Passive Solar Heating & Cooling Companies in Medford

“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.”

“Colin is a highly experienced home designer, having worked on many large high-end residential, as well as commercial projects. His planning to determine space usage is very thorough and thoughtful for daily living and future eventualities. Colin is also very hands-on in managing his projects.”

“We were very happy with the the whole project and especially with the design. Eric is easy to work with and very professional. He is able to understand the client's desires and transform them into something unique.”

“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.”

“We worked with Pat on two renovation projects, post-Irene and post-Sandy. We were impressed by her innovative designs, attention to detail, and her ability to secure the necessary local approvals. She has been instrumental in turning our 1920s beach cottage into a more beautiful and functional space, while preserving its original charm. We are thrilled with the outcome and wholeheartedly recommend her.”

“Trillium architects designed a beautiful home for us in Connecticut. I feel the house reflects what we wanted to achieve and for the past 4 years have been extremely happy here. We have space, light and a nice flow to every room and we receive many compliments on the exterior as well.”

“We hired Melissa to remodel our 1950's closed off kitchen with the end goal of opening up the space, adding more seating, and providing ample storage. She provided us with multiple renderings and was able to discuss the pros/cons of each while keeping our budget in mind. Once we decided which layout worked best, she helped me shop and keep in mind the "whole picture" rather than just focusing on small details. Her ability to visualize the finished project was invaluable because she saved me both time and money! Once construction began, she worked closely with the builder and subs to monitor the project. Our project finished both on-time and on-budget because of her dedication to our project. Our new kitchen is truly the heart of our home. It's both functional and beautiful and that is in large part due to Melissa. I highly recommend her!”

“Cristiane Ortiz has excellent taste, and the real world know-how to achieve a really great result. She is very professional, very pleasant, and very easy to deal with. She is a very responsible person and cares about every details and tries her best to save money and best of all. I guess the good thing about hiring Cristiane was her vision and her meticulous attention to detail in execution. Her remodeling project for our master bathroom is astonishingly beautiful.”

“As a landscape design professional I have collaborated with Paul Bialowas Architect on several projects over the years. Paul's unique approach to each design project, results in innovative and elegant architectural solutions that meets the client's needs, schedule and budget. When it was time to do an addition to my own house, I have asked Paul to design it.”

“We hired Dan and his company to do a renovation on our 1836 era home. They designed an open kitchen floorplan, added a stone fireplace, a butler's pantry, and office, and reconfigured our back entry and laundry room. They also added another bathroom upstairs and extended our patio outside. I loved that he reused original materials and also sourced beams, etc. that matched the home. (They found an original floor beam that was not in good enough shape to continue support, so they replaced this and he suggested using the good part of this beam as our new mantle. It looks great and I love using an original beam in a prominent place in the new room.) The design gave us an updated and more efficient way to use our old house, while keeping with the traditional look and feel. We also really liked the way Dan charged for his services. Instead of a percentage of the total job - which creates the incentive for the architect to increase the size of the job, Dan charged by the hour of his time. We could call him at any point in the job to come oversee the contractor or consult. And were always happy with his involvement. We felt that he and his firm were a great value.”