Find a Architectural Professional in Falcon Heights

We hired Mike Eckardt of Archos to design our house which, when we began this journey, was just a vague idea in our heads. As first time custom home builders, we new what we liked when we saw it, but needed an expert/artist to bring it out and turn it into reality. We wanted a prairie style-looking house vs. a house that has just elements of that style. It was a challenge from the start as few architects or designers have deep experience or expertise in designing what we were looking for and we did not have an unlimited budget. We interviewed a number of both architects as well as design/build firms, and found most to be good, but ultimately missing the mark in terms of what we wanted. Given we couldn't find the perfect candidate up front, we came to realize what we would need is a good architect who would accept a professional challenge of designing perhaps a less familiar style and who could partner well. We were introduced to Mike and his approach and style resonated with us. Designing and building our custom home (which included a tear down to the foundation of our existing home) was a time consuming process, full of decisions and emotions. Our design timeline was perhaps longer than most because we did not want to be rushed too hard. It had to be that way because we wanted to get it right and we did not want to settle too far towards a giant compromise of ideas/budgets/practicality. The temptation to just settle was hard to resist given the pressure to move as quickly as possible. The push/pull nature of the design process we experienced, worked well. We would try to explain our vision and ideas and show photos. Mike would listen, advise and research. This process translated to renderings and designs which iterated towards a finished product. We couldn't be happier with the beautiful prairie-style home that resulted. Mike's patience, professionalism and advice were key. His realistic approach in partnering with us to execute on a project that was sound, aesthetically pleasing, true to the prairie ideals, functionally and financially realistic, led to a great outcome. He also worked well with our builder which is also critical. We would definitely recommend Mike to anyone.