TOPOS Architects, Inc

Local group understands the required patience and detail oriented needs of local building department and clients deadlines and busy schedule due to the quick turnaround required by all

Our experience with Topos began two years before we purchased a home to be remodeled. We began discussing with Peter homes we liked and visiting homes for sale to discuss renovation potential. Several months later, we purchased a home that needed major renovations. Peter and Jeremy spent six months with us working through three options and we selected one. We agreed to a timeline and budget. Both Peter and Jeremy were very respectful of both the timeline and budget. We met every Friday evening after work for an hour or so to make decisions until the house was almost complete. The actual construction took about 10 months after six months of getting the design and permits. This is a lot of work but Peter and Jeremy made it possible. They were always responsive and great at problem solving. We liked Peter's eye for aesthetics and detail and always chose from the choices that he and Jeremy gave us. We made it into our home before the holidays and any details that needed attention after we moved in were promptly attended to by Peter and Jeremy. I would recommend them highly to anyone considering them as an architect and/or contractor.

We've lived in our home that was remodeled by TOPOS for a year now, and continue to be extremely pleased with the design and quality of materials and craftsmanship. The sight lines are beautiful throughout the house, and the spaces are all "just right". We now use every corner of our home - so much wasted space before! TOPOS was extremely professional, detail-oriented and easy to work with - we had no "construction nightmares" in any way - and the whole process was surprisingly stress-free. We are very happy to recommend TOPOS.

We hired Topos for a ~400 sq. ft. addition to our home in Redwood City. Even though we were hesitant to engage an architect at all, as we weren't sure whether spending this kind of money before the construction even started was necessary, we are now very happy with our decision. Any contractor that saw our plans asked: "Who made these construction drawings? They are very good and detailed - makes my job so much easier!" We worked with Jeremy throughout this process, who was very knowledgeable, on time, and always ready to jump on a call and discuss anything that needed a thorough thought process. One of Topos' strength is definitely that they are also a General Contractor for some of their clients. They have a lot of expertise not only in creating "beautiful designs" but also in what it means to build them, and what the cost, pros and cons of certain materials are. Another aspect that was extremely helpful for us was that they assisted us in a) finding a general contractor, and b) writing us a construction contract that we could agree to -- as we had zero experience with this sort of thing ourselves. Overall, we had an excellent experience with Topos and would recommend them to anyone looking for a very detail-oriented and full-service architecture firm.

We recently moved into a house in Palo Alto that we designed and built from the ground up with Topos Architects. The process took about 2 1/2 years start to finish including slow Palo Alto permitting, and we love the final product. Peter Baltay's houses are full of light and windows, well thought-out detailing, and high quality materials. We first encountered his work when looking for a built home in Palo Alto several years ago, before we ever considered building for ourselves. One of the few houses we saw that really appealed to us (except the location, which wasn't ideal for our circumstances) was a spec home Topos had built. I still remember marveling at the quality of the woodwork on the doors and cabinets, the flow of light, and the way that corners and angles were turned into useful, charming spaces. So when we finally decided to look into building, my husband went to talk to Peter Baltay about the process. We were incredibly fortunate that at that meeting, Peter mentioned a lot that he knew an owner wanted to sell, in exactly the location we wanted. One week later we bought it. My husband had immediately formed a great impression of Peter and his firm, and even after meeting with other local firms, we decided to work with Topos. Other than buying the lot, this was the best decision we made along the way. My husband is highly detail-oriented and value-conscious when it comes to building, and has experience with basic construction, electrical, and functional design. Most architects/builders would probably go crazy working with him, because he's so hands on and particular. Yet Peter welcomed his input, and they worked well together through the whole process. In fact, Peter has an incredible diplomatic ability, which is very helpful in this field. Many of the subcontractors he recommends (although they do collect bids from multiple subs and some are new with each job) are well-known to him, and do high quality work (especially painting/drywall, cabinets/woodwork). No one finds perfect subs for everything, but when my husband wanted things redone, they got redone without any quibbling. Peter even personally smoothed out what could have been a big conflict with our neighbor over our design, such that we now get along very well with her (without changing our design)! Because the firm is small and personal, this sense of integrity, diplomacy, and adapting to the needs of the client is really the ethos of everyone who works there. And now that we've finished building, we remain good friends with them and my husband is even helping with other Topos projects! I think few people can say that about their architect/builder after a major construction project like this one. From my perspective as the member of our family most concerned with interior design and finishes, Peter and the Topos staff made the process much less stressful than I had imagined it would be. They have the timing for decisions about finishes down to a science, so I never had more decisions to make at one time than I could handle. When it was time to choose appliances, lighting fixtures, paint, or tile, that was all I had to think about, and they gave great suggestions that helped narrow down the enormous field of choices in each area. We went together to shops or dug through sample boxes in the office, until everything felt right to me. It's still a lot of work, but much less painful when broken down. As you can tell, I don't have any negatives to share about our experience working with Topos and Peter in particular. If we were to do it again, we would definitely work with Topos for both design and build. We love the finished product, and the process went as well as we could possibly imagine given that building a house from the ground up is a huge undertaking.

I'm happy to strongly endorse Peter Baltay and his crew at Topos Architects as both a design firm and as a project management service. When my wife I are were contemplating building a home, we approached Topos as we had seen a previous spec project they had done and loved it. Design elements include maximizing space utilization, minimizing hallways, lots of light and windows, beautiful wood accents, high quality trim and attention to detail all appealed to us. During our first meeting when I complained about not finding any good lots for sale, Peter pointed out a few, including one particular lot that was not yet on MLS. The location was perfect for us and I ended up buying it 7 days later. The take home is that Peter has contacts in the area that give his clients access to info not always publicly available. We interviewed many architects and came back to Topos. I didn't like how some wanted to deliver a set of plans and walk away, leaving the builder to struggle with implementation. I also didn't like how some were 'out-dated' - I wanted computer-based models so I could visualize my home before it was built. As an engineer type, Peter and Topos were a great fit. I also wanted a firm who would help oversee the process from start to end and not and not pass the potato as soon as things went wrong (without paying through the nose for a personal assistant). I knew from previous contractor experience that building a home wasn't a cake walk and I wanted someone with integrity who I would work with through the entire process - Peter gave me that impression. Perhaps most of all, I wanted to know I was paying a fair price. I hated the standard fixed bid way of building houses where you're always combatting the general contractor over quality and price. I wanted complete transparency. Topos was prepared to offer this and had multiple previous projects to illustrate how this could be done and what I should expect. I want to address some of the negative comments in one review on this site directly. Building a house is not like Extreme Makeover where you go on vacation, return home and say 'Move that Bus' and have the house of your dreams. It is a process with literally thousands of decisions and over a dozen sub contractors. Mistakes are going to happen. Some people are going to do poor work some days. The city is probably going to say you can't do something essential to your design. Some tiles look great in the store but don't work in your house. Bad things happen. If you don't like a design element, it isn't Peter's fault, it is your fault. What you want on your team is someone that will work with you to effectively manage these things, prevent them when possible and deal with them when unavoidable. I can't imagine Peter and Topos doing a much better on this front. I'm willing to bet the negative reviewer never gave Topos a chance to fix what bothered her. In our case Peter and Topos were very up-front about what services they offer and where we might consider augmenting with our own consultants. Many people hire a lighting designer, interior designer, landscape design, etc.. We only hired a landscape guy and did the rest with Topos to save money. It is up to you. Look at previous homes and see what meets your standards and what doesn't. Oh, the comment about not working hard is absurd. Peter is there 8-7 most days. And, when things do go wrong, Topos stands behind the job. In our case a tile sub messed up the master bath. Peter made them tear out thousands in tile and redo it from scratch. While the sub provided the labor, Peter paid for all the tile out of pocket claiming they should have caught it earlier. This is someone who admits a mistake and takes responsibility for fixing it. For a bonus-factor, Peter is an amazing diplomat. He worked with some frustrated neighbors to make them advocates for our project, he worked with the city to find a way top get our gutters and design approved, and most of all he worked with me (which is no easy task) for 18 months to build a beautiful home. One other thing I'll add - in retrospect I undervalued the importance of working with subs that are beholden to the general contractor for their next job. While Topos let me select which contractor to use, there is an advantage to going with ones that they have used in the past and will use again. Because Topos builds a number of projects each year, many of the best subs work from one project to the next (provided you elect to go with them). Because of this dependence, they are incentivized to finish through 110% on your project. There were a few cases where a sub has had to come back many times (often fixing someone else's problems) and they have done so without complaint and without additional 'change orders'. They do it because it is right and they want to stay on Topos' good side.

Peter designed our total remodel in San Francisco and we embarked on the process with a clear design intent in mind, especially for the interior. The design Development was quite quick and once he understood our requirements we quickly found a solution we all were happy with. Initially we just thought of using him for Design Services but, having not found the right GC for the project Topos stepped in as the GC, calling upon a good set of subs for the various aspects of the project. We did go over budget but not by more than what the original contractors quoted us fixed fee, and that was before we discovered in demo that the center part of the house had no foundation! Five years later I called him for the first time with an issue with a small leak, which goes to show how the house, when you chose the right people and right materials can be hassle free. Peter does not up-sell the materials used in a project but at the same time is steadfast on not cutting corners if it means that saving a buck today will mean a problem tomorrow. He didn't always agree with what we said and vice versa but the mark of a good and successful working relationship is when the other side listens and understands what the pros and cons are of each decision in the design and construction process. We would have no problems in working with Peter again, however, as we really love our house, we fear it will not be for some time!

I highly recommend TOPOS and Peter Baltay if you are designing and building a quality house. In 2008, we decided to replace our 1953 tract house with a larger house of high quality. Now after living in the house for over 4 years, we continue to be well-pleased. I took the photos attached - note that I am not a professional photographer, so the photos may not be the best. We interviewed 4 local architects before settling on Peter. He and his staff at TOPOS impressed us with his environmental awareness as well as experience in dealing with all the regulations involved in constructing houses in the present day and age in the San Francisco Bay Area generally and Palo Alto in particular. Another factor was his willingness to listen to our personal requirements and to communicate with us. Building a house seems simple at first glance, but in reality is a complex process. Getting all the desirable features in place, while still meeting the building codes and other regulations, is a major challenge, with many compromises that must be made. Peter and Kelvin did a masterful job of balancing the realities of the city's limitations and our desire for unlimited space in all areas of the house. We also used Peter as general contractor, and were well pleased with his performance there as well. We were kept informed as the building progressed and as the intermediate inspections by the city's building department took place. The house turned out like we wanted, both inside and out. Friends and neighbors who visit continually comment on the beauty of the cabinets and the layout of the interior, along with the beauty of the exterior. The cabinets are from a sustainable wood as was the beautiful front door (Peter made sure the certification of the sourcing of the wood was complete - we have the certification paperwork in hand). Peter and Kelvin pointed us to stoneyards so we could pick for ourselves the slabs for the countertops in the kitchen and baths, as well as the tile for the bathroom floors and shower and tub areas, the quartzite for the entrance areas, and tone of sandstone for the porch and patio areas. The combination of energy-efficient insulation, double-pane windows, hydronic heating system, and solar water heating has resulted in electric and gas usage far lower than the old house, despite the large increase in energy rates.

We cannot recommend Peter Balty highly enough. We purchased a house designed and just completed by Topos. Peter and his colleagues have given us ongoing support and answered our questions as the owner had deceased. The house can be viewed on the Topos website with the label Sabine's House and you will see for yourself the excellent layout, attention to detail.