Green Building Services in Westchester County, NY

“Working with Jimmy Crisp and his associates was a great and valuable learning experience that could not have turned out better than it did. Jimmy truly met, and in many instances, went beyond our expectations. The project, which was a complete gut renovation, went very smoothly and it did come in on budget with the exception of new items that were included after our original quote. Of course there were differences of opinions and long discussions about changes/desired outcomes and new costs, however, I would say that because of Jimmy's constant presence at the site, complete knowledge of exactly what was suppose to happen at all stages of the project and calm manner we escaped situations that could, at the time, have been less satisfactory. Jimmy, the associates and clerical employees of his firm are all a 10 in my book! My experience with Crisp Architects makes me believe that anyone seeking a great architect, backed by a most professional staff, could not do better than to choose Crisp Architects.”

“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.”

“Foster Architecture does beautiful and well-conceived work. His approach to problem solving is both professional and calm. My project was a renovation of a 1970’s builder’s contemporary that was visually disorganized inside and out. Foster re-organized and balanced the spaces, completely transforming the interior and exterior with small aesthetic changes throughout, while integrating the building into the surrounding land, giving the house an up-to-date 21st Century look and quality. Foster’s knowledge of the aesthetic use of materials is comprehensive and creative. I highly recommend his work and look forward to working with him again in the future.”

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

“Lisa Gilbert, LPG Architect, performed two jobs for us. In 2008, she designed a porch and mudroom. In 2013, she designed a two-story addition that included a new master bedroom suite and kitchen, and a reconfiguration of existing space. In connection with the latter project, Lisa also represented us before the zoning board for a small variance. We found Lisa very professional and accommodating of our schedules. She initially presented us with multiple ideas and was detail oriented in the design process. The result is fantastic. She considered important drainage/water issues that were important for the design and we could not be more pleased with the space. We highly recommend Lisa.”

“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.”

“We had a complete renovation done of our bedroom wing with 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms and a hallway under Heike's guidance. This was the 2nd project we have done with her, and we are once more thrilled with the result! What we like about Heike is that, she is a nice person to work with, she listens well, does extra research, has a lot of knowledge of materials and where to get them, and last but not least the fact that she comes from Europe and understands our modern European taste well. She introduced a number of nice touches in the overall design and paid attention to the overall energy efficiency of the renovation. She also worked with our contractor and the building department of our town. We can full-heartedly recommend her.”

“We have worked with Naiztat and Ham on two projects in our Long Island homes. They are creative, flexible, insightful, timely and an exceptional combination of personal and professional. Our last project in 2007 was conceived with a sense of style and timelessness. We will gladly take you on a Skype or FaceTime tour, if you wish to see the results of their work...just email us at pessner@optonline.net. For the construction phase, their assistance in objectively selecting the contractor was essential. They maintained a constant management role in the project, relieving us of the daily anxiety of oversight. It is our pleasure to offer this review of their work.”

“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.”

“Michael Bird is a very talented and knowledgeable Architect specializing in Adirondack style homes. He designed our home and garage, obtained all permits, hired top contractors and supervised the entire construction and landscape project. The finished product is amazing. His attention to detail is impeccable. He and his staff are a pleasure to work with. They kept us up to date with progress reports and photos and met all deadlines. We are so very happy with the way our home turned out and would highly recommend Michael Bird and Adirondack Design. We will be working with Michael in the Spring of 2014 on a boathouse.”