One World Architecture - California

We bought a cool mid-century modern house that was full of bad 1980s updates, so we wanted to hire an architect to help us turn it into our dream home. Although there was plenty of room in the house for two of us, the space was not well-planned. We were feeling overwhelmed by what needed to be done in our new home, and hiring Ken to design our interior was easily the best decision that we made. He took the time to get to know us and we felt he really understood our needs and how we would use each area of our home. There were many design challenges and Ken’s out of the box thinking both met those challenges and improved the space. He was very easy to work with and his calm energy was a perfect fit for us. We knew from the plans that our house would be spectacular when finished, and it definitely exceeded those expectations. Everything about the house is improved, and there are a couple of the design elements that consistently draw an amazed response from visitors to our home.

San Diego updated and relaxed ADU laws early 2018 and we were in the forefront of this movement. With the laws and fee waivers constantly changing, we needed someone who was knowledgable about this specific niche, but also flexible and can pivot quickly to take advantage of the new laws as they evolve. After interviewing 8 different architects, Ken and OWA clearly were the best fit. Ken really took the time to understand our goals for the ADU and the final design mixed functionality and modernism cohesively. The design process was fun but going through permitting and interviewing contractors were not. Ken and his team minimized the stress of the permitting process and connected us to different contractors time and again until we found one that was the right fit, putting in time beyond his scope of work. Ken “held our hand” through the entire project and patiently addressed our concerns until we felt comfortable moving to the next stage. Thank you Ken and OWA, we can’t wait to share the finish project with your team.

My husband and I hired One World Architecture for a home addition to a 1920's house in the Golden Hill area of San Diego. Knowing that we needed to permit the addition with the city, they were our first call on the whole project. It took about a year and a half from our first contact to project completion, and Ken Parel-Sewell and Dan Madryga were always there to answer our questions and help us with plan changes and city inspector questions. Dealing with an old house is never easy, but they helped us weather the challenges, including sourcing a structural engineer for a necessary part of the permitting process. I would highly recommend them to anyone needing architectural services in San Diego.

Ken and his team at One World Architecture has been a pleasant experience for us to work with. From the start he was very flexible with our schedules (we have a crazy life), took all our opinions and ideas into consideration, was very patient, and delivered a great product and drawing set for us! Ken has helped us on two projects - an addition to our house and remodeling an older cafe in a retail shopping center. His suggestions and recommendations allowed us to do it in phases while controlling our budget. We highly appreciated Ken's personality - great communicator, always showed kindness, very personable nature, honest, and friendly! We will use him again on our next project(s).

Ken and Dan helped me tremendously in my commercial property to reconcile plans that could not pass through the City of Chula Vista. They were always available to answer my questions, met whenever necessary and produced results promptly. Highly recommend. Only wish I could've found them sooner.

Having just completed a complete remodel of our home (Kitchen, dining and living rooms, 3 bathrooms), I can recommend One World whole-heartedly! From start to finish, Ken worked with my wife's and my constant revisions and changing of our minds, the unavoidable "what was the original builder THINKING?!?!" moments during construction, and suggestions and changes made by our contractor - and always with professionalism and smiles! If you're looking for a talented and capable architect that is flexible and understanding, you just found him. His excellent work was even complemented by the county permitting office!

After hitting roadblocks with previous hires, a local contractor recommended we reach out to Ken with One World Architecture. From the first phone call, Ken has been nothing short of professional, prompt and engaging. We are 9 months pregnant and have an incredible amount of “life” on our plates, but Ken is very even-keeled, works around our schedule & is truly a pleasure to work with. Ken is like the Mary Poppins of architecture! He swooped in and in less than 2 weeks time had working plans ready for contractors to put together rough bids for. Ken & his team even came up with ideas that we had never thought of, simple changes that drastically improved the layout & functionality of the house. Ken does a great job communicating with both of us, husband and wife and hears us each out individually so that we’re both heard. He is honest, able to work with our budget, and really very personable. Working with Ken has felt as though we are working with a friend even though we’d never met him before. I was hesitant about moving forward with an addition on our house and now I have no qualms about the plan we have. Ken has lowered our blood pressure & stress level in what can be a very exhausting & trying project.

Ken Parel-Sewell assisted with our interior remodel design. He was very easy to interact with and accommodated our project at short notice. He listened to our requirements and then produced a number of different proposals. What I liked was the fact he really put a lot of thought and effort into how best the space could possibly be utilized. A few of his suggestions really made a difference to the overall flow of the interior space and these were not obvious changes that we would have thought ourselves. I think that he spends time to understand his clients vision which not all architects tend to do. He also has the ability to think of the box and find unorthodox but useful solutions for a problem. I would highly recommend him based on my personal experience.

We hired OWA to rework the basement and home office in our 3 year old home. We were well aware of how our home's cramped office and expansive basement didn't work for our family, but less sure of how to solve all the issues. OWA asked all the right questions, listened carefully, and made wonderful recommendations. They handled the entire process from planning to permits to execution. In the end, in we added a bedroom with egress window, gallery hall, and secondary family room. to the basement. On the first floor, the tiny office was completely transformed. The expert craftsmen on the project were professional and considerate. The team's attention to detail means the new construction doesn't simply tie-in to the existing home, it enhances it. That is especially true in replicating our homes extensive custom millwork and molding. It's been nearly 3 years sine the project was completed and we're thrilled with our home everyday.

My husband and I used One World Architecture to build our outdoor living room. The design and attention to detail was exceptional. Ken was professional, precise and prompt in responding to our questions and revisions. I would highly recommend One World Architecture and we absolutely love our new outdoor living room!!