BBA Design Studio Inc., Architect

Ben was the architect for our upcoming renovation project and was very helpful in both the design as well as obtaining the necessary permits to allow the project to proceed. Thank you, Ben!

I hired Ben as the architect for my full house reno (complete gut) and dormer addition in Toronto. Overall I am extremely satisfied with my experience and would confidently recommend Ben to anyone who needs a qualified, reliable and highly competent architect. Starting from my initial inquiry, Ben was quick to respond, provided clear and fair pricing, and set expectations on timing. I was looking to get moving on the project very quickly and Ben was able to come onsite on the weekend to take detailed measurements to kick things off. From there he was able to move very fast, communicating with me over email, phone and Zoom to get all the drawings together to submit the permit application. When the city was taking too long to review it, Ben contacted the office and pushed to have the review complete (which was achieved successfully). Ben's experience and knowledge of the city review process and reviewers was particularly helpful. This was crucial as I'm sure the process could have dragged along further if Ben hadn't pushed for it. I'm very glad I hired Ben for this project and I will definitely hire him again for my future needs.

I am a house builder in Toronto. Mr Baghdadi's help and knowledge in handling my projects is beyond professionalism. He walked me through the entire process from design to getting approvals and final building permit. His technical knowledge in construction and detailing the project as an architect, saved me money and time. During construction, his time dedication and quick responses to my requests is something that you can't easily find. I am outrageously happy with his services before, during and after construction and I definitely recommend him to everyone who appreciates quality work and comfort in an architectural project.

We retained Mr. Baghdadi’s services for a front addition to our detached home in South Etobicoke. That project was initiated despite several opinions we’d had, including from architects, discouraging the attempt, because “it’s virtually impossible to get a permit for a front addition in the area”. Even the Etobicoke City planning department recommended to drop the application because “it’d be just a waste of time”. Yet, under Mr. Baghdadi guidance, our application for Minor Variance easily sailed through the City’s Committee of Adjustments. Throughout the design and the application phases, Mr. Baghdadi showed outstanding professionalism. His solutions would always exceed our requests and expectations. His balanced manners, while attentive and respectful, were also very focused and reasonable. I consider myself a difficult client, easily pushing beyond the boundaries of the ‘normal’ and the ‘common practice’, both technically and procedurally. Mr. Baghdadi would invariably address my every request, even unusual, with utmost attention and respect, yet was firmly in control of the overall process. His knowledge of the City procedures sped up the permit process at least twice. In one instance, I was told by a department official a particular phase would take about three weeks because they were swamped with work – only to receive a call from our architect in two days that that phase was finished. When the Planning Department recommended dropping the application he expressed confidence – reasonable confidence, not a salesman’s confidence, – in success, and turned out to be right. His time management skills were truly unusual, in my opinion. I personally had never encountered a business party in the GTA area, neither as an independent consultant in my 20 years of consulting here, nor as a client, that would promise to deliver something “next week” and would invariably do that on Monday or Tuesday of that week. Working with contractors on estimates and with the retained contractor, I never had any negative feedback regarding the drawings, neither in direct comments nor in their understanding of the project. The architect’s fees were reasonable on their own, but given the highest quality of the services, were outright excellent. Bottom line: working with Mr. Baghdadi was an affordable and fruitful pleasure. I cannot wait to get funds for our other, more extensive plans for this old house, so we can retain his services again. Naftali Nakhshon

Bamdad has the kind of well rounded skills that make a very good architect - personable, professional and a strong designer that keeps an eye on bylaws, building code and construction technique...things that get you more quickly to a solution that will stand the scrutiny of officials and contractors, and make an owner's project experience more enjoyable.