I worked with Mark Brand and his firm on a recent home remodel and had a great experience from…read morestart to finish. I had an awkwardly shaped addition that I had been struggling to figure out, and Mark came up with several creative layout options that I never would have considered on my own. He walked me through each one, clearly explaining his thinking along with the pros and cons, which made the process feel collaborative and low stress. We ended up transforming the space into both an additional bathroom and a highly functional utility room. I was especially impressed by how he turned such a challenging footprint into something so practical and beautiful. He also handled the San Francisco permitting process, which was a huge relief and allowed our contractors to get started right away. The finished rooms look amazing, and the entire process felt smooth and well managed. I would absolutely work with Mark again and highly recommend him to anyone looking for a thoughtful, solutions-oriented architect.

We hired Mark Brand Architecture to address several problems with our 1939 big-five home in San…read moreFrancisco. We contemplated redesign of the lower floor, an update of the façade, and the entire re-envisioning of the terraced backyard, it's connection to the house, and flow between the living spaces inside and out. Mark and his team were a joy to work with. His knowledge of and experience with San Francisco's Building and Planning codes and the department made him a perfect partner for our project. He provided us with several novel solutions, and he walked us through each one -- carefully validating his designs with our desires and our budget. For the lower floor, he 'found' space we didn't think we had. For the façade, he created a look that was fresh yet integrated beautifully with the neighborhood. The topography of the backyard was particularly challenging. It was a hassle to move from the main floor to the backyard, frustrating our joy of outdoor living. Mark's solution resolved conflicting elevations between the building and the backyard elegantly, making egress to the backyard a pleasure. For this, he was instrumental in selecting and working with a structural engineer to figure out challenges of incorporating some very high retaining walls. We loved his solution. We would hire Mark again in a flash. He is a pleasure to know and a pleasure to work with.

Bill designed a complete renovation of our 1914 home and his designs were impeccable. Throughout…read morethe process, Bill was readily available, conscious of our budget, and involved with the contractor to ensure the design plans were being properly followed. He is kind, cares deeply about his work, and has a great attention to detail. I would to hire Bill again.

We worked with Bill Engelhardt on a new house design in an environmentally sensitive area in San…read moreRafael. Bill is a thoughtful and detail-oriented architect. These qualities were very helpful in the long and contentious approval process we had to deal with over nearly 2 years. We always found him very responsive and a pleasure to work with. While we ultimately decided not to proceed with the project for various reasons, we have no doubt that he would have applied the same attention to detail during the construction process. We are happy to recommend him.

We spoke with several architects before choosing Gary to draw up the plans for our renovation in…read morethe Sunset of San Francisco. Gary was clearly the most experienced and he had a solid intuition for figuring out what the best possible layout would be. He made some great suggestions that we hadn't considered, such as the opportunity to enlarge our shower. We were on a tight deadline with a baby on the way; Gary was able to draft the plans and get them approved ahead of schedule. When I changed my mind on some details a few weeks later, Gary was able to quickly make the changes. We decided to handle the design aspects on our own, but from looking at his portfolio I'm sure he would have done a great job there as well. I would be happy to work with Gary again on a future project.

Gary was honestly a godsend!…read more He took on a very difficult project, and overcame several legal, structural, and regulatory obstacles, to bring my project to permit approval. The project was to renovate a 100+ year old, 3-story building, through the aforementioned obstacles, in a city as tough as SF - so it was no easy feat! Gary navigated working with multiple stakeholders: me, my partner, the structural engineer, and a multitude of government officials. He's a very good listener, so he quickly understood the project's direction and was able to provide ideas and brainstorm in a way that was easy and fun to work with him. He also knows the building, planning, and historical codes incredibly well - so his abilities to mix his knowledge with his skills of listening and brainstorming translated into coming up with super helpful and strategic SOLUTIONS to ensure compliance with codes that the city APPROVED. I also enjoyed having healthy debates with him. As an opinionated home-owner who actually knows nothing about codes, I had opinions that he -very professionally- told me were not accurate, which I was incredibly appreciative of. When I was wrong, he offered his expertise in a humble and tactful way, and made me see that the route I thought to take may not be the best route. Knowing you're working with someone smart, knowledgeable, capable, emotionally intelligent, strategic and who can help steer you in the right direction was so incredibly valuable. Also - and this one is especially important - when he said he'd do something, he did it, by the date promised, and with great attention to detail. If you have the opportunity to work with Gary, do it; I promise you won't be disappointed!

The architect of the community nearby. She's very active in…read morelocal zoning laws and is a very good choice for complying with the development of Western San Francisco, and minimizing the damage that the government is doing to the charm of a San Francisco which has created a new Disneyland convention target, and gentrification

While reading other people's comments on Yelp; I have to wonder if we are talking about the same…read moreperson or if friends and families provided some of these reviews. My experience with Cassandra was at the extreme opposite of all those 5 stars. In October, I hired Cassandra to create plans of my house and help with schematics for some very straight forward changes. With a limited budget and neighborhood rules, we were fairly limited in what could be achieved. I had actually sent some schematics to Cassandra in an email to show what I was looking for - and was primarily looking for her to put it to scale. Her feedback was that the concept was straight forward and easy, and she agreed that everything was doable. I'll bypass some changes of heart from my side since Cassandra's feedback was that it made things even easier. This job, which would have very reasonably taken 3 to 4 weeks became a 3 months waiting game where I found myself chasing my architect. After measuring the house (this was done promptly), she was out for several weeks - apparently sick. I'm not sure the last time I remember a small business owner being out for two weeks and unable to send an email, a text message or a phone call to warn its customers but that was only a preview of what was to come next. I believe the plans of the house were actually delivered within 2 to 3 weeks but my interest was really in the schematics of the future plans (apparently, I had to get plans of the house in order to get the schematics). Once I finally saw the schematics, that was highly debatable, but cost me $1,200 anyways. After that payment (which was sent via a single line invoice and no details as to the work that was done) , I didn't hear from Cassandra for 6 weeks. Something always came up, a project was coming back, etc... I finally sent an email, letting her know that my job was perhaps not the most interesting and if that was the case, we could professionally part ways. I immediately got an answer (we're now in mid-december) explaining that she hasn't started yet but we should talk the next day. Magically, the very next day, she explains that she has already spent a few hours on the design (and she'll e ready to show us by late december. I reiterate our requirements one more time: no changes to the kitchen, etc... express some concerns over the time passed and perhaps another meeting is required but she states that she's fine and wants to try a few things. On December 27th, Cassandra presented three very basic designs, one of which was somewhat close to what we were looking for and the rest was clearly outside of the scope of the project. She had spent 3 designs creating a walk-in closet (in a 1,200 square feet craftsman home, mind you), changed the kitchen (our only requirement was to NOT changed the kitchen) in two designs. Two of the ideas that she had mentioned - and that we responded to favorably - were not in the design. All in all, it was pretty clear that she had forgotten our requirements (she never took notes), but insured me that I shouldn't worry about the budget and that she wanted to make sure we were happy. On December 30th, I had to resend an entire email, with my own schematics, which took me 90 mn to draw. A day later, I received an invoice (again, one line with no explanation) asking for 90% of the total cost of the proposal. So here are Cassandra's traits that I got to experience: - Extreme tardiness in developing plans. - Poor communications and project management skills. communications: No summary of points, no timeline established, no list of to-dos... - Inconsistency. One minute, we are well below her hours and I shouldn't worry about the fees, the next, I'm getting a bill for 90% of the overall project. One minute, we're well below the construction budget, then we're well above it, then she just doesn't know. - Lack of attention to details: Simply did not pay attention to our requirements, did not remember her own statements or ideas. Her schematics had design flaws that she admitted to immediately. At this stage, we have obviously parted ways and Cassandra has refused to take any responsibilities in this mess. I have not paid for the schematics that were completely off the wall and she has refused to provide the work that I had already paid for. I would not recommend her to anyone.

Kevin helped us draft plans for our attic expansion in Alameda. He helped work through some tricky…read moreissues with the city and found a way to move forward! There is so much problem solving the architect has to do between working with the oddities of each home, understanding your personal style and needs and keeping everything at or above code to make sure your inspections run smoothly. Kevin was detail-oriented, efficient and not quick to say "no" but instead would consider creative ways to make things work. We would definitely work with Kevin again.

My wife and I learned about Kevin through several friends who were working with him on various…read moreremodel / planning efforts. After several months of working with him with our new house purchase, we both are brilliantly happy with his recommendations, his keen (super-keen) detailed planning efforts, and his impeccable design ideas / guidance. We couldn't recommend him more highly -- he's a truly fantastic talent. We bought a fixer with plenty of challenges, and after helping us sort out a detailed set of drawings of our home and a 'master plan' of phased renovations, we are about 1/2 way through our first major effort: a kitchen remodel. Again, Kevin's attention to detail is truly excellent -- and his patience answering questions or validating various scenarios with potential options is next to saint-like (and we ask lots of questions.) Finally, his ability to creatively 'see' solutions to space / access / design challenges always surprises and is usually spot on. He has surprised everyone we've talked to who's worked with him with layout options that are unique and innovative. While Kevin's passions may be on the modern side, our older 1920's house posed some old-school challenges which he effortlessly surveyed with us. And though our end kitchen may be a bit more on the traditional style, he's provided some great fundamentals (maximization of natural light) and design suggestions to keep our kitchen up-to-date and current. Looking back on our decision of which architect to choose for our project(s) -- I can't imagine working better with anyone else. He's a adviser with our complete trust -- and we really look forward to working with Kevin for many future projects to come.

I witnessed Stan Teng's brilliance first hand in the phase 1 remodel project of my new home. I had…read moreonly read about his expertise specially the one about bringing natural light into living spaces. http://www.examiner.com/urban-renewal-in-san-francisco/stan-teng-a-i-a Within a week with very minimal and economical changes Stan brought in the sun god into my very dark and dungeon like home. Now it is so in tune with the natural environment with radiant beautiful rays of sunlight and looking fabulous! He has also made some quick redesign changes before our grand remodel. His expertise was so on the mark and the changes were something we would have never thought of. They make a world of a difference. He works with a great knowledge of architecture, design, sensitivity in understanding of the current space with details of all the elements and gives solutions that realistic and in harmony with the character of the people living there. In essence a complete package in building or redesigning your dream home. I cannot wait for him to completely transform my home into a brilliant and modern unique work of art.

Stan is a great architect. We hired him to help us in the middle of our project, after some…read moreparticularly challenging obstacles came up, and he was able to come up with creative solutions with ease. He went above and beyond and we could not have completed our project without his help. I have been referring him to clients ever since.

Wow. I'm blown away. I'm working with him on a current project and I'm extremely fortunate that our…read morepaths have crossed. I'm a fairly detailed person, and Dave puts me to shame. Most times I'll double check work for thoroughness and sense when a vendor is lazy, not Dave. He goes way above and beyond, and the fact that he shows genuine care in the project is such a rare service. His responsiveness and follow through is A++++!!!!

We were lucky enough to have Dave Deppen as our architect for a bathroom remodel on our Victorian…read morehome in San Rafael. Dave is a meticulous planner, he listens and pays attention to what WE wanted for our new addition, and he took all our concerns into consideration in the drawings he prepared. I was really amazed by how much he paid attention to our dreams, and he was very easy to work with. No drama, no fuss... just quietly competent and thorough. An attentive communicator and a super nice guy too. Will absolutely use him on any future projects.

When my husband and I first hired Kerman-Morris, we had no idea that we were signing up for more…read morethan an architect -- as part of the SF city planning process, there are meetings that we were required to hold with neighbors, and Toby was excellent at addressing the concerns of our neighbors while firmly advocating for the project that we wanted. Similarly, when we were forced into discretionary review by a neighbor (despite Kerman-Morris's best efforts--this neighbor was insistent and it was unavoidable), Toby took a prominent role at the hearing, explaining the thought process behind the project, addressing the neighbor's concerns, while continuing to advocate for our interests and ultimately getting us the result we wanted over the neighbor's spirited objections. We have been very luckily to have them on our side throughout the process. Toby, Biz, and the other members of their team have been incredibly knowledgeable about the SF code requirements, responsive to client input and changes, and committed to getting the project across the finish line.

We were very fortunate to find Biz and Toby as architects for our commercial space. They were able…read moreto draw up plans that reflected our vision for the space, and make meaningful and useful suggestions (like having a drop down ceiling in some areas to accommodate more storage and to save energy). Our building was built before 1900 and is a registered historical building, so we were limited in some ways on what we could change. Biz and Toby were able to help us through navigating the compromises we had to make between DBI and the SF historical preservation, resulting in a compromise we're very happy with. It was not easy to find an architect that would work with commercial spaces, let alone a commercial space that had certain historical requirements. Dealing with the city trying to get answers on our own was so stressful, so we are so grateful Biz and Toby took our project on. We would highly recommend Kerman Morris for their services, especially if you have any sort of complicated circumstance. They were super professional and took care of everything on the DBI/city end which is exactly what we were looking for. They also have a bunch of great connections and suggestions (lighting, engineers, where to find good exterior doors, etc.). Highly recommended!