Passive houses en Glenville, CT

“LEAP designed our modern and green home addition. They handled much of the creative work on the project, as well as detailed renderings, bid consultations, and construction supervision. LEAP's work was very creative and responded directly to our needs. They found ways to get energy efficiency and modern design details into a "buildable" and cost-conscious project. They are humble, hardworking, and consistent. I would choose to work with LEAP Architecture again without hesitation.”

“I had a great experience working with Emilia. Her ideas were always very practical and smart but with a bit of the unexpected thrown in. The originality and expertise she showed in relation to design was a wonderful asset to have, and she incorporated them all so seamlessly into the overall project. And her attention to detail ensured all areas of the project were covered and taken into account so nothing was left out. I look forward to our next project together.”

“My home is one of the exhibits listed here. This architect was easy to work with and gave appropriate and timely advice when needed. She is currently working another project for me, a renovation of a Frank Lloyd Wright's apprentice work in the Berkshires.”

“Doug Cutler is the ultimate professional. His knowledge of architecture and modular building is superb. We are building a modular house on an existing foundation with some modifications. Doug is detailed oriented and can explain the reasons behind his suggestions. He will make suggestions, but realizes the customer must be happy with the end product and must make the final decisions. His manner of doing business is professional and timely. EMails and phone class are returned the next day. Very easy to work with. He is very aware and trying to stay within our budget. We are almost done with our home design.”

“I've used Bob and his crew to design a den addition for us. Bob has both an architectural and design background which is a huge plus. Not only did the den look great as a room, but he was helpful at figuring out how each area would function well and what to put in that space. He worked great with my builder and was a great go between when things got a big hairy. Funny and affable, Bob was a pleasure to work with.”

“Very helpful and organized. Helped walk us through designing a 2nd story addition. Drew up a few interior and exterior options and walked us through pros and cons before picking one. Assisted builder with question as they came up.”

“I can count on several fingers the times I have found a local business partner that I'd describe as a rockstar, and Brian Hopkins is on that short list. On Christmas Eve, my wife and I were out doing errands. We got a call from our teenage son, telling us that water was raining down from the upstairs bathroom, through our microwave and stove, into the basement, onto the furnace and water heater. There was some once-in-a-century rapid drop in temperature, we had some poorly insulated pipes, and one of those pipes ruptured in the floor of that second floor bathroom resulting in that disaster. Total nightmare. Thankfully, one of the other rockstars on our short list of local business partners is our general contractor. We already had a plan on the shelf to renovate that bathroom, our contractor was available, we were able to get all our tile and bathroom fixtures picked out and procured in record time, and shortly after New Year's our GC started the repairs and creating the bathroom of our dreams. Salvation! Everything was going awesome, until the building department showed up. In a rush, we neglected to get a building permit. We weren't being shady or playing games. We were just hasty and ignorant and didn't do the things we needed to do. We got an immediate stop-work order. And the only way to get back on track was to find an architect to do proper code-compliant architectal drawings for our already-in-progress bathroom renovation. I quickly learned that there are not a lot of residential architects hurting for business, certainly not at that time of year. I literally called at least 15 different places. Either people were too busy, or weren't interested in the project. I finally found one who couldn't take the job, but said "hey, we know this other guy in the area who is super good, that we refer people to when we're busy. His name is Brian Hopkins." Somebody directing business to a competitor?? I now understand why they referred me. Brian is only the second architect I've ever worked with, but as far as I can tell, he's as good as it gets. I was able to get in touch with him immediately, and he agreed to take on the work. He was incredibly transparent and clear about what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, and what it would cost. Throughout the process he was super responsive, empathetic, organized, patient, professional, and enjoyable to work with. He didn't nickel and dime us or play games; he was clearly focused on good customer service and outcomes. And from what I can tell, both the building department and my GC were very happy with the quality of his work. The entire ordeal we went through, particularly involving the building department and fines and delays was horrible. Had we not found Brian, had he not been so excellent, the situation might have been unbearable. He literally was our savior. It's absurd not to want to work with someone like this.”

“As we near completion of an Alisberg Parker project I am inclined to say that it has been, plain and simple, a "pleasure"! As a builder I can attest that Susan Alisberg & Ed Parker bring a refreshing sophistication to their work. Alisiberg Parker Architects has carved out a niche where classic tradition and a fresh up to date design sense mesh perfectly for todays living. In working with Susan it has become clear that her clients not only receive turn key drawings and specifications but also a full time designer who has her finger on the pulse of current style and trend. Its hard to come by an architect with such a keen eye and unwavering passion for their work.”

“My husband and I are absolutely thrilled with the work performed by John Patrick. He went above and beyond to ensure that our vision and goals were captured in the final design. We know that when we finally move into our renovated home, we will enjoy it that much more because we worked with John. We bought a1930s colonial - our first home - and while we knew that something needed to be done to it, we couldn't figure out exactly what. John Patrick is a highly trained and skilled designer, who helped us realize ideas about our space that we didn't see before. Not only did he come up with beautiful and practical solutions to the problems we saw in the home, he willingly worked within the existing constraints of the space, i.e., the location of plumbing, load-bearing walls, etc. We held frequent check-points during our design phase. During each one, John Patrick was thoughtful and professional. We never felt embarrassed or uncomfortable bringing our ideas to the table. He was always very tactful in explaining which ideas made sense and which could be reconsidered in order to maximize space and functionality. We wanted to work with an architect who would share his professional expertise, and not simply sketch whatever we asked him to. John is definitely that architect. And yet, when there were personal elements that my husband and I were unwilling to bend on - no matter how impractical - John found a way to make them work. After each check-point, John created great drawings that helped us visualize the space. These were invaluable for two business professionals trying to make design choices with no design experience. Once our designs were final, John even produced renderings that helped us select fixtures and furniture to fit in our space. These renderings alone have received glowing compliments from all our friends and colleagues. The renderings were also very impressive to our contractor, who is overseeing the construction of our home, as were the construction documents that John produced. The construction documents helped us during the bid phase, when we were trying to select a contractor, and have served as the “source of truth” during the construction phase. We absolutely recommend working with John Patrick Cunningham. You will be happy you did!”

“We hired Dan and his company to do a renovation on our 1836 era home. They designed an open kitchen floorplan, added a stone fireplace, a butler's pantry, and office, and reconfigured our back entry and laundry room. They also added another bathroom upstairs and extended our patio outside. I loved that he reused original materials and also sourced beams, etc. that matched the home. (They found an original floor beam that was not in good enough shape to continue support, so they replaced this and he suggested using the good part of this beam as our new mantle. It looks great and I love using an original beam in a prominent place in the new room.) The design gave us an updated and more efficient way to use our old house, while keeping with the traditional look and feel. We also really liked the way Dan charged for his services. Instead of a percentage of the total job - which creates the incentive for the architect to increase the size of the job, Dan charged by the hour of his time. We could call him at any point in the job to come oversee the contractor or consult. And were always happy with his involvement. We felt that he and his firm were a great value.”