Colega Architects

Working with Colega was the best decision we made for our house. We worked with Tarek and Bogdan (the principle architects) for a near gut remodel of our home. Our project was a ranch style home built in the 1950s, in sore need of an update. Tarek and Bogdan's preparation impressed us right away. Prior to our very first meeting, they had already researched issues related to zoning and inspections specific to our town. Their style is very modern, which we wanted, but we also wanted to respect the ranch origins of the house and not do a complete teardown. We did not want to increase the footprint of the house (a little under 2100 square feet), but we did want to increase the bathrooms from 2.5 to 3.5. Throughout the process. Tarek and Bogdan were consistently prepared, attentive, and patient. Remodeling an entire house is not a quick process; there's a lot of back and forth when the realities of money, space and time come into play. We enjoyed the collaboration throughout. Tarek and Bogdan always presented options, at different price points, and they introduced us to ideas that we would not have come up with on our own, but which we are so grateful they did. (Yes, a 25 foot sliding glass door is not only possible, but worth it.) We are supremely happy with the end result. We have no foreseeable plans to do another remodel, but if we did, we would certainly go back to Colega.

The short version is: highly recommended. If you’d like more detail on what might be a substantial investment for you, read on. You rarely remember your internet searches, and even fewer are ones you’ll remember forever. In my case “engawa los angeles architect” will be one I remember forever. I was planning a renovation of my mid-century California rancher and had discovered this Japanese term for a feature I wanted. That search brought me to the Colega-LA website. Colega was a young firm specializing in modern design. I’d been researching and interviewing a lot of architects, and I’d learned that some firms do all sorts of styles, while others specialize. I wanted modern, so Colega was a possible fit. They’d already won design awards, and their website showed a lot of work that appealed to me. I decided to call them and set up a meeting. I liked Bogdan and Tarek from the start. Sitting over my dining table, they described their philosophy and approach. They were professional, warm, and open. It was clear both had a deep knowledge and appreciation for modern and midcentury architecture. They had a lot of detail about materials and other options to balance design vision with budget. We scheduled a visit to one of their finished projects, which demonstrated to me their ability to deliver on a compelling vision. I was far along on selecting an architect at this point, but I decided to change course to Colega. The initial design process started with site specific issues and basic decisions about what part of the renovation to retain, in my case the foundation and exterior walls. Colega prepared a lot of design options on floorplan layout and exterior massing implications. While I’m sure Bogdan would have enjoyed laying in the grass and pointing out which cloud looked more like a Neutra and which a Schindler, he kept me from cloud-gazing and focused on key decisions to move the process forward. We went around a lot of ideas, most of them my unworkable ones, to settle on a great design - which also turned out to be pretty close to their initial suggestions. I opted to extend the contract for them to do interior design services, and they brought in more of their team to help. The communication and exchange of ideas was great, and the process to review options and make decisions was explicit and straightforward. We met a few times at their office where they presented recommendations, let us review sample materials, and make key decisions. We went with most of their recommendations, but they also gave us some choices and time to do our own research and shopping, both for esthetic and budget reasons. We were very happy with the finished design, which they helped us visualize with photo-realistic renderings. Overall, I can say they were always collaborative, but also kept the process moving. It was time to move into construction, and I restarted the research and interview process to select a general contractor. Colega was an option, as they were expanding their “Build” capability, but I went through a due diligence process to see options and gauge costs. It didn’t take long though, as Colega did a good job with competitive estimates on total costs, and their new construction manager, John, was a great addition to the team. I’d had a good experience with the design phase, and wouldn’t you rather have someone building to a shared vision rather than a plan? Building a new house is a long, arduous journey. As we moved into construction, John took the lead, but the rest of the Colega team stayed engaged. They were very diligent about keeping me informed and highlighting options and tradeoffs along the way. Like any construction project, there have been challenges from material cost increases, job site thefts, picky inspectors, and the like, but Colega has helped manage them. They’ve tried to mitigate any issues for me and have kept a firm focus on the budget, while not sacrificing quality or the vision. The subcontractors within their network have also been professional and very competent. I’ve had many other professionals stop by over the course of construction and comment on the apparent quality – from rough framing to drywall to finished product. We have completed construction and moved into the house, and I can say I enjoyed the journey – not something everyone says about construction! Bogdan, Tarek, and John, along with the rest of the team, have been great guides through the process. I’m very happy with our design and the construction yielded a fantastic final result. I’m a pretty hands-on, detail-oriented client, which is to say probably the worst, but they’ve managed with aplomb and good humor. Most people have a doctor, many a lawyer, but few ever get to say, “my architects”. If you’re moving into that journey, you’ll be well served by the team at Colega. I was very fortunate in that one web search and not only have the house of my dreams, but life-long friends. Highly recommended.

It's been a great experience working with Colega Architects on our past 2 projects together. Tarek and Bogdan put their heart and pride in their work, approach, and process which is evident in their well thought out and functional designs with a fine attention to detail. They showed great patience with us helping to navigate requirements, process, and city/country guidelines and code - and went the extra mile to influence and push back on requirements when in the best interest of the project and design. Communications, Status Updates, and Project Management were excellent and regularly kept us up to date on status, schedule, and budget. Our satisfaction, successful completion of project, and well executed design were top priorities for our projects with Colega - and we look forward to working on our next project together.

The whole Colega team has been amazingly coorporative, patient and helpful in creating architectural design ideas and solutions that meet the stringent and restrictive neighborhood compatibility guidelines of our City while still creating a 2800 sf house plan that meets our modern expectations. Due to Colega's due diligence we unexpectedly received our plan approval from the neighborhood compatability planning Committee on the first public hearing. We can't thank the Colega team enough.

Colega Architects has done a tremendous job thus far. The design captures our atheistic well, maximizes the limited available space, and meets the plethora of requirements these projects need to meet. One key difference between Colega and other architecture firms we interviewed is that they came prepared – and this has been the case throughout the project. Colega has worked hard to keep our project on our budget despite unplanned issues and increasing costs in this market. Colega has provided excellent guidance to help facilitate decision-making. Colega did a good job providing the necessary expertise and support in resolving unforeseen issues that have come up. We look forward to enjoying the completed project.

Bogdan and Tarek were wonderful to work with from the first meeting to the end of the construction. They listened to everything we needed and wanted for our custom home. They were always responsive and available when we had questions. Even though the project is over now we would consider them friends. We would highly recommend them!

My husband and I hired Colega Architects to design and supervise construction of our new home. We could not be happier with our overall experience and the final result. Through the entire process, Bogdan listened to us, provided amazing aids for us to visualize our project and made suggestions that exceeded what we could even imagine. We were constantly, pleasantly surprised. The permitting process took longer than anticipated, but with Colega's help and professional guidance, we got it through. We are thrilled with our new home and every aspect of it. We give our unqualified and enthusiastic recommendation. If you want a modern design, hire them!

Colega Archtiects helped me remodel a California Bungalow in Mar Vista and I loved working with them. I came in with a very strong idea of what I wanted but both Bogdan and Tarek came in with additional ideas that I would have never even considered. Bogdan suggested a La Cantina door that opens up the kitchen into a large deck and it is probably the best feature about this house. Tarek came up with a genius placement for the washer and dryer. This is what I love most about working with Bogdan and Tarek; they really care. Even after the project was already deep in construction Bogdan and Tarek would always be available to me for follow up questions and even came out to the project site once even though they were only hired for the planning stage. I've lived in the house for two months now and couldn't be happier!

I am now on my third project with Colega, Bogdan and Tarek are both knowledgeable, creative and able to work to any budget. They know what developers are looking for and I never feel like the design is compromised for budget. Their construction management is professional and they are willing to help with any issues that arise throughout the process. They make the entitlement process easy and pain free. I always highly recommend them.

Colega beautifully designed a second story and completely redesigned the first floor of our soon to be renovated Venice home. They got our plans through the city, which is no small feat with our nonconforming lot size, non conforming set back, coastal commission, etc.