Alexandra has been our go-to architect to work with over the past 10 years. We have worked with her on 3 remodels on a 1930's home. She is very good at developing design options and ideas and melding differing ideas (i.e. as a couple, there were times we didn't always agree on things and she was great at helping us navigate the decision making process to reach a final result that we both really liked) She is very talented at figuring out creative solutions for the best use of space, In the kitchen remodel, she did a great job with the overall design, was a play-off of the original layout, but updated. Challenges included figuring out how to get a pot rack and venting system in place for a stove which is in the middle of a kitchen/island. The end result looks great and is very functional. She helped solve a kayak storage issue by building in kayak storage under the new dining room. Throughout each of the remodels, it has been very helpful to have Alexandra and her team provide the navigation between the various specialties, such as the contractor, cabinet makers, etc. Currently, we are excited to see the completion of the basement remodel, it will be a nice update that incorporates special touches for each family member including the family pets. We have enjoyed working with Alexandra and her team. We look forward to further projects with her in the future. We'd highly recommend her. read more

I am extremely disappointed with their design, which caused us significant frustration and added expense. I would not recommend this firm to anyone. They specified 7' interior and exterior doors, which must be special-ordered and cost nearly three times more than standard 6'8" doors. By the time this issue was identified, the house was already framed. We requested that the contractor lower the door openings from 7' to 6'8", which required additional materials and labor. In construction, any change order means redoing completed work, resulting in unnecessary additional costs. The bathroom windows are also oversized for the rooms. No privacy. Additionally, the drawings were inconsistent across the three bathrooms. In two bathrooms, the toilets were correctly centered at 18", but in the third bathroom the toilet was centered at only 15", even though there was sufficient space for 18". The plumber had to move the toilet 3", which again resulted in added expense. read more

This review doesn't exist for any reason other than to let others know of our life-altering experience from trusting AIRD with our home; a fact-based caveat emptor of sorts. An outcome of trusting AIRD is delayed retirement to fund remediation of design/construction defects so our 1000sf house can function w/o long-term structural, water & other damage. AIRD's reviews & ratings on this site as well other sites are compromised by reviews made by employees of the general contractor she collaborated with). (Rebuttal to Jan2023 reply: Alexandra Immel did not fully cover costs related to one of her firm's erroneous omissions. We were still stuck w a $3K balance for one subcontractors. We paid for/endured delays due to her employee's other omissions. Wasting $3K+, extra months of double rent/mortgage, do-over construction materials & labor is a tiny expense relative to our total cost of remediating issues that originate AIRD's design (& omissions), as well as trusting the contractor Alexandra so wholeheartedly recommended for executing AIRD's plans. The client should never need to research City construction energy code when they're paying professional designers. But I was forced to. Like most people, I *want* to give good reviews, want to believe that when several hundred thousands of dollars is being borrowed & spent, it's spent it wisely. In reality, some people will allow emotions to positively bias their reality of such a huge investment, their reviews, enable excuse-making for individuals they find personally amiable, overlook the aspects that were professionally lacking. Unlike them, for this project, I invested time & money not to make a new "friend" to forgive, but to have a home with better space & small 250sf addition for a better quality of life. The cure is almost always worse than doing things right w the right people from the start. We had/hv no choice but to remediate ASAP. The time to minimize risk of preventable rot (of materials Alexandra insisted on), leaks & other defects is upon discovery of such design defects, not 5-10 years down the road which is when they would have shown up in the form of compromised structural integrity (final product & plans were evaluated by several design/construction pros). There's no space for "positivity bias" in this case no matter how much benefit of the doubt I wanted to extend. When a project involves moving out/in, (14mos of gas guzzling time-suck commuting is more than adequate for adding 250sf & a bathroom), mortgage $, it's critical staff hv adequate skill, knowledge & attn to structural/enviro detail, be *up-to-date* on critical skills/issues involved (appropriate materials, enviro impact, bldg & energy codes). Also essential is a genuine leader of a team who also truly values the time & financial resources of their client. AIRD fell short in all these respects. I'll never forget the comment spoken out loud at an early zoom meeting where Alexandra Immel literally said, in her own words w/ a smile, "money is cheap" (interest rates were lower; conversation is on record). The standard *looking* design plans AIRD produced were so lacking in detail, especially at critical structural junctures that the builder Alexandra recommended could not to execute her firm's designs, w/o trial & error & multiple do-overs, as if they were learning on the job & lacked the experience Alexandra Immel claimed they had. They'll naturally blame each other but absent legal action, the client is stuck w/ the total cost. Cascades of decisions are based on upstream decisions & good data, visual renderings. In our case they were asked for & promised at the start. But were never delivered in a timely manner PRIOR to critical decision points. A logical *looking* workflow on paper from a designer means nothing w this frequency of omissions (incl on plans signed off by the then lone registered architect in the firm at that time & caught by the city inspector). Any builder is dependent not just on designers' plans, but also knowledge of & respect for city code, as well as time-tested experience. Per WA records for just the last 7 yrs, the builders so heartily, *gushingly* recommended by Alexandra Immel had numerous safety violations & violations involving unlicensed (in our case, also incompetent) workers. Per state court records the builders also have 16 cases listed, between the state SUPREME, Appellate courts plus superior courts of at least two counties. When I checked with the state, spoke with Olympia, Immel's own registration attempt as an architect stalled out over two decades ago. Which would be fine had she kept up with the ever-evolving field of residential design (sub 4000sf builds don't require registered architects). I wasn't looking for inspiration, just competency, honesty. What I got was, & is still to this moment, a nightmare of a mess to tediously undo & clean up at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, robbing us of years of quality of life. read more

Best decision of our lives. Twice! Once for a gorgeous bathroom that we absolutely love and then for a dream kitchen remodel that has become the highlight of our house and our favorite room (a great feeling). Alexandra and her talented team were simply terrific to work with every step of the way, in what turned out to be an idea creative partnership. My wife, a professional cook and cookbook author, had high expectations and standards, and Alexandra and crew blew right past them. Could not imagine a better outcome. We'd work with Alexandra again in a heartbeat and recommend her wholeheartedly. read more

Just this morning, more than two years after my kitchen remodel was completed, I wrote to AIRD saying how much I LOVE MY KITCHEN!!! It has been a delight to work in and they were absolutely helpful and creative in achieving the space and "feel" that I was going after. I never experienced the stress that I've heard others talk about in regard to remodels ... AIRD prepared me for the realities of being without a kitchen for a while, and supported me throughout the various choices (design, floor, lighting, tile, paint, storage) so patiently and kindly. My husband and I continue to be so happy with this. I'm only sorry I did not re-do my bathroom at the same time!!! read more

Alexandra and her team helped us with a basement remodel that had a lot of unexpected complications - they were patient and helpful throughout and went above and beyond to make sure we ended up with a plan that worked for us. We can't wait to work with them again on our kitchen/upstairs remodel - that's sure to be complex as well, but with them on our side we can start with confidence! read more

I have known Alexandra personally and professionally for over 20 years. Professionally I have found her to be both patient and precise and always interested in getting it right for the client. She recently helped me remodel my bathroom remotely and the results are stunning. She has saved me both time and money over the years by working with my existing materials and seeing how how even small changes can make a big difference. For larger projects I completely trust her judgement and have never been disappointed. Personally, Alexandra is a person of integrity, warmth and reliability. I give her and her team my strongest recommendation. read more

We have worked with Alexandra and her team for over 10 years. We first worked with her for an extensive remodel of our home. She was amazing to work with and was impressively able to understand our particular needs/desires as well as help guide us to solutions that made sense financially and aesthetically. She was fabulous. We were so happy with her work that 6 years later we asked her to design our completely off the grid home which was a huge logistical challenge and yet she was amazing. It was a challenging experience for all of us given the remoteness of the home and the desire to create a very energy efficient off the grid home. The end result was amazing and once again it was a dream to work with her and the team. Finally, when we needed to remodel a commercial space here in Seattle we knew we didn't want anyone else to help us with the design and once again AIRD did a fabulous job. We have LOVED working with Alexandra and her team over the years with incredibly diverse projects. We cannot recommend her highly enough!! read more

We had AIRD do the design and construction of our kitchen remodel 5 years ago. The design was fabulous, exactly what I wanted and the attention to detail was perfect and on point. The wonderful contractor (David Reed of Haider Construction) was absolutely outstanding and an absolute pleasure to have around. Everyday I go into my gorgeous kitchen and think how very lucky I was to have been able to work with Alexandra and her associates. read more

amazing architect/team/. balanced my desires with practical matters and solutions. educated me in a nice way. attention to detail. honest. talented. creative. great communication throughout our year long build. read more

Alexandra and her team are amazing and we cannot recommend them enough! They helped us with plans for a remodel/addition recently. We were extremely happy with our interactions with them as well as the end product. We worked with multiple staff members and they were all pleasant, knowledgeable, and patient! Thanks, Alexandra, for being such a pleasure to work with! read more

Our home remodel was just completed and Alexandra was our designer. We were EXTREMELY IMPRESSED with how hard she worked and her willingness to seemingly drop everything and come to our aid to help us with decisions. The design was great. She was very punctual and very conscientious. She and our contractors also seemed to work very well together. We couldn't be more positive about the results. read more