GISELA SCHMOLL ARCHITECT, PC

It doesn’t matter how great your architect is or how beautiful the plans are — your project won’t live up to its full potential unless you have a good general contractor. The architect is like a composer creating the score for a symphony, but the contractor is the conductor who brings it to life. During the early stages of a project, your primary relationship is with the architect (and possibly an interior designer). Once construction begins, the general contractor (GC) takes

You just bought your castle and now you’re planning to build an addition. It’s your property so you should be able to do what you want. Think again! The design of your building will be driven not only by your desires, but also by the building/planning codes and a number of critical stakeholders. Planning Department The Planning Department enforces the local Planning Code. These were created in the early 20th century as a response to industrialization. Early codes were designe

A typical architectural project has seven phases. All projects go through these various steps, though the order and boundaries between one phase and the next may vary. For example, in San Francisco, when creating an addition, permitting happens in two phases. The initial site permit is filed after Design Development, while the permit for construction is filed after the Construction Documents phase and engineering. Phase 1 – Existing Conditions and Code Research The first two

Realistic Schedule Good design takes time. The design process for a remodel may take three to six months or longer. The design of an addition or new construction can be twice as long. After the design is complete, the project will go through the permit process and once it is approved by the city, construction may start. Which means that a simple remodel of an existing home from the start of the design to the end of construction could be almost a year-long process from design

If you’re thinking about starting a building project, be it a new home, a remodel, or an addition, you may be asking yourself, ‘Do I need to hire an architect?’ In a word, yes. An architect provides a broad range of expertise in buildings that no other profession can offer. Buildings are complicated amalgams of numerous systems that all work together, and the architect is uniquely trained to work with the design and construction of all of them. An architect’s training require