I'm sure you have tried most of the ideas we might suggest but maybe someone knows of an architect in your area. Where is the project located?

Have you contacted you local chapter of The American Institute of Architects for referrals?

Fast, Good, Cheap - pick any two!

Los Altos

geoffrey_b, which two?

The best and cheapest are semi-retired sole-practitioner architects. They don't have as much overhead expense as a fully staffed office and usually have greater experience than the typical designer assigned to a residential project in a larger office.

"Fast" wasn't mentioned which seems appropriate for what sounds like a difficult design project. A lot of hours have apparently already been spent on this design without success.

You put "architects" in quotation marks. Were they not really architects or were they not worthy of a professional title?

What are your goals for your house?

My understanding is that a lot of good folks are very busy these days. Check houzz and references.

Hope you will find a good fit, best of luck!

JDS, do you have any suggestions? or references? I live in Los Altos , CA. I want to build a 2story classic modern house about 4200sf on 14,000sf lot

Thanks for everyone’s comment

This is the style i would like to have

[sorry, never mind, I will see if I can pm you]

If there is a builder whose houses you like and are seriously considering using, maybe ask him/her/them for suggestions.

Oaktown's correct in that everyone is busier. As a starting point here's the link for a search within 50 miles of Los Altos. Looks like there's many possibilities.

http://www.houzz.com/professionals/s/Architects-%26-Building-Designers/c/Palo-Alto%2C-CA

Yes, you are right. We initially just want to expand kitchen, living room, and raise ceiling. After 14 month and with building permit. The construction costs were in 700,000. I was totally blew away. I think I can get a brand new house with little more, right? That is why I want to have a new architect who knows what he/she is doing.

Sounds like the client is the one who doesn't know what they're doing, not the architects. Changing the scope of work 3/4 of the way along is never beneficial to anyone except the person designing by the hour. It ends up costing much more in the long run than having a realistic idea of what your budget can accomplish and laying out the scope correctly in the first place that matches that budget. Sometimes that means abandoning the project and moving.

You will also probably be shocked at what new construction costs in your location if you don't do more due diligence on the front end. Double your remodel bid at a minimum for that pictured house. Maybe triple. If you are even allowed to do a teardown and rebuild. The local permit office should be your first stop before doing anything else.

Based on my experience at the halfway point with a major remodel in the Diablo Valley--cheaper housing costs than Los Altos--you will pay dramatically more than $700K. We've added a second story, replaced all the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, windows, etc on our 50 year old house. It ain't cheap. Our architect stopped by yesterday, and he said costs have continued to go up since we got bids last spring. We had several contractors give us general ballpark bids over a year ago to help us decide on the scope of work we could handle. They were lower than what we contracted for by around twenty percent. On top of that, costs have gone up in the Bay Area because all the trades are busy. Whatever you think you ought to be able to do the work for, it will be much, much more.

i recommend contacting local builders and architects to inquire about costs for your project. you will get a wide range, so talk to as many as possible. ask the GC's which architects you should be calling and ask the architects which GC's you should be calling to cast a wide net. from this you should be able to determine go-no go on a rebuild. or the reno. good luck!

Los Altos, 4200 ft2 house I would guess at least $1.5M to build. Soft costs could be another 10+% on top of that.

For reference, look at spec houses in your area. You'll be able to approximate build cost based on the prior sale price (before the tear down) and the new house sale price.

Here is a 2011 blog post from a Los Altos realtor about local build costs. Beware: prices have gone up considerably since that article was written. As others have suggested please talk to builders for ballpark estimates as well. If you find a builder you like, he/she can probably direct you to architects with whom they work well.

I lived and practiced architecture in Palo Alto for over 17 years. The San Francisco peninsula is one of the most expensive places to build in the U.S. And the time and costs for approvals add to the hard construction expense. Los Altos and Los Alto Hills are very expensive places to build since there is little available vacant land and remodel construction has become the next best choice. I hope you can find a solution which works for you!