The House Architects

TL;DR - Great design, good project management but disappointed with planning. I contacted Josh through houzz in January 2019, the initial design stage was exciting and enjoyable, Josh was easy to work with and very responsive on all issues. Our project was a downstairs renovation with a 38sqm single story rear extension therefore planning exempt. Construction began in November 2019 and we moved back into the house at the end of March 2020. We are very happy with the finished product and we will enjoy it for years to come. The reason for the 3 star review is that we had an issue with planning which required us having to file for retention permission. We feel that we could have avoided the extra cost and stress associated with this situation had we received appropriate advice.

Josh and Ciaran of The House Architects have been great to work with - very patient, approachable and thoughtful with my many questions and ideas, and no less so given my current project is a small one. From initial contact and discussion with John through successful planning permission and builders plans with Ciaran, the process has been smooth and communication timely. They will manage contractor tendering and oversight for the build phase and I have no doubts in trusting them to do so to my best interests. I'm looking forward to working with Josh and the rest of team at The House Architects on bigger projects in the future. I recommend The House Architects without reservation.

Very satisfied with the services we received from The House Architects. Josh was excellent at listening to our ideas and kept us involved through out the process. I would definitely recommend The House Architects.

The biggest hurdle for me was deciding what to do, but getting it done – and done right – is another story. If you are building, then you need to ensure that the structure complies with good building practice and a whole raft of building regulations. The House Architects came highly recommended by a previous client of theirs and my first impression of Josh and Viv was that we would get on, and I felt confident that I would be able to approach them about anything, but most of all, I could depend on them. It was a great pleasure seeing my old house built in 1895 fully restored into a beautiful new home. Thanks to a very dedicated team of professionals, The House Architects Josh and Viv and building contractor Just-extend, I have a brand new comfortable, cosy and energy efficient home. BTW, love watching the stars via the roof light Mary Gibbons

Josh and Alfonso have been excellent to work with in helping design our family home. From the initial stage Josh was willing to come view the site, we had regular zoom calls for the design process. We now have received planning permission which required a bit of extra work, Josh and Alfonso we able to understand what was wanted from the council and come through with a result.

Wonderful extension and modernisation of our 115 year old red brick house. Josh took the time to carefully listen to our requirements and preferences, both practically and aesthetically. The initial sketch up was excellent, and it was clear that our brief was well understood and enhanced by the vision/input of Josh and the team. The resulting plans, specification, tender process and build oversight proceeded without problem. The process from initial sketch-up, through detailed plans, build and completion was well executed - with excellent communication throughout. We have a modern, interesting, practical, light filled and spacious extension - we highly recommend The House Architects, there was no drama just excellent results .

We have found House Architects very creative and practical in terms of the design process. Josh and Alfonso listened and understood our vision and budget constraints. They are very professional in their approach and always responded to our queries in an expedient manner. We would absolutely recommend House Architects.

Our project is a relatively small redbrick house on a street in the older part of Dublin. The house was built in 1908 and is typical of the Edwardian era. It was purchased by my parents in the 60s and relatively well kept, but needed a serious refurbishment and redesign of the functional areas. Josh and Vivienne responded quickly to my posting on the Houzz website, and we have established a very good relation, although it has been completely virtual due to the current situation. While construction has not yet begun, I am very pleased with the enthusiasm and support of Josh and his excellent team in helping me crystallize a vision for the renewal, and in a series of meetings, they have come up with an excellent proposal. Apart from their obvious experience in this type of building, they provided great ideas on modernizing the house. They did not charge any upfront fee, and their commission structure is very reasonable, charging a previously fixed amount only as the project progresses. I also like that they solicit competitive bids from five contractors for the construction phase. This ensures arms-length dealing in the actual building and no conflict of interest.

Excellent professional firm who were a pleasure to deal with throughout our project. Would highly recommend Josh and his team.

Josh and the team are extremely professional and provided an expert, trusted service from start to finish. You're in very safe hands here, should you choose The House Architects. We gave a brief that changed quite a bit during development; Josh was flexible and understanding, always available to discuss the twists and turns. We would have no hesitation recommending them.

Josh has been great, guiding us through a difficult(painful) planning process as well as produicng top class plans while listening to our needs & recommendations.

We found The House Architects on Houzz and so far, the high recommendation is true to its word. We want to extend our ground floor and upstairs and have found the process very straightforward because of Josh and his teams involvement. We have ideas which Josh has taken and added to. They have made us understand what we can achieve and not. They are conscious of their clients budget and look at ways of achieving their clients wants as much as is possible. Josh is very efficient and always easy to get in touch with. We are close to submitting to planning and are very happy with the plans. We look forward to continuing with The House Architects until the build is complete.

Josh and the crew are great. Creative, attention to detail and really understood what we wanted our house to look like.

We are just at planning stage but so far, we have been impressed with House Architects' professionalism, responsiveness and capacity to generate creative solutions. We look forward to continuing wot work with them as our project moves into the construction phase.

Design of residential extension and renovation to period property, preparing tender package etc. We found Josh and Ciaran brilliant from day 1. After meting them on site I got the impression that they really understood what we wanted to achieve on the project and they really delivered. We met them at their offices to run though different schemes and even though we had a very definitive vision of what we wanted they found clever ways to improve on that.

Josh designed an extension for our 3 bed semi-D in Dublin 9. The job also involved significant renovation, including a change to the layout of existing ground floor rooms. Aside from the providing a design which we are delighted with, Josh provided expert project management and invaluable support on every aspect of the process. He was extremely approachable throughout, and all at competitive rates.

Josh and Viv redesigned and adapted our house creating a lovely home that perfectly meets our family's needs and lifestyle. The House Architects really listened to our brief which was 'create a wheelchair adapted, open plan family home'. We wanted it to look good, have plenty of light and at the same time we needed it to conform to the highest standards in terms of wheelchair accessibility. They more than delivered on the brief, and five years on, we are still getting compliments from neighbours, friends and Occupational Therapy professionals alike.

My wife and I decided to use 'The House Architects' after thoroughly researching their work and visiting with a short list of other highly capable architects. We knew what we wanted though were amazed of the extra value that Josh and his team brought to the project in expanding our Seaside cottage into a warm, comfortable home for all the family. We were given many options from our initial sketch and were presented with floor plans and several ideas to maximise space whilst keeping in touch with the country cottage style of the original building. Josh rendered alternatives in 3D which was fantastic for a practical layout that works for a growing family. We were delighted with the design and recommendations suggested throughout the build. The tendering process was fantastic as Josh's team organised the short list of builders and validated them (with no stone unturned). Josh makes hard decisions very easy by providing an educated, experienced approach to problem solving and by affording every opportunity to allow practicality triumph.. Finally and most importantly, The House Architects are always conscious of your budget. We had no wiggle room and that was taken into account from day 1. What swayed the final decision for us in choosing an architect for our "once in a lifetime" project was the business acumen. Unlike others we met, The House Architects can run the numbers and their education in business finance proved vital for our build.

We hired The House Architects to design and project manage the extension to our house and renovation of the existing house. The design for the extension exceeded our expectations, creating a fantastic space which is now the core of family life. Given the size of the project there were many issues to solve along the way. The help and advice Josh and Vivienne gave during the process really was invaluable. We are extremely happy with the result.

We are working with Josh during our current self build journey from design realisation to current ongoing hands on monitoring and quality assurance of the build by our contractor. We've found Josh and the house architects to be very knowledgeable, extremely professional, consistent and realistic,working within our budget to achieve our dream. He is also open and perseptive to your ideas and vision of the end result. We have yet to be disappointed.

Josh and Vivienne have been working with us for 2 years on a new build & extension project, guiding us through a complicated, drawn out planning process on restricted site, for 2 very fussy & involved clients :) I can say with confidence that Josh has listened to our brief, and delivered a design that makes the best of the site, while still creating a very attractive, liveable house which no doubt is going to be a joy for our young family to live in. Josh deals with our endless queries with patience and professionalism and has been a source of reassurance through the stressful times. I have no doubt that the actual build will be managed to his high standards and look forward to getting the keys, on time and on budget no doubt!

Although we are still at the early stages of our project, we feel that The House Architects have a very clear understanding of our needs for out the extension of our house. This has been achieved by regular communication and a down-to -earth manner in which everything has been clarified, as well as attention to detail. We are very confident that the completed project will have the wow factor we want! Adele & Rob

The House Architects were highly recommended to us when we decided to construct our new house. Josh and Viv provided a highly professional service at all stages of the project. Josh provided guidance in a patient and confident manner and developed a good relationship with the main contractor. All of this contributed a new home which we are delighted with. We would recommend The House Architects without any hesitation

Josh and Viv provided a very innovative solution to our restricted site, with great patience. They are very responsive and delivered on every aspect of the design brief.

Josh came on board late in the project as we have a few issues with the previous architect. he was brilliant! he understood from the very beginning what we were trying to achieve with the house, ( new extension) and he put his own stamp in the project. He manage the project from the start of the building to the end. I wish I would have known him from the start! totally recommend it!

The House Architects were very professional from the very start of our project. A time line and sequence of events were outlined and visits to the site were made at crucial times where progress was discussed and plans put in place to complete the project on time within budget. The House Architects were particularly helpful in sourcing and designing windows and doors that looked well and are highly energy efficient.

New Years Day 2017. The excitement builds for the year ahead. Planning is lodged, Papers are out for tender. Last year for new years eve just spent in our current house. Next year it will be so different. Admittedly we did not hire Josh initially and it was down to two architects and after a lot of agonising we initially ended up going with a very good architect from my home town who was the son of a friend of my mother. Due to location issues it was mutually agreed to terminate that engagement after a short while. With tails between the legs back to Josh and Vivienne in The House Architects we went. They were very professional and picked up the pieces, give us a discount to reflect some work already done and carried on. Back ground checks made to other satisfied customers were all glowing. This didn't surprise us as Josh was very responsive and informative when we were deciding between the two and very gracious when we went back with the tails between our legs. If we could turn back time, we would have engaged Josh and his firm from the start. We now enter the next stage which is tendering and construction and all the stresses that that will bring. Based on the feedback received for Josh, we are very comfortable that Josh and Vivienne will safely guide us through this final stretch of the journey. Whatever architect you choose I suggest based on our experience that they are relatively local to where you are based. So if in Dublin, use a Dublin architect etc. Choose Josh for your engagement and make it a new years resolution that you keep. This time next year you will wish you started today ! Happy new year

We worked with Josh to design and project manage an extension to our 1930s house in Dublin 7. It included demolishing our old kitchen and lean-to sheds, and building a new kitchen/dining room with a downstairs bathroom / utility room. Beforehand we visited several clients in the local area who had positive experiences with House Architects. The pricing structure was very clear. Josh was a pleasure to work with, and unflappable, which is always very reassuring. Once we had designs we were happy with, he worked to put the project out to tender and managed the relationship and the payments to the builder. This was the most valuable aspect for us. Particularly towards the end of the project, there were probably issues where we would have let the builder cut corners, but it was great to have Josh there to hold the line and ensure the project was completed to specification. We've been living with our extension for 18 months now and we're delighted with it - it's transformed the way we use the house and the garden.