Most people are wise enough to know that trying to design a home or commercial building on their own—without the help of an architect—is not something they are equipped to handle. This is especially true in California, where the building code is very lengthy and very complicated. The average person wouldn’t be able to make sense of many of the regulations included in the building code, much less know how to design a structure that adheres to them.
Even though people know they need the services of an architecture firm in Long Beach, CA, they might still want to be involved in the design process. After all, they are the ones who will be living or working in the finished space. They want some say in how it is laid out, the features it includes, and how it looks.
While all of the architecture firms in Long Beach, CA want their clients to be satisfied with the end results, some firms allow their clients to be more involved than others. If you are someone who wants to be heavily involved in the design process, you’ll need to seek out a firm that actually encourages this type of involvement. Not all do.
One of the architecture firms in Long Beach, CA that does is Grisafe Architecture. Owner and lead architect Mark Grisafe is a firm believer that better results are achieved when the space’s end users are actively involved in the design process. In fact, Grisafe would say these are his ideal clients. He says, “Our ideal client is one who wants to be involved in the design process. We love working with people who are creative and have put a lot of thought into what they want in their home or place of business. We don’t mind if they challenge us, because we think it creates a better finished product.”
Grisafe continues, “Even though they may not be professional architectural designers, our clients are professionals in the area of their lives. When we make all of the design decisions, with no input from our clients, we’ve found that the clients are not as satisfied with the end result. This is why we prefer to work with our clients, rather than just for our clients on design projects. We truly treat them as members of our team.”
So how do you find this type of architecture firm? Read reviews and ask around with people who have used architecture firms in Long Beach in the past. Ask how responsive the firm was to suggestions and questions, and also be sure to ask if the project ended up how they envisioned it. Once you start interviewing architects, make sure the one you ultimately select is someone who is easy to talk to and speaks in terms you can understand.
