Timothy J. Banuelos Architect

About

I have worked in the architecture field for 44 years. I am very hands-on. When I start your project, and someone comes out to measure your building if you are remodeling or adding on, you don't get a junior draftsperson, you get me. i believe that the best way to learn about an existing building in order to modify it, is to measure it. I also believe that people when they want to add on to a building tend to want to add on too much. When I look at an existing building in preparation for modifying it, I look to see if some of the existing square footage desired is already there, hidden away in underused storage areas, or rooms that can be expanded with moving of walls. I implement the adding of square feet only after the search for space within the existing building envelope has been exhausted. My goal is to ensure that when the addition or remodeling is done, it is as if it has always been there. I don't want people to say" here's where you added on" in a building. I want the new it to integrate with the existing. This is how I have worked my whole career. Sometimes a complete makeover is appropriate, but even then I try to find something in the existing building that will be retained, as a memory of what has gone before. New buildings are done similarly. i ask questions of the users to figure out what hey kie in a building-do they sunlight, do they open places or places with private areas. What do they like when they see buildings. In this way we try to generate a memory for a new building, so even though the building is new, it feels familiar, comfortable.
For those of you looking for Architect’s services as a result of the Southern California fires: I worked on several buildings destroyed during the Oakland Hills Fire of 1991, and also surveyed many destroyed houses in the Oakland and Berkeley areas. I know what people are going through. I have experience with building departments that have no experience with dealing with urbsn fires of such magnitude. If you find me in your search, don’t click away so fast just because I am not in your area. If needed I could be there in a couple of hours , the same time it takes me to drive through Bay Area traffic. Most architects and designers don’t have this experience i have when dealing with fire rebuilds- don’t hesitate to contact me.

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