VRchitects / Local architecture guides
A home begins with its place.
Before the first drawing
Find your starting point.
A better brief begins with the right questions. Explore these homeowner guides, then bring your priorities into the first conversation.
Renovate or rebuild?
Consider what to retain, what needs to change, and which questions a feasibility study should answer.
Palo Alto feasibility guide ↗02 / The propertyStart with the site.
Bring terrain, trees, access and outdoor space into the brief before settling on a floor plan.
Los Altos Hills site-planning guide ↗03 / The way you liveWalk through the design.
Use a BIM review to consider arrival, daylight, privacy and the connections between rooms.
Atherton design-review checklist ↗Start close to home
Residential architecture across the Peninsula and South Bay. Explore the decisions that shape a custom home, addition or renovation, from the first reading of a property to its connection with the landscape.
Each city has its own planning context. These guides bring local resources together with practical architectural questions and relevant work from our portfolio. Begin with your property, then explore the spaces and relationships you want to create.
Palo Alto ↗
Explore custom-home architecture in Palo Alto, with early attention to the property, planning context, and how each room connects to daily life.
Los Altos Hills ↗
Plan a Los Altos Hills home with the site in view: slope, trees, drainage, access, and the relationship between the house and landscape.
Atherton ↗
Explore residential architecture in Atherton with early study of the property, existing trees, privacy, landscape, and the Town's review requirements.
Mountain View ↗
Plan a Mountain View home around its lot, existing structure, and daily routines, with early attention to zoning, permits, and design priorities.
Los Altos ↗
Residential architecture in Los Altos: plan a thoughtful remodel, addition or custom home around neighborhood scale, mature trees and everyday living.
Menlo Park ↗
Menlo Park residential design for renovations, additions and custom homes, with early attention to existing buildings, heritage trees and garden connections.
Belmont ↗
Belmont residential architecture that considers slope, building form, access and privacy together, from a split-level renovation to a new custom home.
Redwood City ↗
Redwood City residential architecture for contemporary homes and thoughtful transformations, considering neighborhood scale, existing character and everyday use.
Saratoga ↗
Saratoga residential architecture for custom homes and renovations, with a site-led approach to trees, terrain, privacy and indoor-outdoor living.
Hillsborough ↗
An architectural starting point for Hillsborough homeowners: evaluate terrain, landscape, arrival and design review before shaping a custom home or renovation.
Woodside ↗
Plan a Woodside home around its landscape, site constraints and rural setting, with early attention to trees, access and the Town’s review process.
Portola Valley ↗
Plan a Portola Valley home with attention to terrain, significant trees, drainage and the way the house meets its landscape.
San Carlos ↗
Plan a San Carlos home around its neighborhood, existing trees and daily needs, with early attention to objective design standards and site conditions.
Cupertino ↗
Plan a Cupertino home around its zoning, trees and everyday use, with early attention to hillside conditions and the right review path.
Burlingame ↗
Explore Burlingame home design: compare an addition with a new home, understand design review, and coordinate room plans, parking and landscape.
San Mateo ↗
Plan a San Mateo home renovation, addition or rebuild with early attention to second-story review, neighbor privacy and a clear existing-conditions record.
Ross ↗
Plan a Ross home or renovation around site character, trees and the town's design review process.
Stinson Beach ↗
Approach a Stinson Beach home with coastal permit, flood, access and long-term resilience questions in view.
Belvedere and Tiburon ↗
Plan a 94920 home with the correct Belvedere, Tiburon or Marin County review path, plus views, privacy and sloping-site design.
Diablo ↗
Explore a Diablo home project through parcel jurisdiction, mature landscape, site planning and Contra Costa County approvals.
Los Gatos ↗
Plan a Los Gatos home or renovation with the right residential or hillside guidance, trees, terrain and daily living in view.
Pebble Beach ↗
Design a Pebble Beach home around Del Monte Forest planning, landscape, coastal conditions and a careful site strategy.
Carmel-by-the-Sea ↗
Plan a Carmel-by-the-Sea home with residential design review, forest character, historic screening and site coverage in mind.
Big Sur ↗
Approach a Big Sur home through the Coast Land Use Plan, site access, viewshed, terrain and coastal permits.
Montecito ↗
Plan a Montecito custom home or renovation around landscape, privacy and County review. Understand the 93108 jurisdiction and coastal planning distinctions.
San Marino ↗
Plan a San Marino home renovation with attention to streetscape, garden space, neighboring homes and residential design review before fixing the scope.
Beverly Hills ↗
Explore home design in Beverly Hills 90210: confirm City jurisdiction, compare Central Area, Hillside and Trousdale review paths, and prepare your site brief.
Santa Monica ↗
Plan a Santa Monica 90402 home around daylight, privacy and usable outdoor space, with parcel zoning checks and a coordinated permit submission.
Manhattan Beach ↗
Explore Manhattan Beach custom-home and renovation planning, from compact-lot privacy and coastal jurisdiction to outdoor rooms and street-level arrival.
Newport Beach ↗
Plan a Newport Beach home across Newport Coast, Balboa, Corona del Mar and 92660. Compare site briefs, coastal review and private association requirements.
Laguna Beach ↗
Begin a Laguna Beach home project with a site study, early neighbor discussion and design review preparation for terrain, views and coastal conditions.
Rancho Santa Fe ↗
Plan a Rancho Santa Fe estate or renovation with landscape-led design, County approvals and separate Covenant review where it applies to the property.
Before the first sketch
Bring the address, available plans, a survey if you have one, and a short account of how the home works today. Describe the places you use most, what feels missing and which features you want to keep.
- Understand the parcel: boundaries, easements, zoning and existing approvals.
- Read the landscape: trees, terrain, daylight, access and privacy.
- Define the brief: daily routines, future needs and the scope of change.
- Compare options before committing to a footprint or finish palette.
Architecture in practice
A project is more than a list of rooms. Explore how our residential work connects form, material and everyday living, and use the journal to develop a more informed brief.
Let’s talk about your home
Share the location and scope of your project. We can start a conversation around the property and your priorities.
Contact our studio ↗California, north to south
Explore the state’s 30 highest-priced ZIP codes, from Marin to Rancho Santa Fe. Our local guides connect the setting with the first decisions for a custom home, addition or renovation.
Explore California’s architecture guides ↗