Jonathan Rivera Architecture

Outstanding Architect - Exceeded All Expectations My husband and I moved back to the Annapolis in 2021 after living in Seattle for five years. We knew this was where we wanted to live and raise our kids, so we would frequently drive around different neighborhoods envisioning what our forever home would look like. During one of these drives through Wardour, we came across a stunning newly completed house with Jonathan Rivera's sign out front. I snapped a picture of that sign, and a year and a half later, when we were considering making an offer on a house that would need extensive renovation, I cold-called Jonathan. Despite not knowing us at all, Jonathan was immediately willing to meet us on site, walk the property with us, and share his expertise—without any commitment from us. Although we didn't end up getting that house, his generosity and professionalism left a lasting impression. Six months later, when we put in a bid on a piece of land in the same neighborhood, our first call was to Jonathan without hesitation. I knew from that very first phone call that there was no need to interview any other architects—the connection was immediate and genuine and his portfolio of work was beyond impressive. Exceptional Value - Out of all the professionals involved in our entire home build, Jonathan provided the most value for our investment. From navigating the challenges related to fitting our home within the critical zone requirements to our (sometimes difficult) demands of what needed to be included inside the house, Jonathan was able to make things work flawlessly. His pricing was more than fair, and the quality of work and attention to detail we received was exceptional. A Pleasure to Work With - From our very first meeting, we knew Jonathan was special. He has an incredibly likable personality and is so easy to get along with. He took the time to genuinely listen to all of our wants and needs while also being refreshingly transparent about what was feasible and what wasn't. His honest, collaborative approach made the entire design process enjoyable rather than stressful. Essential to Our Project's Success - Jonathan wasn't just our architect on paper—he was actively involved throughout the construction phase. He made regular on-site visits and caught multiple errors during the build process that could have been costly mistakes. His dedication to ensuring our house was built exactly to the architectural specifications gave us tremendous peace of mind. He truly went the extra mile to protect our investment and vision. A Home That Speaks for Itself - Every single person who visits our home comments on the thoughtful layout, the incredible natural light exposure throughout the day, and how comfortable and welcoming the space feels. These compliments are a direct reflection of Jonathan's design expertise and his ability to create a home that's not just beautiful but truly livable.

Everyday that I live in my new home, my wife and I feel blessed to have met Jonathan Rivera and that he was the one to design our beautiful new home. We had saved all of our life for our retirement dream house and spent almost 10 years looking for a waterfront property in the Annapolis area. When we did find such a property, our neighbor highly recommended Jonathan, as he had just moved into an exquisite home that Jonathan had designed for him. Based on that incredible recommendation we met with Jonathan and immediately connected with him. At that meeting Jonathan listened to our needs and provided ideas of the home we had in mind. At our second meeting he provided us drawings that completely overwhelmed us as to their detail and beauty. Jonathan had designed the back of the house entirely in glass to take advantage of the beautiful waterfront view, and the screen porch was the icing on the cake. Throughout the design process, Jonathan treated us like we were family members, always making sure that we were pleased with the overall design and finer details. When we made a suggested addition, he improved upon it beyond our imagination. Best of all, he immediately responded to our calls and emails with an answer that resolved our questions. As another reviewer has stated, “He takes words to vision, and vision to design. He pays attention to how it is you plan to live in the space, and brings a wealth of experience and creativity to help visualize and incorporate things that you can't quite put into words.” I could not have said it better. Throughout the construction phase, Jonathan met with us at the job site. He always ensured that the builder was present so that there was no miscommunication and the work was done correctly. As the home was built towards the end of the Covid period, various building materials were hard to obtain and substitutions needed to avoid construction delays. Jonathan always, and I do mean always, recommended a product that was of equal or better quality. His knowledge of building materials and their manufacturers is unsurpassed. Whenever there was a challenge that made us feel uneasy, Jonathan was there to alleviate such and tell us not to worry. We have now lived in our home for more than a year. Everyday that we walk around our beautiful home we think of Jonathan and thank him for the phenomenal home that he designed for us. Such can only be summed up by just one word, “WOW.” And that is not just our opinion, but that of all our neighbors, friends, and relatives who have had pleasure to visit our beautiful new home. Jonathan is the only architect that we would ever recommend to anyone building a custom home, and consider him to be a friend for life. Meeting with and working with Jonathan was a godsend.

We absolutely love our house designed by Jonathan Rivera so when we decided to extend our roof over an additional area of our back porch to create a hot tub area, we consulted with Jonathan. He gave us additional recommendations we did not think of and could not be happier with how it turned out. Per Jonathan’s suggestion we used McWhorter Construction for the project. Greg, the project lead, was amazing. He was always available, responsive, and did a phenomenal job keeping us informed every step of the way. Edwin, the manager of the crew assigned to our project, was very professional. The crew was always on time, they did meticulous work, and they left our yard clean every evening. We could not be happier with entire process!

We have used Jonathan's architectural services for several of our projects in our home, with the most recent being a large 1st floor update of our kitchen, family room, and dining room. We were so impressed with his vision for our space! We had a basic thought of what we wanted, but it wasn't until working with Jon that our vision of the "perfect farmhouse family space"came to fruition! We needed someone with creativity and professional structural knowledge to help us get around a few "sticky spots" in the design-and Jon was our man! He was so quick to drive over-at the drop of a hat-to answer any questions while contractors were here. He was here to check on the project as it progressed, and to make sure that everything met his extremely high level of expectations. We couldn't be happier with our new space! Jon's professionalism, attention to every detail, creativity, friendly manner, and ability to "think outside the box" are all what make him the #1 architect in our area! We'd highly recommend him to anyone, hands-down!

My wife and I can't speak highly enough about Jonathan and his architectural work. We hired him to design our custom waterfront home from the ground up. He came highly recommended from a couple other homeowners who used him for their designs. From the beginning he was very attentive of what we were looking for, and designed a couple of different renditions from scratch, and then had several follow up meetings (and a million more calls and emails from me!) to dial in the design. We were thoroughly impressed with his ability to bring our vision to life, and to create a unique house with stylish features. I personally was very pleased with his willingness to answer and return calls and emails in a timely manner. Besides his great design, he was helpful in helping us select the Structural Engineer and Home Builder. It's been about a year since he "completed" his services to us, but that hasn't stopped him from stopping by and seeing our house being built several times, and reaching out to us to make sure we're happy with the results. This just tells me that he is truly passionate about what he creates, and takes the satisfaction of his clients to heart. If you are looking for a top notch architect that will deliver your dreams, you've found him. Hire him without reservation.

I recently had the pleasure of working with Jonathan Rivera on the design of my custom home. From the very beginning, Jonathan was a true professional, taking the time to listen to my vision and offering valuable insights and suggestions to bring my dream to life. Throughout the design process, Jonathan was always available to answer questions and provide guidance, and he consistently went above and beyond to ensure that all of my needs were met. Jonathan has a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of what it takes to create a functional, aesthetically pleasing space. Jonathan was able to deliver a project that exceeded my expectations in every way. I would highly recommend Jonathan to anyone in need of an architect. He is a true professional who is dedicated to delivering the best possible results for his clients. Thank you, Jonathan, for everything!

Jonathan Rivera’s architectural vision is like none other. This was our 3rd time working with Jonathan. We went to him not knowing how we wanted to reconstruct our outdoor living space to make it more functional. He immediately looked at our space and existing structure and knew how best to construct an addition of a screened in porch to allow for 4 season use of our existing deck. His rendering of our porch was beautiful and the real life outcome is even more stunning. His communication, professionalism, and artistic ability is exceptional. You can’t go wrong with Jonathan!

I could not speak more highly of Johathan's as an architect. We engaged him to build our dream house from scratch. He turned a very overwhelming/complex process into a fun and exciting experience. We started off dreaming big with him by providing inspiration photos and direction and he came back to us very quickly with a close to perfect first draft (which was shocking)! He was open to feedback and easily/quickly pivoted the plans as we reviewed them. He provided us with clear next steps and timelines which was very helpful! Since this is the first house we have ever built we relied on Johathan's experience to educate us which he was very willing to do. Here are some other notable qualities to mention: -Strong attention to detail -Very reliable and communicates very well with clients and their building team -Knows how to design a house that flows well from an ascetic and function stand point

We have admired Jonathan Rivera’s work for years. We had only him in mind to design the outdoor living and garage addition we wanted for our newly constructed home. After carefully listening to what we wanted, he designed the amazing space we needed! Jonathan captured our personal style perfectly. He was active in the construction process by having excellent communication with the builder and making site visits. They collaborated to deliver us a garage, covered porch and deck that is beyond our beauty and quality expectations. Not once did we question Jonathan’s choices and suggestions. We will trust him to thoughtfully design any scope of project we have in our future.

Jonathan is the ultimate professional. He is an excellent listener and brilliant architect. He has an exceptional ability to design a dream home based on how people live and how they plan to entertain. His drawings brought our vision to life… down to the very last detail. The biggest compliment I have heard about our home is: "...even though your home is brand new construction, it looks like it has always been a part of the neighborhood.. it’s a perfect fit!" The biggest compliment I can give Jonathan, is that I would love to build a home with him again in the future. He was a pleasure to work with and provided valuable expertise during the building process. I personally recommend and endorse his work. Five Stars! Jason Sedgwick – Frederick, MD

My husband and I are celebrating 1 year in our home designed by and with Jonathan Rivera. There has not been a day that we've lived here that we aren't grateful for Jonathan's magnificent work, especially during this time of "sheltering in place". Among the most wonderful aspects of working with Jonathan is his ability to hear you. He takes words to vision, and vision to design. He pays attention to how it is you plan to live in the space, and brings a wealth of experience and creativity to help visualize and incorporate things that you can't quite put into words. The process of building a home can be overwhelming. Working with Jonathan made it much easier. On more than one occasion, he reminded us of what he heard us say was important to us, preventing decisions during the build from missing the mark. His skill and professionalism, combined with the fact that he is a delightful human being, made the building process exciting and every interaction enjoyable! The more you share your vision with Jonathan, the more that vision will come to life.

We love our new home and Jonathan was a pleasure to work with. We were in a huge rush to break ground and pushed the design process to move very quickly. Jonathan heard our requests and desires and no details were left off the plan. I can honestly say there is nothing I would change in the design of our home. We highly recommend working with Jonathan Rivera.