Mikiten Architecture

11 Reviews

Architects and Architectural Designers

1 Verified Hire

1 Hire on Houzz

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About Us

Best of Houzz winner

High-end

Family owned

Bay Area Award Winning Architect with an Emphasis on Universal Design

Based in Berkeley, Husband and wife team Erick and Elisa Mikiten have been creating beautiful buildings since 1991. Our work is inspired by context and nature, creating innovative spaces and sculptural, inspiring buildings. Above all, we listen carefully to our clients' needs and dreams, and bring them to fruition. Copy/Paste this URL into your browser for our free guide, How to Hire an Architect: http://www.mikitenarch.com/resources.html. Erick Mikiten is known as a highly sought after architect for elegant, Universally Designed homes. He is famous for his expertise in designing highly personalized homes around a whole family’s needs without sacrificing poetic, dramatic design. We examine a site or existing building intensively to understand it before we start drawing. This helps us design buildings that are rooted in their place and 'feel right', even if they do not follow the dictums of a particular historical design. We are inspired by clarity, intricacy, and light. We love the brilliant gestures of Rodin and Calder, the sophisticated detail of Japanese joinery, the writings of Louis Kahn, the buildings of Alvar Aalto, Louis Kahn, and Luis Barragan, and the movement of the sun and breezes around every site we work on. We believe that architecture should inspire, and lift people beyond the every day, connecting with the grace of nature. Every project we do incorporates green design, reflecting our respect for nature. We are able to usher projects through LEED or other rating systems if desired by the client. Our Shinsei Gardens project achieved a LEED-Platinum rating for multifamily housing. As a wheelchair rider, Erick Mikiten has particular insights into Universal Design, the creation of spaces, indoors and outdoors, that are fully usable by everyone - regardless of their level of physical ability, and seamlessly integrated into beautiful architecture. Due to the level of inspection around so many clients' particular disabilities, we naturally look deeper into EVERY client's needs and desires. The process we have developed, and the insights we have gained while working on accessible architecture come around to inform every project, making places that are gracious, nurturing, and welcoming to all.

Services Provided

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Architectural Design, Building Design, Custom Homes, Energy-Efficient Homes, Green Building, Historic Building Conservation, Home Extensions, Home Remodeling, Kitchen Design, Kitchen Remodeling, Multigenerational Homes, Pool House Design & Construction, Sustainable Design, Tiny House Construction, Universal Design, Architecture

Areas Served

Alameda, Albany, Bayview, Belvedere, Belvedere Tiburon, Berkeley, East Richmond Heights, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Emeryville, Hercules, Martinez, Montalvin, Moraga, North Richmond, Oakland, Orinda, Piedmont, Pinole, Richmond, Rollingwood, San Francisco, San Pablo, Tara Hills, Tiburon, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Danville, Concord, Sausalito, San Rafael, Kentfield, Ross, Larkspur, Corte Madera, Mill Valley, Novato, Sonoma, Napa, Alamo

Awards

AIALEED-APCalifornia Building Standards Commissioner

14 Projects

Business Details

Business Name

Mikiten Architecture

Phone Number

+1 510-543-0288

Website

www.mikitenarch.com

Address

2415 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710

Typical Job Cost

USD 800,000 - USD 30,000,000

Email or call for an initial consultation. Copy/Paste this link into a new browser window for more information: http://www.mikitenarch.com/consultation.html

Licence Number

C23267

Followers

262 Followers

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Credentials

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Featured Review

Daniel Leja

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11 Reviews for Mikiten Architecture

Newest first

Daniel Leja

Competence, diligence, and honesty -- anyone who has the opportunity to work with Mikiten Architecture is in for a treat. Elisa, Erick, and Rachael at Mikiten Architecture are incredibly professional and helpful. When I came to them with an urgent and unclear permitting issue, they immediately got to the heart of the matter and made the impossible seem almost effortless. They smoothly guided our project through the Berkeley planning department, taking the exact right steps to ensure all parties were informed in the appropriate manner and ending up with an approved set of plans under budget and ahead of schedule -- which is an absolutely stunning result in this domain of work!

28 September, 2018

Comment from Mikiten Architecture:

Daniel, thanks so much for the kind words. We love sorting out complex puzzles, and are glad your project turned out so well - it was a real pleasure working together.

FMSProjects, Inc.

We are general contractors and have looked at several projects with Erick (Mikiten Architecture). Erick brings a unique approach to his projects that we find refreshing and inspiring; it really feels like a team effort and very much outside the traditional contractor-architect-owner dynamic. His design work and plans are thorough and well thought out, yet he remains open to input and suggestions which keeps a project interesting and well balanced. Erick is top of our list to be in contact with for new projects always.

16 December, 2015

colbleep

I believe that what makes Erick a great architect is his ability to marry his great sense and use of space with his attention to technical detail. I have worked with a lot of good architects in my work in affordable housing, but of them it was Erick that my wife and I chose to work on the remodel of our Oakland bungalow. Erick’s ability to bridge the old and the new is such that most people who see our home do not know where the “new” house begins and the “old” house ends. But he was also able to incorporate modern details like a vaulted new bedroom ceiling and still have it feel like it is part of the 1924 design. What made the project successful was Erick’s ability to make the implementation of the project crystal clear to the general contractor. For example, the joining of the newer part of the roof with the original roof is seamless. Again, it all seems original. I have come to understand in Erick’s designs both in my home and in my work that he has what seems like an innate ability to make large spaces feel intimate and smaller spaces feel spacious and comfortable. I appreciate his work every day that I move through, or just sit in our home.

17 March, 2015Last modified:18 March, 2015

charlesmcculloch

Erick Mikiten is a very talented designer, has extensive knowledge of universal accessibility standards, understands and applies sustainability design in his projects and is a very organized project manager. It has been my pleasure to be the landscape architectural design consultant for many of Mikiten Architecture projects including single family residences and multifamily housing projects. I am pleased to highly recommend Erick.

25 February, 2015

Comment from Mikiten Architecture:

Thanks Chuck - the feeling is mutual. You're always incredible at marrying our buildings to their sites, and pushing our vision further. Looking forward to the next opportunity.

miafeldbaum

We hired Mikiten to design and help manage the building of an art studio in our backyard. We were initially impressed by Erick's listening, helpful suggestions, and thoughtfulness. He helped us realize and explain what we were looking for and ultimately created an incredibly beautiful space that fit our funky and functional ideas. Additionally, we appreciated that Erick brought a nuanced perspective to accessible design. My husband uses a wheelchair and we wanted an accessible space he could fully use, as well our older relatives and for ourselves over the years. He was able understand our needs and integrate that into the design from the beginning so it was seamless and beautiful. So much accessible design is not truly 'universal design' and simply conforms to ADA rather than personal need, and often looks junky, industrial, or added on. We now have a stunning and useful space that also has some beautiful architectural touches we would never have considered without his expertise. And, throughout the whole process he was a pleasure to work with. Highly recommend.

23 February, 2015

Comment from Mikiten Architecture:

Thanks for the comments Mia, and both of you always being 100% on the fun factor - the project was a blast.

druidz6

We hired Erick and his company to design a house around our family's special needs. This included spaces for a multi-generation family and a matriarch with many physical challenges who wanted to get around everywhere, Since we had many specific and abstract requirements (from different needs and opinions among the future occupants), and we had experience in building houses in the past, we were looking for someone who could listen well, solve problems arising from conflicts in requirements, create designs that were inspiring, and take full advantage of every aspect of the environment we chose to build in. Erick and his team came through, and we could not be happier with the results. We live in vineyards across from a well-traveled bicycle path where people like to tour, and every day as people ride by, we can hear them say things like "Awesome house", or "I'd love to have that place". But the greatest joy comes from just living and experiencing the results that great architecture can provide: the right views, light, atmosphere, workflow, breezes, access, materials, and a sense of life and living that is important to us.

19 February, 2015

Comment from Mikiten Architecture:

Your project was a wonderful partnership, Dave. It couldn't have turned out better. Thanks very much for posting a review.

User

Erick Mikiten helped me remodel my house. He listened closely to my needs and wants and made suggestions. Now the immediate response of almost everyone who steps inside is, “Oh, how lovely!” or “What a warm feeling I get!” Because of the SF Bay-facing windows in the kitchen remodel, if the sun shines, the house stays comfortable. Someone left a note on the front porch that says, “This is the most beautiful house in Berkeley.” They only saw the outside. Unfortunately it was unsigned. I love my house. When I walk through the front door I feel welcomed and happy. It is a joy to be in any one of the rooms. Anne Smith

13 February, 2015Last modified:25 November, 2019

Comment from Mikiten Architecture:

Anne, thank you so much for taking the time to post your comments. It was such a pleasure working together, and the creation of open, light-filled spaces while keeping the original charm of your home was so rewarding.

davepenney

Erick is one of the most creative architects we've worked with. He is especially gifted in accessible design, creating environments that are designed from the start for people with disabilities, rather than tacking on ramps, etc. after the fact. Erick's designs are efficient, practical, and green - in a word, "elegant."

13 February, 2015

Julie Avary

We hired Erick Mikiten to work on a complex project of approximately $500,000 in remodeling a single family home for accessibility needs. Erick redesigned the elevator, bathrooms, bedrooms and main rooms for our client's accessiblity needs. This entailed expanding and redesigning the elevator on three floors, which meant the rooms associated on those floors needed to be redesigned. Once the project was complete, it not only was functional, but it was beautifully done. It looked like the design was planned from the ground up. Erick was instrumental in coming up with creative solutions throughout the house for the client's needs. He was able to anticipate problems and save costs in many instances throughout the project. Erick was able to recommend products and techical advice to our client making his life much easier to manage. Aside from Erick's architectural talent and expertise, he is such a nice person to work with in all respects. He understands how to run the job and get the work done, all the while maintaining a professional demeaner with the client and contractors. Our project turned out to be both functional and beautiful. I really can't give this firm enough stars, and I look forward to working with Erick Mikiten and his team again!

17 December, 2014

Comment from Mikiten Architecture:

Julie, thanks for the kind review. I appreciated your focus and ability to prioritize the options and choices that came up throughout the project, and make smart decisions. It turned out wonderfully!

andreegraham

A dark and very impractical kitchen-- with a door separating the refrigerator from the prep area and stove--was transformed in a light and airy space. What pleasure it is to admire the garden through the large new windows. It can even be done while seated! As the kitchen was getting remodeled, the access to the back yard became obstacle-free. Erick's design allowed for both a spacious and airy kitchen as well as easy exit to the garden. Good for able bodied people and great for a wheelchair user such as me Very frustrating and expensive experience with Elyse H. of Paragon Kitchen and Bath Studio. Unnecessarily so: incorrect measurements of the kitchen space--poor fit with furniture measurements. Also not as sturdy as could be expected considering time, effort and money.

2 September, 2014Last modified:3 September, 2014

Comment from Mikiten Architecture:

Andree is right about the General Contractor's cabinet subcontractor, who used modular cabinets rather than custom.

It's a reminder that a custom cabinet solution, even though it may sound more costly up front, is much more flexible and usually more sturdy than a "quick ship" modular solution that doesn't work well with the tight tolerances you often find in remodels of existing spaces. By the time the contractor is done fussing around in the field, you might wind up spending almost as much as if you got a fully customized job.

geoffgosling

We hired Erick Mikiten as the project architect for a major kitchen remodel and some ancillary work on the entrance porches to the house in 1994/95. We wanted to expand the kitchen, remodel the interior to include new cabinets and an island, provide a new seating area in an addition at the rear of the house, and improve what was then an awkward connection between the kitchen and a rear bedroom. Erick came up with a very creative solution to the space constraints in the existing kitchen that resulted in a much more spacious kitchen with a larger island than we had anticipated. The addition on the rear of the house not only provided a seating area with views into the rear garden that we use on a daily basis, but included a very attractive raised ceiling and exterior architecture that continue to receive admiring comments from friends and visitors almost 20 years later. Erick's firm also recommended a new color scheme for the exterior of the house, which we adopted. Even now, from time to time complete strangers stop by to ask about the specifications of the paint colors because they find it so attractive and are considering doing something similar. Throughout the project Erick made great efforts to understand what we were looking for and present alternative options to achieve this, going through multiple iterations of the design as we refined the concept together, then producing a final design that satisfied our budget constraints. During construction, Erick visited the site on a regular basis and worked closely with the contractor to make sure that the work was being done in conformance with the design.

30 August, 2014

Comment from Mikiten Architecture:

Geoff, thanks for the thoughtful review. As an early endeavor for us back in 1995, your project and the great relationship we forged through it with you and Katie will always be special.

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27 Comments

Commented: What is the floor material and brand? Thank you.Hi Mark - the brand we used doesn't make this pattern now, but many other manufacturers do. A similar one Odysseus Natural 12 x 36 Engineered Click Lock Cork Flooring. Best of luck!

20 February, 2017

Commented: What's the color golden siding and the black door trim?Hi Ed - Sorry we don't have a record of the paint color from this project, which was done about 20 years ago. But the black of the windows is actually the black aluminum window itself.

28 June, 2015

Commented: LandscapeHi Nicole, yes, this was bark. I believe it was called “Walk on Bark” from Sequoia Forest Industries. It is dark, but not the black bark that has been popular (at least here in the SF area) for the la...

13 March, 2015

Commented: what is the flooring material beside the hardwood?Hi Kelly, This is cork tile. I believe it was Wicanders brand. It's got a wonderfully organic, serpentine pattern to it. It reminded us of satellite views of salt beds, or Vincent Van Gogh skies. Perf...

18 January, 2015

Commented: TileHi Joe, I'm glad to hear it - we loved this tile, too. It's got an amazing texture to it that melds with the bamboo cabinets...but not too much so. It's Happy Floors brand, and the line is Setai. The ...

18 November, 2014

Commented: Do you know of any similar looking wood siding that do not have to beHi crc11 - I don't know of any alternate material with this look for that sort of climate, but ptownsw commented above about a product you might want to look into.

23 October, 2014

Mikiten Architecture