Howard McNenny, AIA

I can strongly recommend Howard for his fine design, the city permit approvals he obtained, his on-site visits, and his good working relationship with our contractor, Mr. Don Waters. We had a unique set of limitations due to a property-line issue, but Howard was able to navigate the challenges with speed and expertise. In our part of the East Bay, architects and contractors must have good working relations with the city zoning and planning officials. Everyone at Albany City Hall knows Howard and has confidence in his abilities. I cannot overstate how important this is in the building process. Howard's design for our garage rebuild and new room/office above was appropriate for the existing house and for the general atmosphere of our neighborhood. I did have to talk him out of a couple design ideas he was in favor of, and I had to clarify instructions on several occasions, but he made the adjustments to the original designs and we ended up with a lovely addition with some unique features (please see the photos). I may not be the easiest client to work with, but Howard maintained professionalism and patience throughout the design and construction process, and we're exceedingly grateful.

I hired Howard McNenny to design a remodel in my basement in conjunction with a seismic retrofit I was having done. First let me say that I had originally hired a local designer (not an architect) to save a few bucks. She took my deposit, rarely returned calls or emails, and never produced even a rough sketch in 4 months. So I was running behind and was extremely frustrated. Howard jumped on my job right away, and was always super responsive. He produced sketches, answered questions in layperson's terms (my terms) and was generally positive to work with. He also was great at working with the City of Albany in securing my permit and making sure everything was done properly. We've had questions as the job has progressed and has always been responsive via email and phone. Quite a refreshing change from my experience with the designer. I would absolutely hire Howard again and would recommend him to others.

Howard was a pleasure to work with. Howard knows city requirements and we got our building permit in a timely manner. He provided excellent value and was easy to communicate with. Working with Howard was a real collaboration and we are so happy we worked with him.

Our 1915 Craftsman came with 100 year old kitchen cabinets, electrical wiring and plumbing (or lack thereof)! Howard helped us with a compete kitchen remodel that involved the demolition of 2 walls. He worked well with us and our contractor. We passed inspections in the City of Berkeley with flying colors, which is no easy feat!

We feel incredibly lucky to have Howard design the remodel for our house. Our house has some nice Mediterranean touches, but the layout was akward and needed serious renovation, so much so that we were discouraged that our house couldn't be remodeled to our liking. However, Howard's design perserved the original integrity and greatly improved the flow from the front deck to the back yard. We love the expanded spaces that he designed for our kitchen, master bedroom, expanded bathroom and closet. Howard worked well with our contractor collaborating to solve construction problems and keeping our project completed on time and budget. We are very happy with the entire project and highly recommend Howard McNenny.

Howard was recommended to us by a local high-volume and well-respected realtor who had retained him for her own remodel years back. Right away we were impressed by Howard's professionalism and his extremely quick responses. We had talked to other architects and solicited bids but none even came close to Howard's response timing, non-pushy demeanor, and especially his can-do attitude. After we retained Howard the process went very smoothly. He knew we wanted to move forward with our project as quickly as possible. We didn't have much space to work with for the addition. Right out of the gate, his first set of plans were creative and impressive. He managed to incorporate into the drawings all of our ideas and wishes, with an ingenious layout to make maximum use of the space. With every small change to the plans thereafter, whether ours or the City's, Howard acted quickly and efficiently. I am extremely pleased to say that Howard stayed on top of the City process, encouraged the City along as necessary, and was able to meet our desired construction start date- not an easy task! He remained professional and positive throughout the entire experience. I have already recommended Howard to several friends, one of whom has retained Howard for her project, another who is passing his information along to her friends. If you would like a more detailed description of our process and our work with Howard, please reach out to Howard for my contact information.