James Hill Architect, AIA

I worked with James a few years back for a moderate-sized home renovation in Bernal Heights. He came recommended through another close architect friend. I am a single woman who owns a home and was not in the bit slightest handy or experienced in the realm of this sort of project, but James made it smooth and easy--even pleasant. :) He was reliable, honest, and patient with me and I would use him again Thanks, James! I love my home.

I have had the pleasure of working with James Hill on more than a few projects over the past several years. I always appreciate the attention to detail as well as his intuition for practical design . James values his relationship with clients and knows how to achieve a tasteful balance of their particular wants and needs. I look forward to working with him for years to come and definitely recommend anyone looking to work with him to do so.

As a general contractor,I have worked with James Hill several times in the last few years, and I highly recommend him for any architectural needs. He is a pleasure to work with, and has a great eye for details. He listens to customers needs and creates interesting designs. He also makes sure the contractors understand what he wants.

James Hill is very enjoyable to work with, friendly and energetic. Along with his enthusiastic attitude he has great design ideas. He has been very responsive and always very thorough with any questions or issues that have occurred on projects. It’s obvious that James really enjoys doing what he does and I look forward to continue working with him.

It’s easy to sing the praises of James Hill Architect. We at Collier-Ostrom, Inc., Remodeling Contractor, have worked with Jim for over 20 years, both as Client, Contractor and Owner. There’s a reason. He continues to impress us with the quality of his work, the clarity of his drawings and detailing and his sensitivity to our client’s goals. He’s well versed in the intricacies of local requirements, essential in a locale like San Francisco. Equally impressive is his ability to create a solid and happy team with the Owner, the Contractor and the Architect all working together towards a common goal and a spectacular outcome. We enjoy working with Jim and plan to do so again.

James designed a kitchen remodel for us and we love it! He listened to our needs and ideas and gave us a kitchen that suits our form and function. James is a very experienced architect and that was great guidance for us. He has strong design ideas but was open to hearing our design ideas too and that mattered. He made sure to work with our budget and reminded us when we would start changing things. James definitely follows up on the project. We really liked that he would come regularly on site to check details and progress. He is very easy to talk to and very trustworthy.

We hired James Hill to be the architect and oversee the renovation of our flat. The work was quite extensive and Jim was so helpful. He has great taste and understands economic constraints. We're so happy with our home... thank you, Jim!

Jim is great to work with. He gives his full attention to all aspects of the project - from design to working drawings to construction review. No detail that a client may inquire about is too small for Jim to provide an informed and often imaginative response. His vision provided the catalyst to transform our San Francisco house into a more interesting and comfortable home. Jim is creative, detailed and easy to communicate with.

James is a phenomenal architect. We did a complete "gut job" on our house in SF and added a three story addition to the rear. His vision was wonderful and his execution first rate. He managed to integrate the front Edwardian portion of our house with the new more modern addition in a beautiful and seamless way. He took a great deal of time to understand our lifestyle and how we wanted to use the spaces and this final design fitted our needs perfectly. He was attentive, creative, responsive and a joy to work with. He is also a genuinely nice guy which is a big plus during the very expensive process of a big remodel. He was lots of help in finding a contractor (he found ours), recommending materials, and letting us know the impact of our decisions. I don't really have any criticism of James, but no one is perfect so I will say that he tended to push hard for the elements that he felt were important to his design, even if we didn't value them as much as he did. You have to be a bit forceful when you are asking him to "give things up." In addition, we did not always fully understand the economic implications of some of the design details. Not sure if that is because we didn't pay enough attention or were just not fully informed, but we might have made a few less expensive choices had we known the full impact of some design decisions in advance (for example, "hidden" shades in the family room- the "hiding" cost a pretty penny). I would hire James again in a minute and have referred him to others with very happy resutls.

My wife and I have worked with James Hill exclusively over the last several years on a few projects in our home. Jim was among the six architects we initially interviewed to remodel our kitchen, revitalize our downstairs area, and add a second story to our modest Sunset District home. We chose him not only because of his talent, but because he was engaging, friendly, funny, and attentive. His personality seemed the best suited for someone who would have to work extensively with my wife and me. Almost immediately, we knew we had made the right decision in hiring Jim. He patiently guided us through a very involved process, working hand in hand with us on almost every decision. He sat with us in several rooms of our main floor asking us to visualize our new spaces and what we would like to see in those spaces. When our project went public, he even helped us broker meetings with our neighbors and was a stalwart partner during several nerve-wracking sessions with the SF Planning Commission. When it finally came time to choosing appliances and finishes, Jim worked within our budget and even managed to surprise us with a few choices that were very much in keeping with our tastes. We even got a postcard from Jim while he and his family were on vacation suggesting another variation for our kitchen cabinetry. We were impressed with his true dedication to our project. Needless to say, Jim is creative, thoughtful, thorough, mindful of client resources, tirelessly strives for a great outcome, and an all-around nice guy. We gladly continue to host his potential clients as he uses our "showcase" of a home as one of his many examples of excellent, appropriate design and solid craftsmanship. We owe Jim Hill a lot. Thank you. Roland Addad and Julie Wu-Addad.

I have work with Jim on a few of his project as a general contractor. Jim is amazing in the way he provides thorough details and continuity of meeting notes and feedback. I would work with Jim anytime and I would recommend his service to anybody who needs a great architect.