| About Us |
Why hire an Architect?Many people think of hiring an architect as an extra expense or a luxury. At Richard Berg Architects, we always try to look at your project as a whole, taking into account the big financial picture. Looked at in this way, one of the many roles the architect can play in the project is to assure that money is spent in the most efficient way, and to assure that you come out of the design and construction process with a valuable asset. One of our goals is to provide a building of greater value, for the same budget amount, than would otherwise have been achieved. How do we approach this? First, it must be recognized that “value” can mean many things, and the meaning is not always limited to its financial aspect. So, our first job is to get to know you well enough to know what is important to you. Our highest priority is to provide value to you by taking your concepts and ideas, and figuring out how to really make them work well: bringing them to life in a way that is aesthetically pleasing, and can be built within your budget. Drawing upon our experience in both the architectural and construction industries, we help you figure out cost-efficient and material-efficient ways of creating the spaces you want and need. Perhaps more importantly, we help you figure out how to avoid duplicated and wasted space—or effort. We provide clear, detailed information to builders so that they can do their job efficiently without stopping constantly to ask questions or figure things out. In addition, part of our bias is that whatever “value” means to you, we believe that it always has a financial component. So, we always strive to provide you with a property that, if it is ever sold, will command a premium price on the basis of the quality and appeal of the building and its surroundings. Design PhilosophyThe underlying idea behind all our design work is that well-designed buildings can enrich the quality of life of their users. We start by focusing on the basic building blocks of architecture:
The ancient art of Feng Shui is concerned, among other things, with issues of comfort and flow, and we use these principals in our design work to help us create living and working environments that function well and feel good. We feel that good stewardship of our planet is very important, and have always designed with a high level of energy efficiency in mind. With the advent of the Jefferson County Home Builders’ Association “Built Green” program, we are committed to assuring that all of our projects are able to attain a one-star Built Green certification, at a minimum. If you are interested in pursuing more green strategies and a higher rating on the Built Green scale, we are very interested in working with you to integrate these green ideas into your project in architecturally pleasing ways. We design from a place of great knowledge and understanding of the construction process. We know how to detail your building in a way that will be straightforward and efficient to construct. We understand the importance of schedule and budget, and we consider your satisfaction with your project, from beginning to end, to be the most important measure of our success. What do we provide?Richard Berg Architects takes pride in tailoring our design services to our clients’ needs and the specific situation. What do you need from an architect? We provide services ranging from a simple design consultation, to a few details and calculations to help you get your project through the permit process, to full architectural services. In all cases, we will strive to give you good advice and help you to make your project as successful as possible. Typically, what we refer to as “full architectural services” looks something like this: First, an initial meeting at our office where we become acquainted, you find out who we are and how we work, and we learn some things about you and your project. (No Charge) If you decide to proceed, you sign a design agreement and send us a small retainer.
The “products” you will receive from us during this process include:
What do we charge?Initial acquaintanceship meeting for a new project (at our office):No Charge One Time Design Consultation:
Full Service Design Fees: Each project is overseen and has design and technical input from Richard Berg, the principal architect. In addition, your project will be assigned to one of our project managers. The project manager will be in charge of communicating with you, and also with our consultants such as the structural engineer. The project manager will do a majority of the design and drafting work on your project, although others in the office may help out from time to time. Richard will oversee the development of the design, is also responsible for the final check of the permit set. Both Richard and the Project Manager and will be available for consultation during the construction of the building. All design services are billed on an hourly basis as follows:
* Project Management and Drafting may be done by the same person, but are kept track of separately. We aim to provide very good value to our clients by offering excellent service and a superior quality product while keeping our overhead relatively low and charging fees that are very reasonable compared to our industry as a whole. Estimated architectural fees for most of our projects are based on a construction budget established for the project by us, using the proposed floor area and our most recent figures for average construction costs in our area. This figure may be higher than you are expecting to spend on your project, especially if you are planning to do some of the work yourself, or act as your own general contractor. We estimate that our services will cost approximately 10% of the proposed building cost, plus 1% for structural engineering and other consultants, for a total of 11%. Our fees consistently come in close to this estimate. For certain types of projects, a somewhat higher or lower percentage may be appropriate to use for estimating design costs. (We use national Architectural Fees survey information to help with this determination.) Throughout the design and drawing process, we will track how we’re doing both with respect to the proposed construction budget and our budget for architectural services, and communicate this information to you via a monthly report. Richard Berg, ArchitectI received my B.A. in Architecture from the University of Washington in 1979. My studies included attending and serving as a teaching assistant for the Architecture in Rome program. Following graduation, I joined Ibsen Nelsen and Associates in Seattle, where I worked on projects such as the Museum of Flight, Inn at the Market, the Stewart House mixed-use project at the Pike Place Market, and Merrill Court luxury townhouses in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. I decided to return to school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983, attaining a Master of Architecture degree with honors, while interning at the firm of Imre and Anthony Halasz, Inc. in Boston. After graduation from MIT, I joined Whitaker Architecture and Planning, Inc. as a designer and architectural project manager. At times I also functioned as a project manager for the firm’s construction side, Whitaker Construction Corp. Moving back to Seattle in 1988, I managed the architectural division of Glory International, Inc., a Japanese real-estate development firm that focused on vacation homes and resort projects in Japan and the U.S. In 1991 I became a licensed architect and accepted the position of architectural manager for Timbercraft Homes, Inc. in Port Townsend, Washington. At Timbercraft, I was the project architect for all of the firm’s timber-framed projects, which included both houses and commercial buildings mostly located in western Washington, with occasional projects elsewhere in the US and a few in Japan. In 1997, I founded Richard Berg Architects in Port Townsend. Based on my extensive experience in successful design-build enterprises, I chose to focus my new practice on good communication and listening, excellent knowledge of construction methods and detailing, and on providing comfortable, energy-efficient, aesthetically pleasing homes and work environments for my clients. The business started as a one-person operation in the front bedroom of our house in uptown Port Townsend. During the first couple of years I did everything, including bookkeeping. I had a couple of free-lance friends that would help out with drafting when I needed it. Richard Berg Architects became a more professional operation in 2001 when the business was incorporated, a bookkeeper hired, and Eric Kuzma moved to Port Townsend from the east coast, bringing with him hands-on timber-framing expertise, to become the firm’s first full-time designer and draftsman. Jesse Thomas came aboard the following year in a part-time capacity, and the conference table was displaced into our living room. In crowded conditions, the three of us worked hard: when the building code changed in 2004, we completed and turned in 11 sets of permit drawings in one month before the new code took effect. One of the sets of plans was for a new office for Richard Berg Architects to be built on the empty lot next to our house. The new 1000 square-foot space was finished and occupied in June of 2005, and by November the business had two additional employees. The workload has continued to increase--we now have a staff of six plus and the office is full to capacity. I am delighted by the way that each new staff member has brought expertise and a different way of looking at architecture into our mix, and at the same time been willing to learn and to work at providing the high level of service and quality that are an integral part of my business. I currently serve on Port Townsend’s Historic Preservation Committee, a design review and advisory board for the City’s National Historic District. In the past, I have also served as Chair of the Planning Commission for the City of Port Townsend and on the Design Review committee for Port Townsend’s commercial zoning districts. I was also active in an informal citizens’ group that organized several Town Meetings in recent years in Port Townsend. Amy I. Dahlberg, Project ManagerI have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (1985) and a Master of Architecture (1990) from the University of Houston. Following graduation I joined Gensler where I became a registered architect, was promoted to associate, and worked in the Houston, New York, Washington D.C. and Seattle offices primarily as an interior commercial architect. I took a year's leave of absence in 2001 and moved to Sweden where I enjoyed immersing myself in my great grandparents' culture and language, relaxing and eating fish. I am new to Richard Berg Architects, having moved to Port Townsend in 2005. I am excited about residential architecture and timber framing and glad to be in an area with tasty fish. Jesse Thomas, Project ManagerBorn on San Juan Island and raised in Port Townsend, son of a fisherman and an environmental scientist, I am perfectly at home here on the Quimper peninsula, in the woods by the sea. My upbringing has endowed me with a certain sensitivity of the place, its architecture, its people. I taught myself computer aided design and began drafting for Richard Berg in 2002. I continue to work to expand my horizons within the profession, sometimes as a student at Evergreen State College where I have been studying architecture with a special emphasis on sustainable & spiritual design. I enjoy working with clients to design structures of refined simplicity, closely rooted in nature, where they may find a rare quality of life that is respectful of the environment we all share. Darlene Keefe, Project ManagerI graduated in 1980 with an Associated Art degree and started my professional career as a clothing & jewelry designer. I also pursued design opportunities in interior design and landscape design. I have published several “how-to” crafting books and been featured in over a dozen magazine articles. I have always loved architecture and with my strong background in art and design that led me to pursuing a career in Architectural Design. I received an Associate of Science degree with an emphasis in Computer Aided Design & Drafting in May of 2000. During the summer of 1998 I also completed a Computer Graphics program at a local technical school. Over a year before graduating I took an intern position with James Aiken Architecture and worked as an architecture drafter/designer for that firm for the next 2.5 years. In August of 2001 I was offered a position at a post-secondary technical school to teach AutoCAD and other computer applications and taught there for the next 5 years. During that time I also ran a small Drafting/Design Company where I specialized in residential remodels and landscape design. I relocated in the Pacific Northwest in June of 2006 and joined Richard Berg Architects immediately as an architectural drafter/designer. I'm currently a Core Committee volunteer for the Port Townsend Film Festival with the post of site design and layout and look forward to enrolling in the Master Gardener program in January of 2008 Tim Collyer, Project ManagerI have been working with Richard Berg Architects since 2005. Though new to the field of residential architecture, I bring almost a decade of experience in wooden boat construction as well as other marine-related trades. I have earned a US Coast Guard captain's license from my extensive sailing experience as well as a wealth of interesting sea stories to relate. I am an eager addition to the office, and I am learning this trade with enthusiasm. I wear many hats around the office, working sometimes as a draftsman, sometimes as assistant juggler to help Richard with the many balls in the air, and also as resident IT technician. Part of my responsibility is the maintenance of this website and its content, so please feel free to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with questions or comments about the site. |
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