design build blog

The 4 Biggest Problems People Encounter When Hiring a Residential Architect

Derek Leavitt — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 16:05:00 GMT

When it comes to property selection for your new home:

When it comes to property selection for your new home:

Local zoning codes are often not clear or readily available.
Real Estate Agents are not always a reliable source of information. Property feasibility and construction are not their expertise.
Site factors such as topography, utility connections and environmental issues require an expert to fully understand.

Avoid purchasing a property where you can’t build what you want.

Don’t wait until you have secured a property to find your architect. A quick phone call with your architect when you think you've found the right property can help avoid some major pitfalls.
Request a feasibility study. At Modative we provide this type of report all the time, detailing the zoning regulations and analyzing what can be built before you make a purchase.

Modative is available to help you find the ideal property for your project

Why is budgeting properly for a new home so difficult?

There are so many unknowns. How much does an architect cost? What engineers do I need to hire? How much should I allocate for construction costs and permit fees?
Architects love to tell clients that they will save them money on construction. The problem is that most of them don't. It's not their fault really. It's just that traditionally, architects have little control over or knowledge of current construction costs.

If you don’t have a proper budget near the start of a home design project you are bound to have cost overruns and expensive surprises.

Modative’s design/build delivery provides our clients with a one-stop-shop. By acting as the architect, contractor and controlling all the necessary consultants, the entire team is brought onto the project early so the design can be carefully worked out to meet the budget. This method offers the following advantages:

Cost-effective design due to the Architect's access to construction and pricing information during the design phases
Detailed budgets delivered throughout the process
Reduced likelihood of cost increases or overruns
Familiarizes the entire design and construction team with the project early on, so there are less surprises during construction

Modative is a Los Angeles based residential architecture firm that specializes in single family homes, small lot subdivision, accessory dwelling units, apartments and condos.

Recent Articles Published Featuring Modative

Krystal Navar — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:00:00 GMT

Modative has been featured in a couple of recent articles: one in the Los Angeles Business Journal and another in Architect Magazine. Yay us! Check them out below.

Published February 23, the Los Angeles Business Journal's cover story, "Tight Market", looks at the design challenges of small lot homes. (To learn more about the Small Lot Subdivision ordinance, download our handy guide and information packet.)

Modative featured in Los Angeles Business Journal cover story titled "Tight Market".

Christian Návar in front of the Fay 3x Homes, designed and built by Modative. Fay 2x Homes and Fay Phase III are visible in the background.

Posted February 1 to Architect Magazine's website, an article titled "Time Management" looks at the techniques managers employ to stay organized. Christian Návar, principal and co-founder of Modative, speaks about the processes in place at Modative to encourage employees to work efficiently.

Exerpt of Architect Magazine article titled "Time Management", for which Modative was interviewed.

2014 Modative Year in Review

Krystal Navar — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 14:30:00 GMT

2014 was an eventful year for Modative. Two projects were completed, construction began on six projects (two of which are Modative Build projects), and five projects are currently in the entitlement process. 2014 also saw the birth of Modative founders’ third company: Modative Development. 2015 is going to be a big year!

01: Bento Box almost Complete

Construction continues for Modative Build at our West-Hollywood-adjacent, 5-home small lot subdivision project. This week, we are applying the 3-coat stucco and continuting with interior finishes. Construction is slated to be complete the first quarter of 2015.

Rendered view from corner of Romaine and Crescent Heights

Cement board siding visible through the scaffolding

View of the Hollywood Hills from the roof of Home 1

Marble running bond tile installation in master bathroom

02: Roberts Ave under Construction

As you may have read in a past blog post, construction began on this 3,600 square foot single-family home in Culver City in 2012 then stopped after the slab was poured. But, in 2014, it went vertical. It is now fully framed and is scheduled to be finished the second quarter of 2015.

Rendered view

Home during framing stage of construction

Wall of glazing at second floor living level

03: Fay Ave Phase III Complete

This project has been in our office in one form or another for nearly 7 years. It was originally conceived as a 7-home small lot subdivision project. Due to delays caused by a down economy, it was built in 3 separate stages. The third and final phase was completed in October of 2014. All phases were constructed by Modative Build.

Rendered view of the front unit of Phase III

Photo of completed front unit (check out how closely it resembles the rendering)

Kitchen and living room

Covered outdoor living room and backyard of front unit

04: Cardiff Cubes Construction

This 3-home small lot subdivision in Palms, a stone's throw from downtown Culver City, began construction around the same time as our Bento Box project. We're in a friendly race to see which project will finish first.

Rendering of street view

Framing stage (like the Bento Box project, it is four stories tall)

05: Formosa Fusion under Construction

This 10-home small lot subdivision project is located just northwest of La Brea and Melrose and began construction in December of 2014.

Rendering

Footings and formwork

06: Hangar Homes Construction

Modative Build began construcion on this 4-home small lot subdivision project in December of 2014. These homes are located just north of Santa Monica Airport on Ocean Park Blvd. and took inspiration from the aircraft hangars once located nearby.

Rendered View

Photo at twilight after demo and grading

07: Pettis Ave Complete

This 2,400 square foot single-family residence, located in Mountain View, CA, was completed in March of 2014. This home sold for $2.35 million.

Rendering of street view

Photo of completed street view*

Photo of rear view and backyard*

Photo from master bedroom*

*Listing photos courtesy of Rob Mibach of Intero Real Estate Services

08: Strata Homes Construction

This 10-home small lot subdivision project is located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles on Yosemite Dr. and takes its inspiration from the nearby Eagle Rock rock formation.

Rendered view from street

Footing formwork for Homes 5-10

09: Foothill Blvd Live + Work Zone Change Approved

Foothill Blvd. Live + Work is a 6-home subdivision in Cupertino. Our application for a zone change was approved in Septemeber 2014, changing the existing Commercial zoning to Commercial and Residential. This allows the current abandoned gas station to be redeveloped into six homes with office spaces facing Foothill Blvd. We submitted for permit at the end of 2014 and construction is expected to begin in 2015.

Rendered view from Foothill Blvd.

10: New Projects in 2014

a. Alvarado is a 46-home project in Palm Springs, CA currently in Planning-approval stages.

Rendered view from North Palm Canyon Drive

b. Hyperion is a 8-home small lot subdivision project in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is also currenly in Planning-approval stages.

Rendered view of street elevation

c. Ave 57 Art Walk Homes is Modative Develop's first project! It is a 5-home small lot subdivision project in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and is in the early stages of design.

Early Site Plan

d. Edinburgh is a 8-home small lot subdivision project is just northwest of Fairfax and Melrose. It is in early design stages.

Early Site Plan

e. Flores is an 11-home small lot subdivision project is located southeast of La Cienega and Beverly. It is also in the early stages of design.

An early collage expressing the design intent for the internal driveway / courtyard

11 Staff Updates

a. Both Katherine Costa and Krystal Návar earned their Real Estate Sales Person License in 2014. Do I sense a fourth Modative company in the near future?

b. Modative began a Health + Wellness program in 2014, which encourages employees to live healthier lives by incentivising physical and mental respites throughout the week.

Photo from group outing to climb the Baldwin Hills stairs

c. Modative also began an Education program to encourage well-rounded professional development in employees. A stipend is granted to each employee to be used that year toward a personally valuable and professionally enriching activity.

One employee used her fund to purchase Rosetta Stone Spanish for the office

d. Summer, our Office Manager, and Jesus, a Project Manager, became engaged at the end of 2014. How exciting is that?!

I mean, seriously. How cute!

e. Modative Development, Inc., the third company from Derek + Christian, was born in 2014.

Modative Development logo

f. Modative and Modative Build hired six people in 2014. Brad Benefield and Steve Knight were brought on with Modative Build. Alan Dana was hired to project manage for Modative. Kenny Lee and Deborah O'Connell came on board as interns for Modative. And Stephanie Garcia was hired to assist Summer with office management duties.

From left to right: Brad Benefield and Steve Knight of Modative Build

From left to right: Kenny Lee, Alan Dana, and Stephanie Garcia of Modative (Deborah O'Connell not pictured)

Modative in LA Planning Newsletter

Krystal Navar — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:30:00 GMT

During a recent trip to City Hall, I stumbled upon pLAnning, the quarterly newsletter of the LA City Planning Department. In this edition, Simon Pastucha, a City Planner with the Urban Design Studio, presents the City’s newly-issued Citywide Design Guidelines and Small Lot Design Guidelines. Both of the images included in the article are of Modative projects: The Cullen Street Art District Homes + Artis @ Echo Park!

Modative contributed project images and participated in review sessions for the creation of the Small Lot Design Guidelines. In fact, both Cullen and Artis were featured on the cover. We are proud that two of our projects have been selected by the Urban Design Studio as being representative of thoughtfully-designed projects that contribute to the urban fabric of Los Angeles.

Cullen on the front page of the newsletter

Artis on the back page of the newsletter

Modative has created our own Small Lot Subdivision Guide, a "how-to" for developers interested in Small Lot Subdivision. Check it out and contact us with any questions.

Congratulations from Modative! ♥️

Krystal Navar — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:26:00 GMT

Congratulations to Summer and Jesus for their recent engagement! While we'd love to take credit for sparking their love, Summer and Jesus met while attending the University of Oregon. (However, being the only two non-USC grads at Modative, their common love of the Ducks, I’m sure, brought them even closer together.) Jesus has been with Modative for 2.5 years and Summer 1.5 years. Here’s to an exciting year ahead!

Summer + Jesus in Seattle right before she said yes!

Modative Interview by Business of Architecture

Derek Leavitt — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:05:00 GMT

Last year we had the pleasure of having Enoch Sears from the Business of Architecture visit our office and conduct an on-camera interview. We've always really appreciated Enoch's approach of focusing on the business side of architecture, something that has been a vital part of our practice. So, last week, Enoch published the interview on his website and we are very happy with the results. It's an open and honest depiction of the critical issues we've faced in the last few years, which include (taken from Business of Architecture's website):

Promoting a hands-on approach for staff.
Creating a process to help your clients believe in your brand.
Learning to say “No” and staying focused on your firm’s goals.
The benefits of showing your clients an open and honest process.
A design-driven website vs. an informative website.

If you're interested, you can see the interview (and a transcript) on the Business of Architecture site - THE SECRETS TO A SUCCESSFUL ARCHITECTURE FIRM: INSIDE THE MODERN ARCHITECTURE FIRM MODATIVE

Enjoy!

Modative Featured in Fox News Story on Small Lot Subdivision

Derek Leavitt — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 23:26:00 GMT

On October 17, Modative was fortunate enough to be featured in a Fox News National TV story on small lot subdivison in Los Angeles. Christian and I really enjoyed spending several hours with producer Laura Prabucki and her team, touring a few of our projects and conducting interviews with the two of us as well as a few of the residents that live in the projects we designed.

The story isn't really about architecture, but rather the larger impact that this trend has on society and the economy. We were really happy with the final cut and are thankful to the the residents that made themselves available for tours and interviews. The story was featured on Fox News (national) several times on October 17 and has made a few appearances on local news affiliates around the country. If you weren't able to catch it on TV, click the link to watch it online - Tiny homes trend: Narrow houses built on smaller lots

Projects featured in the story include 726 California Ave (project in the opening live shot in Venice), Cullen Street Homes (project with the open wood stair in the living room) , Fay 2X Homes (interior shot above) and Fay 3X Homes (project under construction in the video).

Modative Architecture Summer 2013 Announcements

Summer Carrillo — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 20:42:00 GMT

We are happy to announce that Modative is growing up! With nine new architecture projects this year, we felt it was time to take the next step and award some promotions. Krystal Návar, one of Modative’s earliest employees, is now a seasoned project manager. We’d like to thank Krystal for steering multiple projects in the office and raising a little one without even breaking a sweat. We’re also excited to announce Jesus Fernandez has accepted a new role as project manager and seems to be enjoying it. Lastly, it’s about time we officially introduce our newest employees: Katherine, Summer, Allison + Shaun. Modative is now officially a team of ten (plus two office dogs).

photo by Ivonne Maria Photography

Modative Featured in LA Times Article on Small Lot Subdivision

Derek Leavitt — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 19:19:00 GMT

On Sunday, July 14, The Los Angeles Times featured an article on the front page about the growing popularity of Small Lot Subdivision in Los Angeles. We were lucky enough to be included in the article along with Planet Home Living (our client on the Artis @Echo Park project) and the Heyday Partnership.

Sunday Los Angeles Times Front Page.

And the Rest of the article. The images are from our Artis @ Echo Park project.

Modative has been focused on Small Lot Subdivision since our founding in 2006 and we are glad to see this innovative ordinance gaining in popularity in Los Angeles (and hopefully some other cities soon).

To read the article online - http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-small-lot-homes-20130714,0,563473.story

To learn more about developing Small Lot Subdivision Projects, we recommend downloading our free guide here.

We also have a free Small Lot Subdivision Information Packet.

A list of Modative's Small Lot Subdivison Projects.

Modative Architecture's 2012 Year in Review

Derek Leavitt — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 14:35:00 GMT

Fortunately, 2012 has been a very busy year for us, which is why there's been little time for blog updates. So we thought we'd let you know about four important things that happened at Modative in 2012:

1. Cullen Art District Homes Sold

Our three home, small lot subdivision project on Cullen Street sold very quickly at the following prices.

Home A (Front): $650,000

Home B (Middle): $650,000

Home C (Rear): $675,000

The Cullen Street project was initiated by our client during a very uncertain economic time so it's great to see this project's ultimate success.

2. Modern Homes Under Construction

We currently have four residential projects under construction:

726 California Ave

A three-home small lot subdivision in Venice, CA. This project is currently wrapping up stucco, siding and interior finishes and should be complete by March 2013.

Rendering

Home A along California Ave. Stucco and siding going in on 12.21.12.

Home C from the alley.

Artis @ Echo Park

Construction of Phase I (8 homes) is underway on this 15-home small lot subdivision in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Artis is currently in framing and the first set of homes should be complete in the spring of 2013. Artis @ Echo Park was posted on Curbed Los Angeles earlier this week.

Rendering

First floor framing on 12.21.12.

Phase I includes building the first eight homes.

Roberts Ave Residence

A single family residence in Culver City, CA that overlooks a public park.

Rendering

slab pour

Fay 3X Homes

Three townhouse apartments. This is Phase II of III of the Fay Ave Art District Dwellings (a future small lot subdivision). Phase I, the Fay 2X Homes was complete in late 2011, featured in the Los Angeles Times in February 2012, and are still occupied by the original renters. Here's a bit more info on the design of the Fay 3X Homes. This phase is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2013. Also of note, Modative Build is the contractor on this project. And we will be building even more of our projects as we push into 2013.

Rendering of 3X homes (left) next to the existing 2X homes (right).

Framing started at Fay 3X Homes on 12.19.12

And this is what it looked like a day later on 12.20.12

3. New Projects in 2012

2012 brought a lot of great new projects into the office. Here are some highlights:

Cardiff Cubes

We signed up this project in the first week of 2012; a great sign for the year. Cardiff Cubes is a three-home small lot subdivison near downtown Culver City. This project is approved by planning and is currently in the permitting phase. Construction start expected in spring of 2013.

4. New People in 2012

The new projects enabled us to add three new staff to our existing team of four, bringing our total to seven. We were very happy to welcome Dena, Jesus & Jesse to our team this year.

We didn't even ask them to smile. They did it on their own because they love working here.

Happy Holidays. See you in 2013!

design build blog

The 4 Biggest Problems People Encounter When Hiring a Residential Architect

Recent Articles Published Featuring Modative

2014 Modative Year in Review

01: Bento Box almost Complete

02: Roberts Ave under Construction

03: Fay Ave Phase III Complete

04: Cardiff Cubes Construction

05: Formosa Fusion under Construction

06: Hangar Homes Construction

07: Pettis Ave Complete

08: Strata Homes Construction

09: Foothill Blvd Live + Work Zone Change Approved

10: New Projects in 2014

11 Staff Updates

Modative in LA Planning Newsletter

Congratulations from Modative! ♥️

Modative Interview by Business of Architecture

Modative Featured in Fox News Story on Small Lot Subdivision

Modative Architecture Summer 2013 Announcements

Modative Featured in LA Times Article on Small Lot Subdivision

Modative Architecture's 2012 Year in Review

1. Cullen Art District Homes Sold

2. Modern Homes Under Construction

726 California Ave

Artis @ Echo Park

Roberts Ave Residence

Fay 3X Homes

3. New Projects in 2012

Cardiff Cubes

Fay 3X Homes

Ocean Park Hangar Homes

Milwood Avenue Residence

Vernon Avenue Residence

Pettis Avenue Residence

4. New People in 2012