Green Building Services in West Orange, NJ

“Excellent architect with an eye for maximizing space, working around space constraints and creating great flow, especially in the main living area. She designed a major expansion for us and was very attentive to our needs and what we wanted out of the space. Whereas some architects are too focused on design at the expense of practical function, Ying found the perfect balance for us. She handled all the bathroom design elements so we didn't need a separate designer for that and she helped guide the kitchen design, which I think helped to make these important spaces more cohesive to the overall plan. She was especially good at a floor plan for a busy family with kids and a home that is designed for entertaining. I also appreciated that she was available for consultation throughout the renovation process and even collaborated with our contractor on key elements like spacing and materials to be sure everything was done right.”

“Robie is terrific. We interviewed quite a few architects for this job. Many had great ideas and beautiful plans though they were double our budget. Robie stuck to the budget and came up with lots of great ideas. He was very flexible and creative. We'd use him again in a heartbeat!!!! We love the result and the pictures posted don't do it justice!”

“We have worked with Karen at Brinkman for countless projects; baths, kitchens, whole-house remodels; light commercial spaces, and additions. She is a true professional and has some great ideas for the spaces we are hired to remodel. She is willing to stop by on a moment's notice for questions and advice, which is important for the remodeling that we are involved in. We plan to continue working with her for all of our remodels in the future.”

“We asked Mr. Tom Baio to renovate/ extend our home, he prepared architecture plan that addressed our issues, concerns and most important he prepared for our dream home. How worked with us for meetings and understood our requirements and kept our budget in mind. He found three contractors and got estimate, interviewed them and selected the best one. Mr. Baio and his firm represents best people that we ave worked with, truly professional and innovative and imaginative. The project of extension / renovation has not begun yet we are very pleased with this reject. We highly recommend Mr. Tom Baio and his firm as an Architect and Designer.”

“My home is one of the exhibits listed here. This architect was easy to work with and gave appropriate and timely advice when needed. She is currently working another project for me, a renovation of a Frank Lloyd Wright's apprentice work in the Berkshires.”

“Carmelo was easy to work with and did a great job. I would recommend him to anyone who needs to renovate their apartment.”

“LEAP designed our modern and green home addition. They handled much of the creative work on the project, as well as detailed renderings, bid consultations, and construction supervision. LEAP's work was very creative and responded directly to our needs. They found ways to get energy efficiency and modern design details into a "buildable" and cost-conscious project. They are humble, hardworking, and consistent. I would choose to work with LEAP Architecture again without hesitation.”

“I have worked with Frederick and he was great! very responsive, and perfectly understood what it is I was looking for. I highly recommend....”

“I can count on several fingers the times I have found a local business partner that I'd describe as a rockstar, and Brian Hopkins is on that short list. On Christmas Eve, my wife and I were out doing errands. We got a call from our teenage son, telling us that water was raining down from the upstairs bathroom, through our microwave and stove, into the basement, onto the furnace and water heater. There was some once-in-a-century rapid drop in temperature, we had some poorly insulated pipes, and one of those pipes ruptured in the floor of that second floor bathroom resulting in that disaster. Total nightmare. Thankfully, one of the other rockstars on our short list of local business partners is our general contractor. We already had a plan on the shelf to renovate that bathroom, our contractor was available, we were able to get all our tile and bathroom fixtures picked out and procured in record time, and shortly after New Year's our GC started the repairs and creating the bathroom of our dreams. Salvation! Everything was going awesome, until the building department showed up. In a rush, we neglected to get a building permit. We weren't being shady or playing games. We were just hasty and ignorant and didn't do the things we needed to do. We got an immediate stop-work order. And the only way to get back on track was to find an architect to do proper code-compliant architectal drawings for our already-in-progress bathroom renovation. I quickly learned that there are not a lot of residential architects hurting for business, certainly not at that time of year. I literally called at least 15 different places. Either people were too busy, or weren't interested in the project. I finally found one who couldn't take the job, but said "hey, we know this other guy in the area who is super good, that we refer people to when we're busy. His name is Brian Hopkins." Somebody directing business to a competitor?? I now understand why they referred me. Brian is only the second architect I've ever worked with, but as far as I can tell, he's as good as it gets. I was able to get in touch with him immediately, and he agreed to take on the work. He was incredibly transparent and clear about what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, and what it would cost. Throughout the process he was super responsive, empathetic, organized, patient, professional, and enjoyable to work with. He didn't nickel and dime us or play games; he was clearly focused on good customer service and outcomes. And from what I can tell, both the building department and my GC were very happy with the quality of his work. The entire ordeal we went through, particularly involving the building department and fines and delays was horrible. Had we not found Brian, had he not been so excellent, the situation might have been unbearable. He literally was our savior. It's absurd not to want to work with someone like this.”

“Nash was very professional , passionate , and informative throughout the design process. It has been a pleasure working with Nash on the design of our custom dream home.”