Turkel Design

Great designs, unfortunately, unprofessional business practices, dysfunctional communication and poor project management. Discontinued working with Turkel because they failed to deliver what they promised.

My husband and I had tried working with another architect before Turkel, but we did not get beyond the planning stage as there were too many disconnects regarding budget, scale and timetable. With Turkel, however, the process was streamlined, with reasonable certainty regarding cost and timetables. The Turkel team paid attention to how we planned to live in the house and crafted solutions that really work for us. For example, they added a spiral staircase from my closet to my office which allows me to wake up hours before my husband and get to my office without waking him, as well as a hidden service kitchen which allows us to enjoy the day-to-day benefits of our open plan main kitchen and living area, while also having a more private prep space when we are entertaining a crowd. Our local builder was dubious at first about panelized fabricated construction, but he quickly became a convert when he saw the Turkel team’s speed and precision. In short, we love our new home and feel so fortunate that we actually get to live here.

Joel Turkel, Jake Wright and their team at Turkel Design helped us through the process of designing a home we love. They were great to work with, detail oriented, experienced and design beautiful and livable homes. We've lived here more than 5 years, and highly recommend them for your project.

We love our Turkel house. The building process was fun and even after 5 years, I really wouldn't have done anything differently. Visitors are constantly amazed. When it snows, it is like living in a snow globe and I no longer mind the rain as the many windows keep it from ever getting gloomy. The overhanging prevent unwanted sun in the summer and allow more natural light in the winter. We still pinch ourselves that we get to live here!

When my husband and I decided to build a second home in Greenville, SC on Paris Mountain, facing the Blue Ridge mountains, we were instantly drawn to Turkel Design. Paris Mountain is a designated ecologically sensitive area, so minimizing the building impact was very important. Turkel Design’s use of precision fabrication was the perfect solution, with walls built offsite and then set in place. Turkel Design arrived on site and began working with us with the placement and orientation of the house. They graphically showed us how light would enter the house throughout the changing seasons, adding clerestory windows on the back to allow the sun to stream in during the winter. Winds flow up the valley, and they strategically placed windows to capture that flow throughout the house. Their design placed the house into the hillside so that it blends seamlessly in the mountain and inside temperature stays consistent all year long. The team even guided us with interior choices, including cabinetry and fixtures. The end result is a house with breathtaking views that blends organically on the mountain.

“I worked with Turkel Design on three projects in upstate New York, which were entirely designed and facilitated remotely via online design tools and screen-share meetings—making the design process smooth and accessible from wherever I was located. I appreciated their systems approach, and how they pushed the boundaries of the systems in order to achieve inspiring spatial conditions. When working with them to design my most recent home, the goal was to be mindful of the environment without sacrificing lifestyle or good design. They helped me achieve this. In fact, one of the homes became NAHB Emerald Certified in New York and was the 2012 recipient of the NAHB Building Systems Councils Best Green Built Home Award.”