As a first time home builder, I walked into their offices as green as can be with no idea what I…read morewas doing or the journey that I was about to embark on. Astra and Lawrence guided me through the ups and downs of homebuilding and dealing with the city, contractors, engineers and the politics behind it all. They were AMAZING and couldn't hold them in higher regard. If you speak with them, ask them about my project and you will understand how amazing they were. Don't forget to ask the bit about suing the City with our local council members and gaining a favorable decision in arbitration!! Yeah!! Don't bother looking anywhere else, you found your architect's!!

Lawrence and his staff designed a home and a detached garage w/living quarters for me and my…read morefamily. The project was rather large as it was almost 6,000 sq ft. I came to Lawrence's company with plans from a prior architect that were a total mess. The plans from the prior so called "Architect" were ripped to shreds by LADBS, because they were "substandard. These plans as designed made the project extremely costly. Lawrence and his staff, Jewell in particular, quickly got the plans up to par and the cost of the projected plummeted. The plans also passed LADBS with relatively few hitches. When picking an Architect the most important factor is to get a cost effective structural design that complies with all building codes and yet meets all of your design needs. Lawrence met and exceeded all of these factors for my project. As far as the overall project design, he maintained the style of the neighborhood and my taste. The area that the project is in is a Residential/Agricultural Zone in Woodland Hills that was once farm land. While people in this area try to put a Mediterranean Villa style design or as one of my neighbors adjacent to me has a 70's stucco/90's space age/Chinese zen style home, with this in mind Lawrence and I set out to retain the "farm" style of the area and stay away from these other trends. For the additional living quarters and garage, we ended up designing a barn with wood siding and a highly efficient and beautiful metal roof that gets compliments from neighbors and passerby's. The height and style in fact matched another neighbors barn adjacent to me. Basically the barn fits right in and is far from an eye sore. I hope my neighbors follow suit with this design. The main home at the front of the property is also a farm style single story home that he designed to retain all of the original charm that the original farm home has. He designed it to be a single story farm style that again matches our neighborhood. This design utilized a lot of the key features and spaces that I loved about the existing home and simply made it better. It also is going to save me a lot of money as we are retaining these spaces. Lawrence and Jewell did a great job!

Ilya Engineering responds to emails within minutes and answers their phones. Surprisingly, once an…read moreengineer is assigned to your project you can contact him/her directly. I also want to mention that my project took less time than originally thought. As a result I was invoiced for three hundred dollars less to reflect the actual time spent. This is definitely the firm to use if you want great customer service, plans that meet LADBS requirements and charges that reflect the actual time spent on your project.

Service requested: architect plans/structural engineering and permitting process. The design was…read morehow we wanted. A few hiccups along the way with the final permit but Sam acknowledged the mistake on his end and said he would sign off the edits in the revision phase of construction. I will give an updated review once that time comes. Quality: quality of work was good. Efficient in communication and dealing with a difficult city in a permitting process. Took about 6 months for the permits and the city kicked back for corrections 2x which is pretty standard. Value: felt his pricing was fair and reasonable Customer service: always responds to phone calls. Even after our final payment when we had questions or needed assistance. So not a "take your money" and we are done type of guy Overall impression: would use him in the future for any architectural or structural engineering jobs

Justin is great to work with. I had a bad experience with a previous architect who overpromised and…read moreunder delivered. Justin not only delivered as promised but also stayed in constant communication with me. If I had a question about the design or the process he made himself available and helped me. He also helped me identify issues with the existing design that could have made it more costly and helped me navigate the changes through his thoughtful explanations. I highly recommend Justin for any of your upcoming projects, he is honest, straightforward, respectful, and takes pride in his work.

Justin was amazing to work with throughout this entire process, though our communication mainly…read moretook place via email. He was prompt with every response wither it was from myself or with the city for various revisions and documents submittals. His work is excellent, i have no reservations with working with him again for future projects and rates are competitive for the A+ work that him and his staff provide.

Working with Miguel of Glilsamex was like working with a close friend. His service is very…read morepersonalized with respect to what their clients want. Miguel was able to envision and plan out what you are thinking but not able to draw out yourself. Miguel has unique and creative ideas to enhance your project/design and is also diplomatic and persistent with obtaining permits and plan approval. He is always in communication in keeping you abreast of the progress with the City Planning. Miguel also coordinates with others involved in the plans, regarding engineers, building contractors, landscape designers, etc. From the design to coordination with the city and pulling permits he takes care of the process, I thoroughly enjoyed working with Miguel and his company. Terri Scott Pasadena CA

Miguel expertise guided us through the process and everything ran smoothly, we were able to comply…read morewith city clearances and obtain our permits in a timely manner, bureaucracy was tough but Miguel was knowledgeable and committed.

Working with Richard and his team was great. Our main contact on our project was Ara, who has an…read moreeccentric demeanor that I can imagine rubbing some folks the wrong way - but he is exactly who we wanted even if we didn't know it. He brings more to the table than simply moving things around in your home, he brings a sense of design and livability and a wealth of experience. He is unafraid to question your intentions and ideas and challenge what you had in mind, which is what I want from an expert - not simply a yes-man. When our ideas were good, he would relent, when they were bad, he'd present better ones. It was more like a collaboration than a mere "service" and we came away with a much better project for having wrestled through the process together. Also, he and Richard are something like a duo-vaudeville act when they're together. It's pretty funny. We worked through the pandemic, we drastically changed direction mid-design, we worked on-site and remotely, our permits were acquired with ease, and we finished on budget and on time. What more can you ask for?

We were desperate for some guidance regarding a possible project and Richard not only took the call…read moreand gave us some of his valuable time and insight but was open to further inquiries. Very accessible, knowledgeable, and warm!

I am the president of my HOA and was frantically looking for a structural engineer about 5 months…read moreago to review our blueprints for a homeowner's project. I looked through yelp and even left numerous msgs for various engineers. All of which were either uninterested or charged ridiculous fees. Arsen was recommended to me by a friend and he was perfect for the job. His expertise and knowledge helped us make the very important decision to not remove a structural wall. I recently just hired him again for another project which was in the works since October of last year. After being totally taken advantage of by another engineer, Arsen came by and offered more advise with patience, a detailed explanation regarding the integrity of our building and leveling of another homeowners floors and offered a great report to have on file. He is honest, sincere and above all has a great personality. I would recommend him over and over again!

I have worked on multiple projects with Structural AF. They have always been professional, easy to…read morecommunicate with, quick, and thorough. They are fantastic!

I've had the pleasure of consulting Daniel on a few home projects and was amazed at his knowledge…read moreand creativity. I thought he only did commercial properties but realized he know a lot about California bungalow/craftsman style homes. He listened and understood my goals, and came up with creative ideas to work with my plans, environment, and budget. I only recently found out that they worked on a favorite restaurant of mine, Kasih in little Tokyo - great design and use of space. If I have any home projects in the future, I'm coming back

Not from Los Angeles, but needed a company to handle all the structural, mechanical, plumbing, and…read moreelectrical engineering to get city permits. Called and interviewed many design firms and architects through Yelp, settled for Zeise. Just get them on the phone after you call other architects. Very professional and experienced. Lease bills add up and I didn't want to deal with the down time from mistakes. Been on that road and just wanted to hire someone that would just handle business like a pro. Tip* If you are looking for a licensed architect to draw up plans, call at least 10. I usually call 3 and settle for one but this niche has too many inexperienced players. Make sure there is no open clauses that bind you into extra payments. If there is an open clauses verify the amount before you sign the contract. Seems like most companies in Los Angeles like to hike the price up with these open contracts.

I worked with Efrain and his team at Caliber Design. I first worked with them in 2018 for a garage…read moreconversion. This was my first home remodel, and I did not know what to expect or how the process worked. I had heard horror stories of people taking money for plans and never hearing from them again. He was very easy to work with, from explaining the process to what to expect during the permit process. He answered all my questions, and I could see he knew his job. I was on a budget and needed to do some of the work myself. He always returned my calls and walked me through any issues. He showed patience for a first-time DIYer. He provided such good service, I went back to him for my second project, a detached ADU. I recently started and have contacted him multiple times with questions. He has been in business for 33 years as a builder and preparing plans. He brings all that experience to his job. I would recommend him to anyone. His prices are competitive, and he is good at his job.

Efrain is the best engineer I have ever met. Working with Caliber Design was great especially for…read moreit being first timers. Efrain was Professional, fast responsive and knowledgeable my family and I are very happy with his service and the price. Thank you for all your help and going above and beyond to get our plans done and approved. One step closer to getting our house built back up!