Foster Dale Architects, Inc.

We hired Foster and team to help us with an addition onto our beautiful 1906 Logan Square home that took it from 1450 sq ft to 3300 sq ft - a significant undertaking and ~2 years of work. I highly recommend Foster without any reservation. For our project, he helped from soup to nuts: initial concept, full drawings, budgeting, permit application, contractor selection, construction management, and some more detailed interior design toward the end. Needs were complex: we dug down 3 feet to deepen the basement, added a split-level mudroom, added new mechanical zones, added 2 new living spaces 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, etc. We absolutely love our new home. Without Foster, the project would not have been a success. There are many reasons I recommend Foster and FDA but here are the top 3: 1) Professionalism. Foster is the consummate professional. This was our first big project and suffice it to say that sometimes things don't go to plan and it is not always clear why. Foster never once shied away from a problem, even if he had no part whatsoever in creating it. He just helped solve it. 2) Design expertise. Foster and Jarrett really listened to us and how we were going to use the space. And then ... they did a lot that I didn't fully appreciate during the design phase to ensure the space actually works that way. They applied their expertise to harmonize: sight lines, walkway / flow clearance, privacy concerns, mechanicals implications, natural and artificial lighting interplay, appropriateness of architectural aspects and materials for a 1906 house etc. etc. etc. 3) Detail detail detail. Your construction drawings are basically the only "source of truth" for the project, and anything not on them can be renegotiated, undercut or changed by subcontractors, the GC, etc. So it is fundamentally important that no detail go unexplored or undefined at the outset. Precision matters. I did not fully appreciate that until I had to go back to the drawing hundreds of times with the GC to ensure everything was to plan and as bid. Without the extreme level of detail and foresight from Foster and team early on, I am 100% certain this project would have gone off the rails. Good construction drawings are invaluable. I have since reviewed drawings by other architects from friends' projects etc. and I am astounded at how much is left to the GC / chance. Highly recommended.

Working with Foster and his team was a great experience. They helped guide us from the beginning and took our feedback and requests seriously and thoughtfully. Our project had a very full scope- design (with many revisions), zoning change, bidding and construction. His recommendations on contractors and ability to work with our chosen contractor was also excellent. His professionalism and experience in the industry make him an excellent choice.

Had a great eye for our major renovation project. Helped us "see" what the upgrades would look like. Still love it 4 years later. Would recommend him for anyone considering a significant project requiring a fine "eye".

Foster Dale designed an upgrade to a cape style house in Glenview that made the second floor has been added. He heard all our requests and lifestyles preferences and translated them into a transformation from a small cottage house to a big family house with large windows. He also tackled a tricky single room turning into a large Mayer bedroom and master bath. Foster was a pleasure to work with, an excellent professional providing options and contractors. The house has grown in value largely due to the house design.

I hired Foster to help me design and build out a 4,000 sq ft raw loft space. He was the best professional I had the pleasure of working with through the whole 2-year process and helped immensely. In the design phase he provided much inspiration while also being a good listener. During construction he helped find many good contractors to help with some unique specializations this project had, including the installation of professional level sound insulation. And when the work was complete I couldn't have been happier with the result -- he helped me turn my dream home into a reality. I highly recommend Foster Dale Architects.

My wife and I hired Foster to redesign a significant part of our row home in the Gold Coast area of Chicago. It was a pleasure working with him and the project turned out better than we initially envisioned it. Foster did the plans and worked seamlessly with our other professionals. It was a great experience, not something you usually say about a remodeling project.

FDA did an excellent job with our two story addition to our single family home in Chicago. He guided us through planning, design, and building. FDA is extremely professional, courteous, and responsive. I highly recommend this firm.

FDA helped us to completely reconfigure the first floor and a portion of the second floor of our home in Chicago. They were thorough and enthusiastic and helped us at every step of the process. Our project entailed extensive and complex changes to the structure and many systems of our house. Now that their design is built, we’ve forgotten the complexity and love the elegance of our house. The rooms flow well, the light is great and the many details they helped us with continue to serve our needs. In short, our house is beautiful and works so much better for us and our family. Foster and his team are not just talented and creative architects; they are really client focused. They were great collaborators with our contractor in solving some existing conditions issues that came up during construction and were always responsive to us and our busy schedules. They coordinated the bidding and the permitting processes for us and worked really well with our contractor and interior designer. Their ability to listen well and to give us great design options made the process of working with them fun and productive. Most importantly I knew that Foster genuinely cared about the outcome of our project and that it met our needs. He is a high integrity professional and a pleasure to work with. I would work with Foster and his team again given the chance. We highly recommend Foster Dale Architects!

Foster is the ultimate professional. From the beginning, he listened to our family's needs, and then translated those desires into an efficient and practical, yet gorgeous, design which will serve us for years to come. It's hard to imagine what our home might look and feel like without the personal touch that FDA added. One of our best decisions was having him help us manage the project from beginning to end. De-conveting a two flat into a three story single family home is no easy task. Having him shepard us through the, at times, stressful process, made things much easier. In fact, there were many times that he was able to identify and correct errors, before they turned into costly, long-term headaches. We couldn't be happier with our dream home thanks to he and his team's efforts!

We hired Foster Dale Architects to design and facilitate the execution of a unique project joining two existing structures on adjacent lots with objectives that included strong, unified design, aesthetic appeal, functionality and resource sensitivity. 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.

My wife and I originally contacted FDA in March 2009 while we were looking at houses in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. We weren't exactly sure what we wanted but Foster graciously came with us to look at specific properties and helped us visualize what we wanted to create for our home. Keep in mind we hadn't even officially hired him at this point, as it would be two more months before we bought a house to rehab. Once we had a property and began to design our new home, Foster and team did an excellent job of incorporating our ideas into the project. We had a long list of requests and not everything was possible when working within the exterior constraints of a nearly 100-year old house on a tight city lot, but Foster's experience with similar gut renovation projects (including one on the same block) made the process much easier. The interior of our new house "evolves" from the classic, early 1900s look of the neighborhood when you first enter the main level to a much more contemporary look on the third floor. Foster and team were equally at ease with both styles and, even though we thought we'd seen it all, managed to surprise us with a few suggestions of things we hadn't considered. Beyond the architectural design, FDA served as the de facto project manager by helping us select the general contractor (not to mention our interior designer and some of the other specialists we used) and stayed engaged every step of the way. Our family is thrilled with the final result and we look forward to many enjoyable years to come in our new house!

Foster Dale did all of the architectural work for our gut-rehab of what was a church and became our home. He did a great job with the plans, helping manage the contractors and keeping things running on time. Would not consider anyone else if I were doing it again. (BTW, he was our second architect on the project, the first one did not work out nearly as well...)

When my wife and I decided to move to a smaller house, we decided we would build an energy efficient, green house. We selected FDA to design the house after talking with several developers and architects. FDA won because we liked what they had done in the past, the enthusiasm they brought to the project, and our sense that they would work most effectively and collaboratively with us and our builder. We asked them to design in a transitional style, referencing the design elements, materials, textures, and colors from the neighborhood (a lot of early 20th C houses), but with a more contemporary look to both exterior and interior spaces. We also wanted an energy efficient house with a tight building envelope, geothermal HVAC, and photovoltaic power. As the project was refined, we added an elevator and on-grade entry for accessibility. The house we got completely expresses these design goals. FDA proved to be excellent at design, idea generation (both in reaction to requests and proactively), and worked well with our builder, sub-contractors, and designer. We had built before, and this project exceeded our high expectations for being on time, within budget, and, perhaps best of all, with no unpleasant surprises. I credit that largely to FDA's thoroughness, creativity, and client focus. FDA accomplished all our architectural objectives, plus provided invaluable advice on the construction, permitting, landscaping, and decorating as we completed the project. We would not hesitate to recommend them and would engage the firm again on future building projects. I recommend them without reservation.

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 one year to carefully plan the project. He was able to draw from us what we liked and disliked about our home and through his creativity, worked with us to create a better functionality and aesthetic 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 with how the project has turned out and Foster did a great job!

In 2007, I wanted to convert my 3-story Chicago Grerystone into a modern Single Family Home that retained the sensibility of the home's 100-yr old history. Foster Dale Architects listened to my goals and provided several suggestions that I had not previously explored in order to meet my goals. They acted not only as my architect, but also the project's manager which included assisting me in finding the right General Contractor as well as some of the skilled craftsmen to execute the finished carpentry. It's been several years since the project's completion and I continue to be very pleased with all of the results!