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.

I would highly recommend Bagnall, he designed my 3000 square-foot home and a ADU next-door back in…read more2000. Great value and reliability. Highly respected at the Santa Cruz city building department, second generation architect with his Dads office across the street, he gets lots of respect

Without Peter, we would be thousands of dollars behind in our budget. This main is a saint in our…read moreeyes. If we ever need an architect, we will go to no one else. Honest. Straightforward. Kind. You won't regret working with Peter Bagnall.

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!

From the owner: Workbench is a concept to completion building studio in Santa Cruz, CA…read more We manage every detail of your building project: feasibility studies, property development, architectural design, general contracting, and construction management. Our specialties are accessory dwelling units (ADUs), single family homes, multi-family housing, and mixed-use community spaces. Every great build starts with a great design. Let's get to work, together. Contact us at info@workbenchbuilt.com.

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!

The Kastrop group are very professional company. My house was a total re-build and both Mike &…read moreBrian made this incredible task go very smooth. I would definitely use them again and would recommend the Kastrop Group !!!

We found The Kastrop Group through the Better Business Bureau. We were looking to renovate about…read more50% of our home and raising the floor in our laundry room to create a 2nd bathroom for the house. Brian V. came over to check out our house and to see if our expectations were realistic. He was very calm and organized. We found him very knowledgeable, especially about the San Mateo County permit & planning department. We interviewed a couple of other architeture firms, but found Brian at The Kastrop Group to be the best. Once we hired Kastrop, Brian quickly set up a time to come measure the entire house. Our 80 year old cottage had no central air/heat, so Brian referred us to an engineering firm that would help work out all the  computations that the permit department would need to approve this addition. As we moved through the architectural design process, Brian came up with solutions that would give us what we needed, along with a few suggestions that would provide more storage near our new second bathroom. We found Brian and Kastrop to be very accomodating with no drama. We like it when there is no drama. Once the architectural drawings were approved, we wanted to know if we had budgeted enough for the renovation. So, Kastrop had a General Contractor look at the plans and visit our house to give us some preliminary numbers. This was a big help for us and we were so thankful for this extra step. The Kastrop Group is an outstanding architecture firm that took us through the entire architecture design process with a gentle hand and no drama. We were grateful for their professionalism and their recommendations. If you are considering renovating your house, your first stop should be The Kastrop Group for impressive architectural expertise and being a great partner to navigate the county permit process.