HOME DESIGN COUNSELING

Home-seekers, amaze yourself by designing together with this perceptive architect.

It is important to have an architect who can listen and deliver what you really want. Reid Rosenthal a Fort Collins builder who knew me asked me to re-design a half built and distressed mountain home. That summer after I fished a first year at Pratt Architecture school in NY at 19 years old, I knew no better than to jump at the opportunity. While designing it with him I suggested unifying it with a staircase spiraling around a big ponderosa pine tree to the 3rd floor. Reid then asked me to build that stair, above. That taught me that my clients are my inspiration, the joy of saying yes and figuring out the rest. My goal ever since is designing challenging projects together with you my prospective clients, or my dear mother. She asked me to design & build a big gazebo with a concrete dome roof. Photo is above. Years later, she had me design the family home in the International Style. Photos on second Home page at bottom.

To get inspired by clients I listen, then visualize while I deftly sketched the ideas, without worry of failure. This capture your dream. Most home-seekers are wary about contracting with an architect. One client after our 1st session told me this: “ Darek we meet with 11 architects & builders over the last 5 weekends. With all their nice photos & lots of hot air, we got nothing to show we could get what we wanted. You’re the only one we had to pay, yet the only one who gave us what we needed.” My hourly sessions, offers a no further obligation, on the spot, creative, buildable solutions. Agile Design Solutions is that service. Agile is a well known team project-management tool, to get a builder and a realtors views on our designs. Design Solutions are the results of our creative work together ,

The Agile design team work’s best, with you, me, a builder & a realtor in a virtual meeting. They offer an overview of your projects locations, values & challenges. Then, when we design at your site, you explain your concerns & wishes as we study your property looking for buildable solutions. I require your attention & feedback, as I ask questions. Then I convey your criteria into ideas. I quickly illustrate several of them in 1/8 “scale plan & elevation, on paper with you together. We will trash some, change others & combine better ones. Within 3 to 5 hours, you will have the look & feel of one, or more creative solutions to suit your purpose. Then we show them to our team. The builder, gives us a range of costs & suggestions. A realtor can determine if it is sellable at the location. This helps you make more informed decisions, such as; “Lets buy it & make changes”. “Let’s stay & renovate it”, or ”Please Finish the design so we can build exactly what we want.”

Note: Agile Design is very accurate because you contribute to your homes unfolding on paper with me. That is why Agile’s method cuts 2/3 out of the design time & cost, when compared to traditional remote designing used by other architects. It also eliminates all guesswork, mistakes & loss of our creative momentum. Agile Design Solutions is my stand alone service. My Deliverables, for the first meeting are all our Ideas & useful drawings. If you wish we can complete more detailed preliminary drawings. All can be reviewed by our team for suggestions & drawings will be be updated. That completes the first phase of our work. If you choose me to complete the rest of the architecture, we can use a similar, economical agreement. I’ll meet with you when ready to give me an opportunity to work.

Costs & Benefits: The costs of Agile Design Counsel is a very economical, $180 per hour paid at the end of the session. You can think about what you want to do with the designs for a week. Either let me continue, or keep all ideas & designs & do whatever you want with them. That is available by purchasing all the user rights for an additional 25% more, or a total of $225 per hour. Other benefits: After 6 hours of Agile Design in the same day, the cost drops to $150 per hr. That includes architects work for the remainder of the project. Drafting is at $81 per hour. If at the outset there is no synergy after 20 minutes, then there is no charge for the service. Otherwise the time is include. I am interested to discuss your thoughts in a free 20 minute virtual meeting to respond to your questions or requests.

Sincerely, Darek Shapiro, Architect.

See Matterport Video of a home I doubled in size & furnished beautifully: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=WfLbRrszguV


What is Agile Design Methodology & How To Apply It.: https://adamfard.com/blog/agile-design