Sorin Architecture PLLC

To pick an architect for our house-to-be, I wrote every one listed for Asheville in the AIA online directory. Mitchel Sorin responded with photos of a recent project similar to what we wanted that had the grace and beauty of a house built a hundred years ago. When we saw the house in person, we liked it even better. We talked to two other architects, both of whom seemed talented, but not quite up to Mitchel's grace. To plan our design, we gave him a number of photos as well as 10 written pages of detail. He did a nice job of juggling those details. As we went along, we discovered he had another very valuable skill. He was particularly good at working with others. The builder we selected and several subcontractors mentioned that he was a pleasure to work with. He was usually good about doing what we wanted, though he didn't hesitate to point out problems and steer us away from them. He could be a little deaf when I asked him to do something he didn't think would work out. Also, if there was something he thought was a good idea that I turned down, it would reappear in the conversation down the line. This was done with a light hand that made it easy to talk through our concerns and desires. He had a dry sense of humor that made him a pleasure to work with. We gave Mitchel an exact budget for the house and he worked to make sure our contract with the builder would fit that amount plus a small contingency in case we ran into problems. He was good about finding ways to save us money. He is LEED certified and paid attention to ways to cut energy cost and build a healthy house. He charged by the hour instead of certain percentage of the total cost of building the house, which the other two architects we talked to did. He gave us an estimated range of cost. Our actual costs were a little bit beyond the high end of that range. We also ended up using him for some interior design services. We are delighted with the house he designed for us and the process we went through. For sure, we would use him again.