GR Visser Architecture, Inc.

I’ve had the opportunity to support Gretchen for 15 years now with structures engineering for her projects and have been able to observe her professional growth and creative advancement in doing a large variety of residential and commercial buildings with many clients. She has always been authentic and character driven with honesty and integrity with her clients. Gretchen has an ever patient and cheerful/engaging disposition. She is quite knowledgeable of the ever changing and increasing complexity of the many Codes involved in bringing a project to fruition but remains calm and steady with the agencies and her clients. She’s definitely hard working. Ms. Massee is goal oriented in completing projects efficiently and in a timely manner while at the same time being empathetic in understanding her clients’ needs, concerns, dreams, and budget. She’s intuitive and creative while being humble at motivating her clients to the final design decisions. She can present persuasive arguments for good solutions to issues while being a good listener. It takes a certain kindness to walk the client through the “mine-field” of Code complexities that can affect the choices and costs in reaching the final solution and Gretchen seems to have that. She can be artistically engaging while at the same time inspiring visions beyond what the client has started with. Gretchen has a good business manner and is reliable to deliver what and when she’s committed to at the start.

We just recently moved back in our newly remodeled home designed by Gretchen and we are so happy with the results. Gretchen was highly professional, easy to work with, worked well with our general contractor and helped us design the perfect home for our family. I can't recommend GR Massee Architecture highly enough!

I had an unbelievably positive experience with Gretchen on my new residential construction in Gig Harbor. So many things stand out, it's hard to mention them all. But a few of the highlights: First off, she's darn good at what she does! She was able to bring my babblings, design guidance, sketches and idea photos to life and exceed my expectations with the end product (and I don't mean the architectural designs, but the home that resulted). We were doing 'French farmhouse meets Brooklyn loft...with a bit of Northwest Contemporary' thrown in, and somehow, we got it! ;-) The rooms are all sized appropriately and there aren't any elements that feel 'off' (in terms of being too big/small or misplaced). Just fantastic work. Second, she's incredibly detail oriented and persistent. We had to navigate a permitting morass with the city, county and HOA and chase down all sorts of crazy stuff including eagle permits, soil surveys, fire approvals and the like - if I had to do it solo, I would have given up. But Gretchen just pushed forward and got it all done. What a patient warrior! She also works on stuff that many architects wouldn't, like the electrical plan for where every light switch and socket should go - sounds crazy (or did to me) but so glad we went through the process as it saved time and money with the electricians...and really got me something that is personalized for my lifestyle and use of the space. Third would be her interpersonal style, including patience, listening skills, openness to ideas and suggestions, and the willingness to push back when necessary - I really appreciated the last bit, as I was building this house without a significant other and Gretchen served as a great counterbalance when I would propose something that made no sense for cost or aesthetic reasons. But really, her EQ and interpersonal skills are top-notch and make her a pleasure to work with. Whenever I would call, she would either answer immediately or get back to me quickly. And she kept her word on deadlines and turnaround time and was willing to work nights and weekends to get the end products out to ensure we stayed on track. Lastly, I really appreciated her 'by the hour' commercial model. Most architects I talked to wanted to charge me a percentage (10-15%) of the construction cost. This not only resulted in an absurbdly high professional services fee that I'd have to tack on to the overall build cost, but set up a perverse incentive whereby my advisor was motivated to drive up the size of the home and/or the materials' costs in order to have the largest possible construction cost against which to apply their fee. Gretchen's $ per hour model made much more sense. She is meticulous in her record keeping and very fair in what she's billing for, so I felt good about writing her a check each month, especially in light of the high quality work she was doing. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND GRETCHEN to anyone considering an architect in this area and definitely would use her again on a future residential construction project.

We recently completed building a unique and expensive custom home. Throughout the MANY frustrations and challenges of the custom home building process, working with Gretchen was without a doubt the best experience of the overall process. Gretchen's personal interactions with us were always pleasant and professional and her work was impeccable. She has the very rare ability to really listen to WHAT you say and provide input when necessary to ensure the final product is perfect. Gretchen always communicated clearly and promptly and never missed a promised delivery date. Her prices were fair and the product she delivered very impressive. I am a Nuclear Engineer, so by my nature, I'm a stickler for detail and accuracy and Gretchen's exceeded my expectation in all aspects of the design AND execution phase of our project. I absolutely recommend her with NO reservations.

Gretchen is the perfect combination of precision meets creativity. She has designed both of our physical therapy offices (Anchor Physical Therapy in Tacoma and Lakewood if you ever want to swing by and see her work). And both clinics are anything but an average. Gretchen has a way of tapping into your design style and finding both functionality and flare. She has never missed a deadline. We can totally depend on her in every way. And when others dropped the ball, she was there to pick it up and make sure everything was finished perfectly. I would highly recommend Gretchen for all of your architectural needs.

Working with Gretchen to design our home was a treat! She listened to us, asked relevant questions, and clearly understood what we were looking for. The design work went quickly and her great working relationships with the county planning department made permitting far easier than we had expected. Her attention to the cost of building should make this a cost effective build as well. We are now beginning construction and excited to see our new home come to life! We would hire her again in a flash!