with a structural engineer colleague whom I never met but his calculations/plan also looked great. There were very minor changes from the city and JZ made them quickly and it was approved. Thank you, Justin. Note: This review was entirely my own and no one asked me to write it. I had no prior relationship with the business, owner, or employees. Additionally, I wrote it myself -- It was in NO way written with AI tools like ChatGPT. read more

We hired Justin for our new build (~2,500 sq ft single family home) (not remodel/ADU). I would not recommend him. The design process was very clunky with him and for the price we paid we were unsatisfied with the level of service. He lacked meaningful input and feedback on the architectual design. We didn't pay him for the design upgrade, but our issues were just on the basic layouts, plans, and his overall process. He didn't get to know what we wanted or understood our vision of the floorplan to our home. He didn't walk us through important aspects of our plan to help us understand the final decisions we were making. We found out about certain plan decisions when it was too late during the build process. Multiple contractors (during their bidding process) found errors in Justin's plans which we had to tell him to correct before final county approval. For the magnitude of the project there lacked the missing piece of care. He didn't take the time to learn what we wanted and after comparing him to other artchitects we met, it was clear he was just someone to hire to get plans done for a project, rather than design your HOME. I'm sure he's sufficient for smaller projects and even ADUs but take your money elsewhere if you want to feel like he cares about your project or if you're building your dream home and new construction. His pros included that he was generally always available for meetings, knowledgable and responsive, which we appreciated alot. Our contractor also said they were impressed with the engineer he uses. Otherwise, I would not recommend him for a new build or any larger scale project. Our home is finally done and I'm putting this review after we received our COA. I would not reccomend hiring him, I didn't feel I was taken care of or cared for. We didn't get our money's worth. His 3D walkthrough renderings were frankly a joke compared to competitors (we found that out after the fact). When you work with someone on a large project this personal and important it isn't just a business transaction, this is our family's home not just a set of papers I need to submit to the county. read more

Justin is great! Justin is easy to work with and is responsive. He help me with my addition plans and i can't ask for a better architect than him. Whatever changes that we wanted to make, he did it quickly and if he couldn't do it, he would provide us with a good reason - whether it's space issue or if it will pose additional cost to build. Thanks Justin! read more

Amazing Experience! The reviews don't lie. I worked with Justin and he was amazing. He responds quickly and answers any questions you have. His pricing was very reasonable. From the moment he came to my house to begin design on my ADU, his experience showed. He knew what my city would need and how to overcome some of the city's hurdles. I hired JZ Plans solely based on yelp and I do not regret it! Thank you to the whole JZ team! read more

After meeting with a few contractors, I realized it would probably be best to get my plans for a garage to guesthouse/ADU done first. I went with JZ Plans because Justin was responsive, knowledgeable and affordable. Throughout the process, Justin kept me informed of what was happening and he didn't mind when I personally got involved to check timelines with the city. Justin heard me and did the plans as I needed. Being on a budget yet following all the city and green requirements. Once completed and the contractor bidding process started, several contractors asked me about who did the plans and how I found them. They were impressed by the work done on the plans and how they matched up with what I was telling the contractor I needed in terms of budget. Overall, it has been an excellent experience and I would highly recommend using JZ Plans. read more

Justin was great. He handled all architectural and engineering issues from start to finish. As a contractor, it was a pleasure working with a architect who could not only work with the city but also handle dealing with the county as well (it can be a real pain). Thanks again Justin! Matthew Waite Centerline Construction read more

We had a great experience working with Justin on our ADU project. He is very responsive to our emails / comments, kept us posted on the progress, and the architectural plan got approved faster than we expected. Highly recommended. Would work with him again. read more

justin was on point. fill design team and all needed for project. very responsive. great jib. would recommend to others

Justin and his team are very quick to respond with the quote. He is very patient and professional on the phone to answer my questions. I will definitely use his services in the future. Highly recommend. read more

We were searching for a local architect in West LA, and after our first call, I instantly felt he would be a great fit for the project. He's patient, responsive, and genuinely dedicated to helping others. Overall, it's been a very positive experience. read more

Justin and his team are amazing! They worked with me every step of the way until final approval of architectural plans for an ADU. I would use them again for future projects! read more

We just got an email from Justin that our permits are ready to be paid for. We found his information on Yelp and let me tell you. Jz plans is very responsive to any call, txt or email, he answers any questions that we have in a timely manner. We've all heard of bad architects out there that just take people's money and run. Not Jz! I will recommend 1000 %. read more

Justin and his team communicated well with me. He always welcomed my questions and was easy to reach. Justin worked with the City of Long Beach on my behalf to get my ADU permits approved. From the first onsite visit to final floor plan approval took about 5 months. The cost of the floor plan was reasonable. His team is also responsive to my contractors when they have questions regarding my project. I highly recommend their architectural team! read more

It was a pleasure working with Justin on the architectural and structural plans for my new construction project. He was present and answered questions and concerns I had with the project. I would work with Justin again. read more

Had a great experience with Justin to get an ADU permitted he is well priced for the area and efficient. There were a couple of items that needed to be resolved with the city and he was great with his follow through - highly recommend read more

Professional, Organized, Knowledgeable and Strong Communication Skills are just some of the qualities Justin and his team bring to the table. I have worked with several architects and this firm is truly one of a kind. I highly recommend JZ Plans Design for an overall unbeatable experience! read more

Got ghosted. By them after trying to reach them for over a week. Idk if they are good or bad. Just got ghosted.

They are very responsive and brought our complicated project plans to the finish line.

We are super happy with Justin's services and highly recommend him. We were looking to add a couple hundred sf to our bungalow in West Hollywood. We started by having him design a second story addition, but after we decided that construction would take too long and be too costly, we pivoted and Justin helped us design a first story addition. He is super fast with his work and very accessible. When it came to the permit review with WeHo, the city had NO corrections for his plans which I believe is very rare. High quality and value for the price point. I would definitely recommend Justin for your project. read more

Justin helped with our ADU plans. We didn't do anything fancy. He was very helpful. He came out and measured the lot, gave us an idea of the process, timeframe, and costs. He answered all my questions in a very organized way. And helped us submit to the city. A small note, make sure to ask about all city-related fees depending on what you're building. Overall, very happy. Thanks Justin!! read more

I needed plans developed for a 400sf garage conversion ADU. Justin and his team were great to work with! very clear on costs upfront and responsive to plan check comments. I would highly recommend the for any job you have coming up. read more

Justin was great, very efficient in his assessment and great with communicating his plans, as well as progress throughout the permitting process. We needed some additional work after we started construction and he turned around revised sketches very quickly so we didn't lose time. Good value for the quality of the work and very creative with his designs. read more

I am a real estate investor with numerous small residential properties. I have had problems in the recent past with architects who are slow or unresponsive. Consequently, I went on Yelp to look for an architect for the 3rd bedroom addition and the garage conversion to ADU project on one of my properties. I found Justin Zhou, hired him, and have been very pleased with him. He is professional, knowledgeable, reasonably priced, and very responsive. When I call or email him, I am often surprised at how fast he responds. I am getting ready to hire him for another ADU project. I highly recommend him. You will not be disappointed. read more

Justin and his team helped us design and approve permits for a 450 sq ft addition and a major interior remodel. He was wonderful to work with from start to finish. He provides helpful guidance but is also open to feedback and design that we felt strongly about. He and his team made the city planning approval process a breeze, putting us in a great place to start building. I highly recommend Justin! read more

It has been an absolutely pleasure working with Justin! No hassle, no drama and no hidden cost! My job entailed architectural plans for a major renovation; removing walls, adding an opening for an extra large sliding door and the addition of an ensuite bathroom. Justin came to my house to discuss my project and take measurements, this took him ~ 2 hours. He told me when the plans/drawings would be ready and the cost. The cost, I thought was very fair indeed. I received the plans/drawings by the scheduled date. After the plans were done, however, I wanted to make some changes to them, Justin told me upfront how much it would cost to do so and how long it will take him to make the changes and as before, I received the plans by the scheduled date. During the process, any questions I had Justin responded by text usually within 15 to 30 mins and by email by that day. He also Skyped me to explain something that just was not clear to me on the plans. Via Skype, he was able to share his screen and point out on the plans/drawings what he was referring to and explain in layman's terms for me to understand better. I submitted the plans to the City and they had one question. Justin responded to the question immediately and updated the plans accordingly at no cost to me. I resubmitted the updated plans to the City and they passed. I would recommend Justin and I would certainly use him again. read more

Justin is worth this 5-star rating. We're doing major home remodel with a 800 sq ft addition and so happy that our plans were approved so quickly. We were frustrated with the whole process initially and not sure who to rely on for this process. Justin is truly knowledgeable, quick to respond, helpful and most importantly, listens to our needs and provide us different solutions and recommend us to the construction teams. We are so happy to choose the right person and Thanks Yelpers for all your honest feedback! read more

I worked with Justin and team on my extensive home addition and remodel. He has provided expert advice and applied his experience which was instrumental to achieving the end goal of the remodel. I highly recommend Justin for any size job. He comes up with innovative, beautiful solutions for home layout challenges. read more

Justin helped me with design plans for my ADU in Burbank, California. Justin is honest and knows what he's talking about. Professional and reliable. read more

Justin is an absolutely amazing talented and skilled architect. He helped us with our ADU project and I honestly don't know how we could have done it with another architect. Besides his outstanding expertise, talent and knowledge, he is so responsive. I mean anytime through the process he would answer my calls right away and answer any question I have. That alone is just so rare these days. He also works with an amazing Engineer Phyllis that truly cares about the safety of the building. They were both involved in every detail. What a team! I was so lucky to have found ADU Architectural Design. read more

We have a great experience with Justin and I have been working with Justin for our second project. He did a nice ADU project for my family's backyard. The technology he shared with us is awesome and easy to look through in the virtual 3D program. We have a office remodeling project which just starts to be designed. He is flexible on multiple projects in different scale. He is the reliable and knowledgeable designer to work with. He is fast and responsive to us. Definitely will work more projects with him. Highly recommended! read more

Justin was great to work with throughout our entire ADU process! He was very responsive, meticulous and paid a lot of attention to detail. We're so glad we went with him. He was also very thorough and ensured that everything was submitted correctly and in a timely manner. Couldn't have asked for more! read more

Professional in the field of design. Recommend as architecture design firm with fair fee

Justin is amazing to work with! He helped us with design plans for converting our guesthouse to an ADU in San Gabriel. He always replies to our messages super fast. He is very experienced in communicating with the county and getting plans approved. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for an architect. Thanks again, Justin! read more

Professional, responsive, and thorough. Justin was great to work with and made my timeline a priority. In the middle of construction now and he was able to quickly respond to any follow up issues that came up. Would use him again for future projects. read more

We contact many architects about converting our garage to ADU. We finally choose Justin to design our ADU since we think he can respond our questions professionally and make us feel comfortable. He is responsible and fast responding the questions. He helps us to get the city permits smoothly. We are looking for some investment property and will definitely use Justin again. We do recommend him to my friends. read more

Justin looking for me as a structural sub consultant three years ago. We have work together as a design team to delivery many projects including ADU, interior remodel etc. I have to say he is a very detail oriented architect, and as a very experienced architect he will considering not only architectural style, every single detail of the finish but also cost effective of the material used even from the construction standpoint to delivery a construction friendly design to lower your construction cost. If I will have my own house one day, for sure I will hire him as the architect. read more

We appreciate Justin's professional expertise in helping us securing a permit for our detached ADU expansion. He was always fast to respond and explain the process to us in detail. He's knowledgeable and we would totally recommend Justin to our friends for their ADU needs. read more