Architect
Architect
Notes on architecture, materiality, and the discipline of restraint — written from Los Angeles, where light and terrain shape every decision.
After a fire, decisions arrive faster than clarity. These are the first questions to answer about your site, records, rules and goals before design begins.
A plain-English look at how wildfire-prone area requirements, often called Chapter 7A, shape materials, vents, roofs and site design in a rebuild.
Rebuilding the house you lost and designing a new one are two different paths. Here is how they differ in review, design freedom and what you give up.
Moving from a single family house to a duplex, triplex or fourplex changes more than the number of kitchens. Here is what shifts in rules, design and process.
Small multi-family buildings can feel generous or cramped. Light, entries, outdoor space and sound make the difference between housing and a home.
Before signing a commercial lease in Los Angeles, an architect can test whether your business fits the space and what the building and lease leave to you.
Moving a business into a different kind of space can change which building code and zoning rules apply. Change of use in California, in plain language.
A hillside architect in Los Angeles starts with the slope, soils, water and access before the floor plan. Why the site shapes the design from the first sketch.
What does AIA after an architect's name mean? The American Institute of Architects, how membership differs from state licensure, and how to verify.
A house is never alone. How urban design thinking, from street edge to neighbors to daylight, shapes better residential architecture on a single lot.
The terms pre-approved, pre-designed and stock get used interchangeably — but they don't all mean the same thing. A plain-language guide before you buy.
A ready-made ADU plan can be real value or a false economy — and which one it is comes down almost entirely to your lot. How to tell.
They aren't two versions of the same thing — they're two different trades. Understanding what each gives up is the fastest way to choose.
The design fee is only one line in the budget. The factors that actually decide which route costs less for your project — with no invented numbers.
A ready-made plan is the design layer, not the whole project. What a stock plan usually leaves to a professional — and why it matters for your budget.
The best plan is the one that fits your lot with the fewest changes. A practical checklist for matching a design to your property.
Starting from a plan can shorten design, but review time is set by your jurisdiction and varies. Why we avoid fixed numbers — and what moves the clock.
Who reviews ADU permits in Los Angeles and Orange County, how state and local rules fit together, and the official sources to check.
Seven plain-language questions that help homeowners compare architects fairly, from licensing and scope to fees, schedule and how decisions get made.
What an architect, an interior designer and a general contractor each do on a home project, where their roles overlap, and how to decide who to call first.
A plain-language look at when home projects in Los Angeles typically need permits, who reviews them, and why unpermitted work can come back to haunt a sale.
An accessory dwelling unit can add living space on an existing lot, but the site decides what is possible. Six checks to make before design begins.
Remodeling or starting over is rarely a pure budget question. The existing structure, today's rules and what you want from the house all play a part.
Where the time actually goes on an architecture project: the design phases, permit review, bidding and construction, and what homeowners can do to keep things moving.
Hillside properties in Los Angeles can be extraordinary, but slope, soils, access and local hillside rules shape what you can build. What to check before you buy.
Zoning, overlays and historic designations can shape what you are allowed to change. A homeowner's guide to finding out what applies before you design.
Light, slope, and restraint — how the hillside itself becomes the first line of the drawing, and why the best hillside homes seem to have always belonged there.
Why removing detail, rather than adding it, is what makes a space feel effortless, elevated, and enduring — and how restraint is earned, not decorated.
Getting the ratios right is the quiet discipline behind rooms that simply feel correct. A look at how proportion carries meaning before ornament ever speaks.
