Foster Dale Architects

Never contacted, not even to say something like "we're not taking new clients at this time".

In addition to invaluable and efficient navigation of the City?s construction approvals, FDA brought environmental credentials to the project and coordinated the identification of potential contractors who would similarly bring value and insight into this project.  The project required monitoring and cataloging the green building elements of the project ? from reclamation of portions of the existing
structure, to the geothermal heating system, to reclaimed and environmentally sound building techniques and materials ? to receive green certification from the City.  The project took slightly more than a year to complete and our home is what we expected at the outset and better because of the input and counsel received from FDA.  FDA is a great combination of both expertise and value.

Great!  Love Foster and his Staff!

Great, if you have the extra money pay for elevations of your job.

In October 2008, we purchased the house next door with the expectation of knocking it down and having a yard. We worked with Foster in excess of 1 year to carefully plan the project. He was able to draw from us what we liked and disliked about ou home and through his creativity, worked with us to create a better functionality and asthetic to our home. The project included shifting focus of the house to the south side of the house by creating new window openings and a terrace, addition of a split level mudroom, bathroom remodeling, reinsulation and residing of the house and conversion of the HVAC to geothermal technology. Foster assisted in contractor selection, pricing and permitting. We are extremely pleased how the project has turned out.

I had an excellent experience with Foster and would highly recommend him. He is very knowledgeable about design and the city permitting process. There were a number of unique zoning and permitting issues on my project that he helped me with.

A friend of mine had used Foster to gut and re-model her entire home in Highland Park (one of the homes on his website), while preserving the integrity of the facade. When I told her about the house we were considering, she suggested I call Foster. I immediately assumed that we would be paying him for his time. Boy, was I was wrong. Foster was amazing. When we first made the appointment, he asked if he could get a copy of the home's original architectural plans/survey from the seller's broker. The broker had the plan waiting for us when we arrived. Foster then walked through the home with us and spent a great deal of time poking around; measuring roof heights, checking materials and asking the broker questions. He cautioned us to save our comments until we left the broker's presence. After we were finished at the house, he suggested that we find a spot down the block to grab a drink and discuss his findings (he only had a water). In all, Foster spent about 2 1/2 hours with us detailing the enormous problems we could face if we purchased the home. Keep in mind, this is after work hours and he has a wife and 2 kids. He told us what he felt we would have to do immediately upon move in and what he felt could wait until later, along with estimating the cost range of the work. Foster absolutely refused to let us pay him for his time, explaining that it was a smart time investment for him should we use him in the future. He was absolutely spectacular. We will definitely use him for future renovations. Thanks to his expertise and patience, our dream house will not become a nightmare.