We wanted to build an 1,100 sf addition to our existing home so that our parents could live with us…read moreto help raise our children. Our goal was to build a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment that included all of the amenities that you'd expect in a house, such as a living room with a fireplace, full kitchen, laundry room, deck and so on. What made this project incredibly complex was the fact that all of this had to be built underneath our existing 2,400 sf house. This came with many constraints because the existing home had to maintain its integrity, we were living there during the construction, yet we had to change the support structure to accommodate the new addition. My wife and I had ideas about what we wanted but knew that this project needed a professional to get it done right. This project was something that could have easily gone wrong in so many ways, especially in the layout. We had the good fortune of coming across Bruce's website online and reached out to him to discuss the project. Bruce immediately stood out from the rest of the architects we had spoken to because of his ideas and vision. He considered what we wanted, analyzed the space, and created a vision for the new home that we absolutely fell in love with! Bruce understood how to use small spaces better than any other architect we met. Bruce used the space in ways that I simply could not have imagined. Because the addition was going to be in the crawl space, his designs took great care to ensure as much light entered the house as possible and that overall, it felt like an open space. Our new addition is so much better designed than our existing home that my wife wants us to move into it, rather than live up above. :) Bruce's value didn't just end at the architecture and design. During construction, we ran into a number of challenges and unforeseen issues that contractors call, "found conditions". Sometimes the issues were because of things that we could not have anticipated and other times, the contractor didn't follow the plan. In these cases, I often looked to Bruce for advice and this is where his decades of experience helped us over and over throughout the project. Bruce was able to come up with creative solutions on the spot while at the same time, he carefully managed the different relationships such that all parties involved were motivated to continue working together. This is a delicate people skill that kept the project on track. All-in-all, Bruce is incredibly skilled with a tremendous amount of experience under his belt. He's very responsive. He's creative. And he's intimately familiar with construction techniques and processes. He was present at the construction site often, to monitor progress and make corrections or changes as necessary, and took opportunities to improve the original design as things unfolded. Simply put, this project would not have been possible with such a phenomenal outcome without Bruce's expertise, ideas, and care. We're so grateful to have met Bruce. Bruce is a cut above the rest. He gave our family a gift that we truly enjoy every day. This new addition to our home has had such a tremendous impact on our quality of life. When construction was complete, our friends and family were absolutely stunned to see how a crawl space full of dirt was completely transformed into a beautiful, modern, light, and full featured home. If you're considering hiring Bruce, I'm more than happy to invite you to visit my home and see what he designed and helped to build. I'm also happy to share all of the drawings and photos of the work Bruce did. Bruce is absolutely top notch and I would hire him again without hesitation.

Bruce was thoughtful about our design and very considerate to our needs. Would use his services…read moreagain ten times over!

It's taken awhile to write this review, I have so much to say... Hiring an architect was one of the…read morehardest parts of building a new home. We found the perfect lot and I had a vision of what we wanted there. We interviewed three architects and Carl blew us away. (He was also very busy with other projects.) So after meeting him, we knew immediately that we wanted to hire him for the house. Carl doesn't take on multiple projects, so we felt pretty lucky that he was able to take ours. Carl asked a lot of thoughtful questions to drill down on what we valued in a home. He was interested in flow, size, budget, the view, style, room count... We had a lot to think about. Because of the thoroughness of his questions, he had a great feel for the project immediately. After each breakthrough, Carl would come over with the latest design. One of my favorites came to him while trying to sleep. He was always creative and excited about our home. He blew us away with his tissue paper designs and he often had more than one to choose from. Carl is very easy to communicate with. He understood the changes we made. He was efficient with his time, with our time. He visited the job site during construction, often. I feel he had a great relationship with our builder and the contractors on-site. And almost everyone building our home remarked at the wonderful design. If you are looking for a custom home, Carl is the guy. I marvel at what he created. His design offers a view from all five bedrooms, our kitchen and dining area, the living room and the lower TV room. Our bedrooms are situated away from the noisy street. He added beautiful finishing elements and maintained the integrity of the style. "I love my house"only begins to describe how much I enjoy and appreciate what Carl designed.

While creating a website for Carl Colson (http://carlcolsonarchitect.com), I had the pleasure of…read moreseeing many samples of his beautiful work and collaborating with a highly creative, accomplished, and thoughtful architect with a great sense of style and impeccable attention to detail. Carl can apply his passion and experience to many different projects, commercial as well as residential, while always staying true to the beauty and harmony of the architectural language he has developed over many years.

We wish we had chosen a different architect. Initially, H2D seemed competent and pleasant during…read morethe first part of our home remodel. However, our overall experience with them was unsatisfactory. Admittedly, our remodel was problematic and revealed challenges we hadn't anticipated. However, common oversights and miscalculations by H2D resulted in generated revenue for H2D and added expense and time to our remodel. At the beginning of the project, H2D called for a meeting so we could discuss key design aspects of a particular room. The plans that H2D created after that meeting failed to reflect the very specific design choices we had made. Additionally, H2D miscalculated a key structural measurement that cost us time and money with our contractors (and it was a mistake that we, with no architectural background, were able to clearly see). H2D also provided plans with handwritten notes that we and 2 contractors could not clearly read. We asked the architect to make the notes legible, which was our expectation from the onset. She made them legible, but charged us an additional $1,200 for the changes. After receiving the invoice and us questioning the charge, the architect stated that she "did not work for free." We asked her to consider reducing the charge by half. She agreed to a 16% reduction. The next invoice we were charged hourly every time a contractor called about our project. H2D managed to recuperate that 16% discount (and then some) by fielding our contractor's questions. Our last dealings with H2D were when we discovered they had provided the wrong plans to a contractor without key revisions. At this point, all parties involved decided it would be better to deal with our structural engineer and bypass H2D entirely. A relationship with an architect is a critical component to a remodel. We had hoped that our architect would take responsibility for poor work and provide helpful customer service (other significant examples lacking in these areas are not included in this review). The continual errors made by H2D, combined with navigating the architects' temperament, made for a sour experience that aggravated an already stressful experience of a home remodel.

I called looking for specific plans and found out I'm just outside their scope. She referred me to…read morethe proper contractor right away and was extremely helpful.

I called for similar services and came to find hey are a specialized niche. Very helpful to refer…read moreme to a contractor proper for me. Very kind and prompt, I hope to use them in the future!

From the owner: BEE Engineers provides comprehensive building envelope & energy services across the Puget Sound…read moreregion and beyond. Our team of licensed professional engineers, energy consultants, CAD drafters, construction consultants, and testing specialists are here to assist you throughout design, construction, and close-out. We provide comprehensive services for efficient, reliable, and sustainable building envelope and energy design solutions, while fostering innovative thinking that informs what spaces will look like, how they will function, and how they will contribute to a resilient future.

Motionspace was the third architect we worked with on a basement and kitchen remodel. They were…read morealso the best. They were incredibly professional, had great insight, and worked closely with our structural engineering firm. We just finished our remodel and couldn't be happier with the final product.

Nazim and Motionspace were asked to work quickly and meet a nearly impossible deadline required for…read moresubmittal. They met for a site-walk within 48 hours of the request. They worked quickly and made the permit process painless. They met our needed budgets for permits and we look forward to a continuing business relationship.

I wanted to take a few minutes to review my experience with Christoph Kruger at Kruger…read moreArchitecture. Christoph was introduced to us by our General Contractor, Alex Schenkar. The reason Christoph deserves a five-star rating is not related to how he performed when things were going well, but rather how he performed when a disagreement about billing showed up. During our design-build project the scope of our project grew considerably. During this process I became upset with what I felt was a lack of transparency in how billable hours were being calculated and I took issue with this, to our GC and to Christoph. In many cases I believe because of the issue that was created it could have ended the relationship. Instead with no guarantee of resolution Christoph maintained his professionalism and calm, continued to complete our drawings set through permittal and has continued to contribute in a very positive manner to the projects ongoing success. Having resolved our issue is a satisfactory manner, Christoph has continue to perform on a highly technical project, including taking into account changes to design elements we want to incorporate on the fly. I would recommend Kruger Architecture highly to those who value a team member who remains calm when others are storming, who has an excellent knowledge of municipal restrictions and what "can be done" and also who works well with the GC is realizing the vision of a project. Thanks Christoph. - Tom and Katie

From the owner: Kruger Architecture is a design office specializing in contemporary residential and commercial…read moreprojects. Our experience extends from custom homes, remodels & additions, to tenant improvements, and multifamily housing. We develop creative design solutions through a holistic approach that balances beauty, function, sustainability, and budget. Our office provides a full range of design services that include architectural and interior design, material selection, permitting, construction drawings, and construction contract administration.