How we work:

Thanks for visiting us!

We are excited to work with you.

We design in two ways ways: Design only services and Full architectural services.

One: Design Only Services

We meet you at your home for a curbside design session.

We offer:

The architect’s house call (have an architecture or construction issue? call us!)

Project budgeting and programming (is this project possible/affordable?)

Concept design for exteriors (ideas - sketches - recommendations)

Color and material selections

Exterior design projects (projects not requiring permits)

Concept design for interior projects (ideas - sketches - recommendations)

House and lot project masterplanning

House well-checkup

Curbside House Calls:

We provide 1 - 2 hour working sessions at an hourly rate of $200/hour for project planning, and design and construction related issues. We discuss your design aspirations and concerns, create a preliminary budget, and generate design ideas while meeting at your house. These consultations are invaluable to our clients. We review and discuss the possibilities and implications BEFORE you embark on a project.

Permits: Think you need a permit for your tiny project in the City of Atlanta? check here and here.

not in the City of Atlanta? check your County Building Department.

Two: Full Architectural Services

We provide full architectural services for residential projects at a percentage of the estimated construction cost, with some hourly rates for certain services, such as creating existing building drawings, concept design, and other added services.

Exterior architectural projects

Exterior entries and porches

Additions to existing homes

New custom homes

Guest houses and accessory dwelling units for R4 to R5 zoning in n ATL (750 sf max)

Garden structures

Historic preservation

Restoration of older homes

Permits: Need a permit for your architectural project in the City of Atlanta? check here and here.

not in the City of Atlanta? check your County Building Department.

About Construction Costs: Construction costs are hard costs that vary due to fluctuations in the building sector market. The market is affected by the economy, supply and demand of materials, and availability of construction labor. Renovation and restoration work is more expensive than ground up construction. Architects do not control construction markets, but we can help you plan around expected construction costs at a given time. This service is called project budgeting and programming. We provide a complete total project budget, aligned with current market costs.

Currently, median estimated construction cost per square foot in the City of Atlanta begins at $300 to $350 per square foot for good quality grade construction. Example: 100 sf of new construction equals $30K construction cost, (100sf x $300/sf = $30K). Estimated construction costs do not include design and engineering fees, permits, or other soft costs.

What to expect: Full Architectural Services

Architects are responsible for planning and designing buildings and spaces.

First we meet with you to discuss your goals, and help you determine a proper scope of work for your project. We discuss your desires, your anticipated budget, look at your property with you in detail, review your space needs, and determine a scope of services. We help you decide if you need design only services or full architectural services. see You and Your Architect from The American Institute of Architects, here.

Full Architectural Services: from blank paper to full construction.

Our design process follows a straightforward, and logical progression.

We discuss what to anticipate professionally from an architect/designer. This includes zoning and building code reviews, space/program planning, initial conceptual design, schematic design, design development, construction documents, as well as an architect’s legal role during the construction process. After our initial meeting we will ask you if you would like a proposal for design only or full architectural services. Proposals for full architectural services may or may not include additional services that are beyond standard practice.

Additional services may include:

Program/estimated total project budget management

Measuring and existing building drawings in CAD

City of Atlanta green initiatives coordination. (required for City of Atlanta permits)

Concept design

Model making

Geo-technical soil coordination

Additional material selection above standard designation

Bidding and negotiation with the contractor

Record drawings

Construction administration

Contract and predesign:

Once our proposal is accepted, we create an Architect/Owner Agreement for services. This is the contract between the Architect and Owner. Once a signed Architect/Owner Agreement is in hand, and a percentage retainer of the architectural fee is paid to us, we start gathering critical information:

We ask you a specific set of creative questions about how you like to spend your time at home.

We ask you to hire a surveyor. see Atlanta survey requirements here.

We require digital existing drawings of your property, if the project is a renovation.

We may measure your property to produce existing CAD drawings

We ask you to hire a structural engineer for the project.

These five items are critical for us to design your project. We need digital plans and elevations of existing structures, a thorough digital survey, and a structural engineer to assess your existing structure, as well as coordinate with us in order to begin.

After the existing drawings, preliminary survey, and a structural assessment are complete, we begin design with you.

Design process steps:

code review

space programming (square footage)

site design

concept design

schematic design

final schematic design sign-off (the final scheme of project is set at this point)

design development

construction documents/permit set

construction administration (typically hourly with a cap of cost)

During the design development phases, and typically later, at 95% construction documents, we may recommend that you consult contractors for preliminary pricing. This allows us to help you make sure your project is within your estimated budget during the design process. Review at 95% construction document completion also determines cost-saving construction methods we can incorporate in the documents. At this point, it is most likely that you hire your contractor.

Contractors are legally responsible for coordinating and constructing your home per the construction documents created by the Architect, local building code, and the local zoning ordinance. Contractors are hired by the Owner. The Architect and Contractor do not have a legal contract with each other, but we consult during construction.

After pre-construction review (95% construction documents), we complete the set, and make sure the work of surveyor and structural engineer is coordinated with ours, and that they have stamped their drawings for construction. We release the construction documents for construction and we send the set to the contractor.

Your contractor files the completed construction documents with the building department. You may be advised by your contractor to hire an expeditor to help get your drawings reviewed by the building department faster. Once you have a permit in hand, and a licensed contractor under contract, you can apply for a construction loan if needed. Banks require a designated contractor, hired by you, and an issued permit for construction to lend funds. With permit in hand, your financing available, and a contractor ready to go, the construction portion of your project begins!

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