North Star Design Studio, Colleen and Team are absolute pros and wonderful people to work with . I…read morehave worked with a number of people in the trades over the years and Colleen and her team represent the best in the business and if I may say in humanity . She is wonderful , designed our plans to point , while considering our thoughts and suggestions for how the ADU space would be utilized. She walked us through every step of the process from creation to , development to submission and approval. I wish I had another project just to continue working with them. Thank you team for bringing joy in to this difficult process and brining us closer to achieving our dream for our home.

I had a pretty difficult project that 2 previous architects failed to get passed. Although it was a…read morelong and complicated process, Colleen never gave up. She was always available to communicate about the good and the bad. Communication is key for me and she has been able to do that. Thanks Colleen, I look forward to work with you in the future.

Meeting Sophrinia was such a blessing. My wife and I were in a bind with a house remodel as the…read morecity was requiring us to do a lot more to the house than we originally expected. Sophrinia was patient and helped us along the way to finally get our remodel plans approved. We worked with her for several months and she was always so attentive and available to us for any questions or concerns we had. Sophrinia is the best !

Working with Miguel of Glilsamex was like working with a close friend. His service is very…read morepersonalized with respect to what their clients want. Miguel was able to envision and plan out what you are thinking but not able to draw out yourself. Miguel has unique and creative ideas to enhance your project/design and is also diplomatic and persistent with obtaining permits and plan approval. He is always in communication in keeping you abreast of the progress with the City Planning. Miguel also coordinates with others involved in the plans, regarding engineers, building contractors, landscape designers, etc. From the design to coordination with the city and pulling permits he takes care of the process, I thoroughly enjoyed working with Miguel and his company. Terri Scott Pasadena CA

Miguel expertise guided us through the process and everything ran smoothly, we were able to comply…read morewith city clearances and obtain our permits in a timely manner, bureaucracy was tough but Miguel was knowledgeable and committed.

We had a wonderful experience working with Larry from PAS architects on the design and construction…read moreof our home project. From the very beginning, their team was professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly helpful throughout every stage of the process. They took the time to understand our vision, offered thoughtful recommendations, and guided us through decisions with patience and expertise. Their attention to detail and commitment to quality gave us confidence that our project was in good hands. The entire experience was smooth and collaborative, and the final result exceeded our expectations. We are truly grateful for their hard work and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a talented and reliable architectural firm.

Enjoyed working with Larry at pas architects office. Larry is very knowledgeable about architecture…read moreand construction.

My name is Michael Ghati. I hired R&R Design to produce a plan and pull a permit from the city in…read moreorder for me to raise the ceiling of my house and create new additions which was a big job. The owner of the company Rene and his son Franco were extremely nice and professional at all times. They helped me with all aspects of the project and got it done in a timely manner as agreed. I am very happy with the job they've done for me and I highly recommend this company for your architectural needs.

Franco and Rene are pros and delightful to work with. They are so personable, hardworking, and went…read moreabove and beyond in every area to make sure my project was everything I wanted it to be. I give them the highest recommendation!! They worked with me to make my plans what I wanted my new ADU to be, within the city's guidelines, and they streamlined the process to get my plans approved in a very timely fashion. They have the best prices and incredible work ethic. Everyone should work with them!

From the first appointment to do a scan of my home, to the final permitting process for my project,…read morePacific Sands stood out for the professionalism of their entire staff and the high quality work by their designer, Victoria. The contract included two different design options and I loved both, but the one I ended up choosing gave me exactly what I was looking for in terms of design and best use of the space in the Addition I'm building. I interviewed several firms, but went with Pacific Sands because I was very impressed by how they were able to bring so many other projects to life after reviewing their website, and speaking with one of the principals, Cameron Cox. They were able to get things moving fairly quickly with the City for approval, not an easy feat. Overall, I'm super excited to bring my Addition - a dream new big master closet, expanded master bedroom and bath, into fruition. Thank you, Cameron, Kevin, Victoria and Mark, for a job well done. I definitely recommend, Pacific Sands to anyone looking for a top notch architectural firm! Three months after the start of the project, Southern California Edison requested that the PDF of the plans be converted to CAD format so we could move forward with the electrical panel relocation. Within 48 hours of contacting Pacific Sands, I got the required file back from Kevin. How's that for fast service! Our project would've been at a standstill, but now we're moving right along.

The team at Pacific Sands' incompetence is only surpassed by their rudeness and unprofessionalism…read more They have an excellent salesman, Cameron. He told me everything I wanted to hear before we signed the contract. I should not have believed a single word he said. Pacific Sands assured us our plans would be a top priority. They knew how important this project was to us and that we had invested our life savings into it. They constantly reassured me during the first weeks of the project that they could comfortably finish the project within the proposed timeline. The timeline THEY proposed. I did not give any input about how long the project should take. They claimed to have done dozens of similar projects. I trusted them. I should have done deeper due diligence. Just look at the "not recommended" reviews here on Yelp. 4 of 11 reviews so bad they are hidden because the customers were so upset they used language inappropriate for Yelp. Wow! The online reviews were mostly positive as of December 2025 when I hired them (writing this to warn others) but my experience was horrific. Pacific Sands would constantly lag behind their own proposed timeline. It was impossible for me to contact anyone other than an ai agent to express my concerns. After speaking to the ai agent, it would take somewhere from a few days to over a week for our "designer" Victoria to get back to us. When she finally would get back to us it was never in a helpful manner. I am not an architect or engineer but I was able to identify dozens of glaring mistakes on the plans when I looked at them. After addressing the many errors I had caught, the plans were sent to the city about a month later than originally expected. No surprise they city found dozens more problems with the plans. Victoria told me she would need a week to revise and resubmit the plans. Pacific Sands did not take a week to revise them, they took about two months with my follow-up consistently minimalized or ignored. The second set of plans with the revisions was also rejected by the city. Many of the original errors were not fixed. Pacific Sands' favorite form of manipulation is an appeal to authority. They assured me this is all very common and perfectly normal and I should trust them because they have the expertise and experience. . I am a member in good standing of the Chamber of Commerce and have many contacts at the City as well. There is a consensus among everyone else I spoke to that while unforeseen delays are very common in construction and planning, Pacific Sands is to blame in this instance. They did not adequately address the issues the city identified. The plans were also derided by many general contractors who looked at the rejected plans as we were preparing to solicit bids in hopes the next set would be approved. Pacific Sands did not take any responsibility for the errors. Claimed the city was being difficult. They wanted to charge us EXTRA to do any more work because the project was taking too many hours. When we pointed out the contract stated addressing all comments from regulatory agencies was included in the scope of work, they countered that the contract had an expectation of 60 hours of work and anything beyond that would be extra. When I asked for an accounting of where the 60 hours was spent, I was told there is nothing to show. During one of my final communications with Pacific Sands they told me they were going to stop working on the project unless I paid for additional hours. We went back an forth a few times about the contract. I cited the clause stating all city comments would be addressed. They cited another portion of the contract stating the expected working hours were 60 which had been met, and I would be for charged anything over that amount. They refused to do any more work on the project and we terminated our relationship with them. Over six months of waiting for two rejected sets of plans. Constant disrespect and gaslighting. Culminating with Pacific Sands refusing to move forward with the work without us agreeing to pay for an undefined amount of additional hours. DO NOT HIRE THIS FIRM

What sets Benjuro apart is his amazing responsiveness to communication. He texted me whenever I…read moreneeded to communicate with him. In fact, I found him because he answered my call on a Saturday. He works around the clock for his customers!

I can't recommend Ben enough for any architectural needs, especially if you're navigating the…read morecomplex permit process in Malibu. From the very beginning, Ben has been incredibly professional, attentive, and proactive. What truly sets him apart, however, is his genuine heart and empathy for his clients. My mother's business had to be put on hold during this process, which was an unexpected and stressful time for our family. Ben didn't just treat us like another project; he truly understood our situation. He worked tirelessly to resubmit plans and handle corrections as fast as possible because he genuinely wanted my mom to be able to get back to work and reopen her shop. It's rare to find someone who takes your personal success so personally. Beyond his expertise, Ben's pricing is very reasonable and fair, he is not overpriced at all, which is hard to find in this area. He was also incredibly helpful and understanding by allowing us to pay in installments while the business was closed. This financial flexibility was a lifesaver for us and showed his true character as someone who wants to help, not just make a profit. If you want an architect who is highly skilled, honest, and truly cares about your family and business, Ben is the one to call. We are so grateful for everything he's done. Thank you Ben!

If you have questions about your structure, HIRE EFRAIN BEFORE YOU GET A CONTRACTOR! He gave us a…read morerough cost for what we should expect to pay a contractor for the labor after reviewing our house. I'm so glad I never hired any of the contractors before Efrain's consultation! I hired Efrain to create a plan for the removal of an interior wall after speaking to contractors who's prices seemed too high. Efrains price for engineering was very competitive and I had checked with 3 others. As he measured the house/rooms, the conversation kept progressing, we decided to open up the drywall further to make some decisions. Turned out it wasn't a load bearing wall. This gave us more options that could reduce the cost & scope of work. SO he gave us his price for consultation instead of making drawings, then proceeded to tell us what would be required by the city, what many homeowners might normally choose to do, what he legally has to tell us, and how safe our decisions would be. We decided to do it ourselves. Plus, he continued to take our phone calls and reviewed photos along the way answering any other questions we had. He was super helpful, very generous with his time and knowledge. Good to have an engineer on your side.

Hello Efrain been trying to reach you. Please call me back. I have been waiting for so long…read moreregarding my plans. Thank you