Reviews
5.02 Reviews
Showing 1-2 of 2 reviews
Karen P.
06/2011
architect
 + -1 moreWe had some trepidation about building a house in general (horror stories of couples who divorced as a result, etc) and never expected we'd work with an architect (we figured architects were a luxury for the rich and would be out of reach for us.) However, Leslie is a bit unique as an architect, we believe because of her commitment to permaculture. She continues to be a "student" of permaculture and sustainable construction which we value since this is an area that is rapidly evolving. She believes in designing with due consideration of the building site, its orientation and slope, prevailing winds, sun, rains, etc to produce a highly functional and comfortable structure that uses technology appropriately but not gratuitously (in other words, our technology selection was about its function relative to our specific project and not its cool factor). this resulted in a house that we believe will be efficient, affordable, and enjoyable to live in. From a personal perspective, we found Leslie to be patient, extremely responsive, and of wonderful humor! It has been an absolute delight to work with her. She is highly ethical and very professional and thorough in every aspect of her work. she worked very well using phone, email, DropBox, JoinMe and other online applications that allowed us to easily view and provide feedback on designs. When we did travel to ABQ to meet during the design, she structured our days for maximum effectiveness without completely exhausting us...quite a skill. If I had any criticism of Leslie it is that she tends toward perfectionism. Actually this is probably a desired trait in an architect, but occasionally we had to nudge her to move forward in the process. She was always very receptive and we would encourage anyone working with Leslie to communicate honestly and frequently as she responds very well to this. Regarding her fee, we got a deal and a half that she likely won't be able to replicate. A more typical architectural fee is 10% of the construction budget. at the time we met Leslie, she was transitioning from commercial to residential and didn't have much of a residential portfolio. She has now established herself in the sustainable residential construction community and I would expect her fees to be more typical of the norm going forward.
Description of Work: Leslie designed our Net-Zero-Energy, permaculture home in the North Valley...all from a distance as we live about 1500 miles away. The requirements, which she carefully helped us identify and work through, were complex, but we were delighted that she was able to incorporate them all into the design. Budget was an issue for us and Leslie offered many creative approaches and solutions to stretching our dollars in certain areas in order to preserve our key priorities which were to build a sustainable home. We define sustainable as extremely low carbon footprint, low maintenance, low water use and high water reuse, and as much as possible, using local materials and services, and all within our budget. As a permaculturalist, she was able to maximize our our passive heating and cooling through design of the house. She also has an absolutely beautiful aesthetic sense combined with a Midwestern practicality (which appealed to us!) and we believe our home (currently under construction) will be as beautiful and comfortable as it is sustainable. Our home will be certified by Build Green New Mexico (sort of a state version of LEEDS) and we expect it to come in as Emerald which is the highest rating. Leslie interfaced with all service providers on our behalf at our request. She also led the bid process which resulted in us finding the greatest fit for a contractor for our project (that will be another review once the build is done!). Once we selected our contractor, Leslie worked closely with them to finalize some issues regarding mechanic choices. The entire design process was painless and actually quite enjoyable. All our design and finishing decisions were made prior to signing the contract with our builder so, barring anything truly unforeseen, we expect the construction costs to be the same as we agreed to on the contract. We appreciated the fact that Leslie was "local" and knows the building codes, requirements, players, politics wand new ideas being proposed regarding sustainable construction. For example, we needed a variance for our passive cooling towers, and Leslie submitted the appropriate documents, met with all our new neighbors about it, and as a result, our variance was granted without contest (evidently, this is not the way it often goes.) in retrospect, we don't think it would have been possible to design such a thoughtful and sustainable home (and especially from a distance!) without Leslie. Although the design is now complete, Leslie will continue to work with our contractor to ensure our house is built to design and will provide us with weekly, photo-documented reports via email.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$32,000
Ian F.
09/2008
architect
 + -1 moreWe were uncertain as to whether or not to use an architect for this project but she worked fairly well with the ideas that we had already put together. She was fairly knowledgeable in green building specifically solar design which was important to our project. However, she was frustrating to work with because she often went out of town and does not answer her phone regularly so the design took much longer than we ever thought it would. Overall it went fairly well although we would have appreciated more input from her regarding design.
Description of Work: Designed an addition for our current house which included remodeling part of the existing house.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$2,500
Contact information
N/A, Albuquerque, NM 87105
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FAQ
Kalyx Studio is currently rated 5 overall out of 5.
No, Kalyx Studio does not offer free project estimates.
No, Kalyx Studio does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.
No, Kalyx Studio does not offer a senior discount.
No, Kalyx Studio does not offer emergency services.
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Contact information
N/A, Albuquerque, NM 87105