Kurt has been a pleasure to work with, his extensive knowledge of design and architecture have been…read moreexactly what my customers have needed. I look forward to working with kurt in the future.Its hard to find people with his level of honesty and integrity.If your in need of an architect with years of experience, I recommend you begin with Kurt.

Kurt was such a great architect to work with! He was very responsive and understood exactly what I…read morewas looking for on a major home remodel/addition. He coordinated well with my contractor and knew the necessary code requirements to push the project through the county. I would highly recommend to anyone!

I have known Bill Fisher for over 20 years, and worked with him on many projects, large and small,…read moreduring that time. He is the consumate professional. Always available, friendly, and courteous. His work is of the highest quality. I have recommended Bill to clients for many years, and they have always been satisfied. Bill knows litteraly everybody at the planning and building departments in our area and So. Ca. This is invaluable for a successful project. I have told people for years that Bill has worked for me for free, because he has saved me so much money on development and construction costs. I rarely buy a property without having Bill look at it first.

Hourly rate in very unappealing, I'm sure the service is professional but in this line of work…read moreunforeseen events are unavoidable and every one of those could cost dearly.

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%

This review is long overdue... I've worked with Dennis…read moreNorton Designs for well over 24 years. Dennis is a thoughtful and experienced Home Designer who also use to be a Contractor so when he designs something it can actually be built. Dennis not only designed my home but he dealt with a very difficult county to gain my building permits. Dennis also use to be the Mayor of Capitola and is such a nice guy that he gets along with everyone which makes building much more enjoyable. I initially tried to use a contractor I had met but he had a bad anger problem and walked out in the middle of construction so I asked Dennis who I should use and his referrals were always the highest quality workers and my home turned out beautiful. In 2020, I called Dennis to design a new home on my land and when my home and land burned in August 2020, Dennis was ready to submit my new plans so I could build immediately. I forgot how incompetent the Santa Cruz County was. I had my land cleaned of Ash and Debris very quickly before the rain spread the ash and it infuriated the county who was only concerned with their forms and they refused to even accept my New Building Plans. They even refused to give me temporary power to get water for my horses. Throughout this nightmare, Dennis was very helpful and considerate. Because the county wouldn't give me temporary power I was unable to work so Dennis offered his office for me to work out of. He repeatedly said "tell me what I can do for you, I've got your back". When the county demanded additional reports many months after the fire I asked Dennis for a referral and Dennis called Soils Engineer Joe Rafferty and Joe referred us to Wendy Johnson of Benchmark Environmental Engineering and Wendy patiently spent months getting us clearance. Dennis is an exceptional human being and designer and anyone he works with is also similar quality. I can't recommend Dennis highly enough and anyone who uses his talent will realize why I have written about him as I have.

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.

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.

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!

Greg is an amazing designer! He designed our kitchen and master suite. We are SO happy with his…read morework. If you are planning a remodel and are considering a designer it is definitely worth the money, especially if you use Greg. Our house would not have turned out nearly as good without his help. Thanks Greg!

We love working with Greg. We appreciate his integrity, his great attitude, his artistic skill and…read morehis humble appreciation and wonder in his craft.