 I'm Steve McKee, an architect in Benicia, California. I specialize in residential design. While many architects avoid home design, I embrace it, from the smallest addition to the largest custom home. It’s a very satisfying challenge to design the best possible home under new circumstances each time.
In the 1980’s I earned a masters degree in architecture from UCLA, worked for two different firms in northern California for several years, became a licensed architect in ’86, and opened my own office in ’88.
It's been houses ever since, in every kind of way. I design them, I engineer them, I even used to build them. ("Hands on" from foundation to finish, using my general contractor's license, which I acquired in 1990 for occasional use on personal projects. I can’t say enough about how valuable this construction background has been in shaping my ability to advise my clients and problem solve.) I’ve lived through two huge remodels in my own house, zealously watched what happened to the money, sweated over the choices – so I also know what that can be like.
I perform all design work myself and complete all working drawings and calculations on my own. I recently added a drafter to help with some of the drafting chores. I am, as they say, a small office. There’s no danger your project will be handed off to be completed by some junior associate with limited experience and skills. By staying small, I can maintain top quality in all aspects of the job. And because I work out of a “home office” and have no staff to support, my overhead is minimal. This keeps my fees low and my quality very high. |
