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.

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.

Super appreciative of Dan's help on drawing plans for the remodel of the lower level of our home…read more(expanding a bathroom, removal of kitchenette and re-configuring a living room and 1 bedroom area into a 2 bedroom area which was challenging due to limited outdoor light access and retaining walls/posts). He listened to our objectives and gave us options beyond those that we had originally thought of as the only solutions; was responsive, and his plans were excellent. Thank you!

We renovated our house and Dan was mastermind behind it. We truly couldn't have done it without…read morehim. Every detail was beautiful!

Starbright School worked with Workbench on a complex code-compliance project, and our experience…read morewith their team was truly outstanding. They performed in-depth analysis of the challenges facing the school, conducted thorough research, and came up with a perfect solution that was both speedy and cost effective. The project was completed on time and with excellent results. Our school is truly grateful to Workbench for their expert handling of our project!

They have proposed a disaster of a design that will destroy Ace Hardware, Akira, the Bagelry, and…read moremore. Their blocky out-of-scale vomit heap of a building doesn't provide parking for its residents which will in turn push overflow parking into the surrounding neighborhoods. Tens of thousands of square feet of eclectic and useful retail space will be reduced to a mere 5,000. I would hesitate to consider this group for any project with a track record such as this. Shame on them for participating in this travesty.

Robert designed our original remodel which included a second floor (mostly over our garage). He is…read moreexceptionally skilled and thoughtful and deliberative in his design and, while we basically knew what we wanted, he was able to suggest several tweaks that we ended up incorporating. Almost 9 years later, I will say literally our only regret is the stove we purchased, which had nothing to do with him. His recommendations and design were awesome. We're using him again for another remodeling job and have been very happy with his suggestions. Highly recommend him to design your remodel!

From the owner: Residential drafting and design: new construction, remodeling, insurance restoration, permit…read moreapplications, septic systems, red-tag & code concerns, site design, drainage, Green Building, Title 24, historic preservation, as-built drawings. CAD drafting & 3D modeling

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!

We are so grateful to have found the Kastrop Group. We worked with Marie Barron--she is…read moreexceptional. Her judgment, organization and follow-through made an enormous difference on a complicated, time-sensitive project at our commercial property in Palo Alto. We initially contacted Marie to prepare drawings. The project had reporting requirements for Santa Clara County, and delays in our contractor's handling of the permitting process had already cost us significant time. Marie and Brian came out to measure the property, and the drawings were completed promptly. We then asked Marie to coordinate the permitting process as well. Marie brought together information from professionals across several disciplines, clarified requirements with the City and proactively followed up to keep everything moving. Throughout the process, she kept us informed and included us in correspondence. We never had to chase her for an update or wonder where things stood. Her thoroughness and initiative lifted a considerable burden and were instrumental in moving the project forward. Marie was also thoughtful about our time and budget, advising us when something could be handled ourselves rather than requiring her assistance. Her competence, honesty and kindness earned our complete trust. We will gladly work with the Kastrop Group again and cannot recommend Marie highly enough.

Scam Alert: Kastrop Group Architectural Firm Holds Clients…read moreMoney and Projects Hostage Lorianna Kastrop, Vice President of Kastrop Group, an architectural firm in Redwood City, CA takes client's money, refuses to start work on their projects until they give more and more money. Then refuses to give it back. October 28, 2026, Redwood City, CA - A local architectural firm is being accused of fraud and scamming customers by taking their money and then refusing to work on their projects until they give more and more money. The customer said when she hired Kastrop Group they seemed friendly at first but when the contract came it seemed overly "un-friendly". An employee named Brian Villavicencio came to her house and measured the house and said he was the one assigned to her project. However, he then revealed that he was not a licensed architect. Concerned, the customer called the owner Michael Kastrop and said she was not told he was not licensed and Brian said the roof line would not need to be altered. Michael said in fact the roof would need to be altered but tried to assure the client that Brian was just fine for the project he had no time to be on this project. The customer had given a retainer check for $1500, which they said would not go through. The customer told Kastrop that she had been the victim of fraud so she went to the bank and the bank assured her that the hold had been lifted and if Kastrop tried to cash the check again it would go through. However, Lorianne Kastrop refused to accept this. Instead, Michael asked for another check for $1485 and that was given to him to ensure all was fine. However, Lorianne Kastrop refused to give back the check for $1500 that the bank said was still cashable. They had a new check for $1485 and should have started the work, but they refused. Instead, the customer got more emails demanding more money before they would start the project. The customer called twelve times during the course of three weeks asking what is going on with the checks, they had been paid twice already. When asked to speak to the owner they blocked her, refused to transfer her to the owner, NEVER returned her calls, and would not tell her what was happening with the checks. Brian sent several emails to the customer saying Lorianne Kastrop specifically ordered him NOT to work on her project until more money was given. Exasperated and eager to get the project going the customer gave another $1560.38 and 417.96 online. By this time the customer had now paid $4963.34, almost three times the initial retainer of $1500. Yet even after this, the customer got another email from Lorianne Kastrop basically saying she was STILL holding the project hostage until more money was given. To make matters worse, the check for $1485 check HAD been cashed by Kastrop, the had the money they needed all along. The cashable $1500 check was still not returned. The customer said she wants to cancel the contract and get all her money back. They admitted they had not worked on the project and did one layout which had the incorrect measurements and was not usable for $405. Yet they then said they will only give her uncashed $1500 back, not the additional $3463.34 in cashed checks online monies they have received and did no work to jusify keeping. They held her money and her project hostage for a month and a half and were paid three times what was needed to start the project. The customer says Lorianne Kastrop was extremely hard-headed, would not listen and was incredibly uncooperative and unwilling to work things out and just kept demanding more money when she had the money she needed all along. The customer has reported them to the Better Business bureau for fraud and scamming customers and taking money, doing no work, and refusing to give it back. The customer wants to warn the public about the unethical business practices of the Kastrop Group LLC, Architects in Redwood City, CA.

We hired Patrizia to help us figure out what we could and couldn't do on our property in Santa Cruz…read moreCounty, California. She was a wealth of information and is a fabulous resource! Even in just the first meeting she helped us avoid a huge number of possible mistakes and ensuing headaches that would have followed - we used he fabulous decision making method and feel confident that we are making a long-term sustainable choice for our future home. We highly recommend her!

Patrizia is knowledgeable about building a sustainable living. She is passionate and willing to…read morehelp you find the best way to achieve your goals and have your building a house a pleasant and fun experience.