Contractors! 

Do architects make you mad? 

If so, next time try working with Heiland Hoff Architecture.  You will have a much better experience.  Here's why: 

An architect who thinks like a contractor

Architects are weird.  They float back from design school with a hatload of ideas about how to celebrate spaces and articulate surfaces, but some of them haven't a clue what holds things together.  

At Heiland Hoff Architecture, we are nuts and bolts guys. On our days off, we get out our nail guns and chop saws and we build stuff. Our principal architect worked his way through Cal Poly on a framing crew.  He got his general contractor’s license years before he got his architect’s license, and he hasn't forgotten his roots.  He can articulate surfaces with the best of them, but he basically thinks like you do.

Built-in Value Engineering

"They'll figure it out in the field."  In a typical architecture firm, that's one of the most common expressions you'll hear.  Ask a typical architect if he ever thinks about the sequence the contractor will have to schedule different trades, and that's what he will say.  Ask him if he considered the actual size of concrete masonry units when he laid out his foundation, and you'll hear it again.  Ask him if he knows what the available lengths are for dimensional lumber, and he will respond, “Hey, they’ll cut boards off any length I tell them to!”  That attitude means you generate waste and lose profits.  No wonder you’re frustrated!

At Heiland Hoff Architecture, we never say, “They’ll figure it out in the field.”  Our motto is, “We won’t design it if we couldn’t build it ourselves!”  

Architecture that works

How long do you have to look at a typical set of architectural plans before you start finding problems? If you are going to make a profit, you’ve got to get in and get out. Many of the delays and call-backs contractors face are caused by poor architectural design work. 

At Heiland Hoff Architecture, we know the codes inside and out, so our drawings don‘t get tied up in plan check while the code violations are corrected.  When we design a building, you can be confident that the roof won't leak, the shear diaphragms will properly resist lateral loads, and all the draft stops will be exactly where they are supposed to be. In short, everything will work.  This attention to detail allows the contractor to breath easy. We’ll help you get the job done on time and under budget.