Garden Architecture

This is a long overdue review, but one I am extremely confident will help others. Our experience with Robert and his associates was good except when it was very bad. They are nice people, fine designers, but not good with the business side of things, in our experience. The bad part was that they designed something that would cost many times what we could afford. We were very clear when we signed a design contract that our budget was $X. We were clear in person. We were clear over email. We had a budget. We're not new to working with contractors, and we know how important it is to have clear expectations on both sides -- nobody likes to waste their time, right. In the end, they made designs as promised, but when it came to pricing out what it would cost for them to build it, it was 3 times our agreed on budget. 3 TIMES. That's pretty unreal. We spent months trying to find a way back to our budget, but they were never able to get there. They did some apologizing for the confusion, but that doesn't really help when you're out $5k and months of time. In the end, we felt like we'd been taken. We felt like they knew they would take our $5k for designs and design something we'd just 'have to have' even though it was 300% what we told them we could afford. My suggestion if you are working with them -- make it clear in the contract what your maximum budget is, and that you will not pay the design fee if you end up with a design that exceeds the budget. Make it clear over email. Make it clear every time you meet. Best of luck.

I had the pleasure of working with Robert Trachtenberg and his team from Garden Architecture from April 2012 to January 2013. Although I’ve had no prior knowledge of the company, I decided to contact the company based on their online portfolio. I immediately felt at ease after my initial meeting with Robert. He was honest, to the point, and very pleasant. He assured me that the workers were his staff, and that he only sub-contracts for tasks beyond his specialization, like paving and tree removal. Robert assigned the designer David Lindberg for our project. Being a professional artist myself, I wanted to work with someone with a solid design sense and David fit the bill perfectly. David was very easy to collaborate, and both he and Robert had great ideas to infuse sophisticated modern curb appeal to my outdated mid-century ranch. Referencing the image board that I provided at our initial meeting, they designed a gorgeous garden which was not only beautiful, but fit my lifestyle as well as water-conserving. Robert made a daily visit to check in on the progress during the construction, and he was quick to address if he foresaw any problems. He even accompanied me to my neighbor’s house during a minor hiccup regarding the property line, as well as following through with the stucco mason when he discovered a damage to our garden wall during our final walkthrough. I’ve always felt that I was in good hands with Robert, and that was very important with a big project like landscaping. And last but not least, I have to commend on the yard crew spearheaded by Oscar Hernandez. I witnessed them work tirelessly over a few months through rain and shine, both in cold and hot weather. Oscar and his crew were at my house promptly at 7 every morning, and did an amazingly thorough job each day. I really appreciated that they work very clean, and maintained the work site in order each day. Without saying, I highly recommend Garden Architecture to anyone who is looking for a good design and build landscaping company.

Can't recommend Garden Architecture and Robert Trachtenberg enough! They have done two projects for us - a residential garden in Sausalito, CA - and a unique 2-acre wilderness re-landscaping for a property that is an inholding in an alpine National Wilderness. Robert's sense of plant palate, composition of both the micro and macro design; and an accute attunement to the design's place in its larger environement; is outstanding. A key element in the finished success of Garden Architecture's landscapes is that they not only do the design, but implement them in the field. The real connection to the installation, intimently in contact with the land and the materials, produces results of great harmony and artistry. Our Sausalito project was a complete design and re-build of a contemorary version of an English cottage style garden with stacked natural stone terracing. Our wilderness project was so successfully crafted that visitors since two years after the project completion have failed to believe that the meadow, strewn granite boulders, creek and pond edges, aspen grove, and cabin nestling in the landscape, were anything other than created by Mother Nature herself. PS: The "gush" in this endorsement is genuine!

Robert as architect and David as plant designer deftly translated our random ideas and concerns into a cohesive, fluid design. The process was creative, respectful and exciting as well as a lot of fun. The project began and ended on time, within budget. The crew worked every day, were a pleasure to have around We've done a lot of home improvement projects, large and small. This was far and away the most efficient and most fun and it looks fabulous. We will miss them and can't wait to start on the next phase.