Clark Richardson Architects

Finding the right architect is daunting. You collect potential names from friends, do your research, and tour some homes, but none of this due diligence prepares you for how deeply personal the journey of designing a home with your chosen professional really is. We are so grateful we found Ed and April, principals at Clark Richardson Architecture. Through their process, we drilled down and dissected our list of wants and needs, finding that there was a big difference in what we thought our vision was and what the vision really needed to be! Ed and April are keenly inquisitive, highly receptive and genuine. Throughout the design phase they were able to weed through our idea overload and focus the design into a home that fits us beautifully, and continues to surprise us. Their knowledge of materials, products, construction best practices, home tech, green living, and—it has to be said—City Code, is astonishing. That they hold this knowledge and are able to patiently guide you through it sets them apart. They are a small firm with big office power. Ed and April pick up the phone when you call and yet they are also able to specify the final building set of plans to the nail (literally!) like they have a back office of 20. We still have moments at home where we take in a view corridor, a special vignette, or we walk from the carport to the house under the steel cantilever walkway they designed and think, Thank You Ed and April!

Clark Richardson Architects are the perfect combination of creative and professional. Their ability to drill into what a client wants/needs and execute a plan with precision and detail all the way through is unrivaled. They were professional and communicative with us through the entire design and build process. They simplified what can be an overwhelming number of decisions and walked us through more intricate details of the process. During a tough time for consistent construction budgets and timelines, their detailed plans and communication made it possible to anticipate and avoid many potential pitfalls. The end result for us is a dream home with all of the qualities that are important to our family. Ed and April are absolutely the best!

We worked with Clark Richardson Architects on a whole house gut renovation of our South Austin home. They transformed what had been a dark home with no flow into a beautiful light-filled space that suits our family's needs perfectly. Ed and April were amazing to work with. They understand how a family and a couple want to use space. They understood our style, offered us an array of choices, and were respectful of our budget. They are highly talented professionals and good people. Big construction projects can be daunting--Ed and April will guide you through the process and help you achieve the home you've always wanted.

We are in love with our new home! Ed and April were wonderful to work without throughout the entire design and build process. They were flexible, attentive, and really captured our style and our needs. There were many moments when I second guessed design elements, fixtures or finishes. Their response through these moments was supportive without being blown around by my whims and changing ideas (which was all the time). They were keepers of the vision while still incorporating our ideas and our feedback. The result is a home that is beautifully designed and functional (thanks to them) and also feels like “us” and like we had a hand in making it. This was our first home build, so we don’t have anything to compare to, but the level of responsiveness felt really above and beyond. Last but not least, the level of detail and foresight in the plans made for a virtually seamless build process. Many, many headaches bypassed by working with these guys. So incredibly grateful for Ed and April.

April and Ed built us our dream house. We started with a complicated lot — very old house that we wanted to preserve that was built into a hill, some precious heritage live oaks to preserve. We knew we needed an architect who could build us something exceptionally functional for a family to really live in day in and day out, the preservation skills to understand the old house, as well as the vision for beautiful to match our aesthetic sensibilities and the character of the neighborhood. They went above and beyond. Working them was a breeze. We had never done anything like this before and they made every step of the way accessible, understanding + seeing our vision and taking it to places we did not have the professional insight to imagine ourselves. They helped with every obstacle, from our lot through permitting and beyond. We love it, our neighbors love it, random passerbys walking down the street call out to let us know they love it. Thank you, Ed and April, for being the best!

We are now living in our dream house after working with Clark Richardson over the past year and a half. The process was collaborative, creative, fun and enjoyable. The attention to detail and quality was terrific. The result is a beautiful home!

We hired Clark Richardson Architects for a major renovation of our home in Westlake. We gutted the first floor and added a third room to the 2nd floor. Ed and April transformed the dated interior and exterior into a modern open floor plan that took advantage of our wonderful views of Lake Austin. They were great to work with during the entire process. An added plus was having a husband and wife team that could incorporate the practicalities of raising a family without sacrificing design. We would highly recommend Clark Richardson Architects!

If you are looking to build your dream house, and want to have absolutely every detail covered down to the last nail, April & Ed the Co Owners of Clark Richardson Architects, are your people. There process started with my wife and I sending over photos of homes we love and styles we love. A few weeks later April & Ed presented to us a home that was 10X better than we could have ever dreamed of! Their focus on incredible design can not be overlooked, they incorporated every feature we wanted and even surprised us with features we didn't know we needed! After we decided on final renderings, April & Ed found, vetted, and got bids from great builders around town. They were able to find us really high quality builders who were a fraction of the cost of the other builders we spoke with. I could not recommend them higher!! April and Ed are the kind of people you dream of getting to work with when it comes to building a custom home!

Clark-Richardson Architects is a wonderful architecture firm! We had the privilege to work with April Clark and Ed Richardson on our new home design that is now in full-on construction in Austin. They are outstanding in all aspects -- getting the clear needs/wishes/visions from the client, developing creative alternatives and solutions, producing meticulous and constructor-praised drawings, and maintaining integrity of design and vision through the construction phases. April and Ed are personable, creative, fun, great listeners and keep the process moving in clear, efficient and enjoyable direction.

I give April and Ed my highest recommendation and will continue to use them for future projects. Their professionalism and knowledge is exceptional and our project is better than we expected. They met every deadline and continued to work with us and the contractor to help make sure the completion and punch lists were complete to our satisfaction.

We found Clark Richardson Architects because they were remodeling a home a few streets over from our lot in Hyde Park. We loved how they were modernizing an older home and blending the new architecture so that it compliments the neighborhood. We were unsure if they would fit our budget because of their high-end aesthetic, but they were reasonably priced, approachable, eager to accommodate all of our ideas and even included our 10 year old son at the meetings. It was important to us to not look like so many other new houses in Austin, and they created a mid-century modern design that is unlike anything I have seen anywhere, yet still fits in perfectly. On a daily basis I am amazed at the details they included like the beautiful sizes, shapes and locations of the windows. And I did not realize our ceilings would bring me so much joy! Ed and April are talented, honest, professional, FUN, and care about their clients and Austin.

It has been a joy to work with Clark/Richardson to design a guesthouse that will be our winter residence in Austin. We chose Clark/Richardson because we like their aesthetic. The unexpected bonus is that they are also delightful people with an approach that makes decisions seem effortless. Ed Richardson is collaborative, responsive, knowledgeable, a good listener, an excellent problem-solver and an effective communicator. While this was a relatively small project, there were a lot of specific things that we wanted and he had to assure compliance with the many requirements from the City of Austin. In addition, he had to accommodate the needs of our family in the existing, somewhat quirky main house. We knew we were in good hands as he navigated the many challenges with expertise and a calm demeanor. He helped us find a contractor that was a good fit for us, and he was available throughout the construction to advise us. We are thrilled with both the design process and our beautiful new guesthouse!