Terrapin Architecture

Many people think of hiring an architect as an extra expense or a luxury. At Terrapin Architecture, we always try to look at your project as a whole, taking into account the big financial picture. Looked at in this way, one of the many roles the architect can play in the project is to assure that money is spent in the most efficient way, and to assure that you come out of the design and construction process with a valuable asset. One of our goals is to provide a building of greater value, for the same budget amount, than would otherwise have been achieved. How do we approach this? First, it must be recognized that "value" can mean many things, and the meaning is not always limited to its financial aspect. So, our first job is to get to know you well enough to know what is important to you. Our highest priority is to provide value to you by taking your concepts and ideas, and figuring out how to really make them work well: bringing them to life in a way that is aesthetically pleasing, and can be built within your budget. Drawing upon our experience in both the architectural and construction industries, we help you figure out cost-efficient and material-efficient ways of creating the spaces you want and need. Perhaps more importantly, we help you figure out how to avoid duplicated and wasted space—or effort. We provide clear, detailed information to builders so that they can do their job efficiently without stopping constantly to ask questions or figure things out. In addition, part of our bias is that whatever “value” means to you, we believe that it always has a financial component. So, we always strive to provide you with a property that, if it is ever sold, will command a premium price on the basis of the quality and appeal of the building and its surroundings. Lastly, we believe keeping our work relatively local is quite beneficial to both our clients and ourselves. Not only are we knowledgeable about the area (from an environmental, structural and aesthetic standpoint), we also have good working relationships with local building departments and contractors and we're never too far from your site. We serve Jefferson County, Clallam County, Island County and North Kitsap County.