Category

development
Colored sketch rendering of a modern house embedded into a hill. Shows the road in front of the house, the driveway and garage, the front entryway, and multiple balconies on the front facade.
This blog is part two of the latest in our “Architecture in Practice” Series. If you didn’t catch the first part of this post, start here. Why houses cost so much in Los Angeles We were SO excited to officially own the lot, and somehow, we came up with a design approach almost immediately. (Fun...
Read More
Colored sketch rendering of a modern house embedded into a hill. Shows the road in front of the house, the driveway and garage, the front entryway, and multiple balconies on the front facade.
First comes ownership, then comes design. I know what you’re all thinking. What ever happened to that spec house you guys were doing? Well, package a really strange pandemic that keeps going on and on and on with a very busy practice and next thing you know, the spec house got moved to the back...
Read More
As you may have noticed from our previous newsletters, we have signed on to the “Architects Declare” manifesto demanding urgent climate action within the design and building sectors. For more information on the manifesto and the movement, visit: us.architectsdeclare.com. Our last blog article reviewed 6 Simple Ways to Reduce Your Home’s Carbon Footprint. Next stop...
Read More
Graphic depicting the various quantities of the hillside house construction. The horizontal and vertical dimensions of the hill, the setback of the hill, and the removal of a tree, are all marked with a red check mark. However, the placement of the house on the hill is marked with a red question mark.
I know what you’re thinking…enough with all this general information on architecture and development. Now that you’re all on the edges of your seats in anticipation, we’re finally ready to show off our new development project. As we pondered the best way to share about our process, Tracy suggested, “Why don’t we expose the ‘making...
Read More
About three years ago, our team started looking for properties to develop in-house. If you haven’t noticed, there isn’t a ton of vacant land in Los Angeles. Finding something affordable with decent building opportunities is even harder. To evaluate each lot that came up in our land search, we had a mental checklist to see...
Read More
Welcome to the start of our “Architecture in Practice” journey. If you missed our introduction piece, check it out here: Architecture in Practice. As we mentioned previously, early in her career, Tracy had the opportunity to act as both architect and developer (with her family) for three small spec houses in Santa Maria. This seems...
Read More
Cartoon with the title "recipe for high construction cost" on lined paper. Some listed items include "economic crash," "recession," "lack of skilled laborers," "tariffs on construction materials," "increased development fees," and "inefficient city review processes."
In our endeavor to be lifelong learners, we’ve started a new tradition at Tracy A. Stone Architect called… wait for it… “read the magazines that get mailed to the office.” Originally, we had decided to purge all the unwanted subscriptions (and if you know the design and construction industry, there are TONS that mysteriously show...
Read More
Cartoon showing the amenities provided in buildings and in outdoor spaces. The buildings has icons for a bed, WiFi, a briefcase, and a medical symbol associated with it, while the outdoor space has a leaf, a kite, and a bike associated with it.
In our previous blog, we commented on the need for smart growth and development. How does that work? Good question. In looking for answers, we decided it was necessary to review other major metro area strategies. We’ve picked a few that were particularly interesting, or those that had good potential for implementation in Southern California....
Read More
Rendering of multiple modern units from the street. Shows unit entrances, driveways, front yards, and the sidewalk.
  In our travels around Los Angeles presenting projects to various community groups, we face a lot of fearful residents concerned about increased density in the city. Everyone wants more affordable housing, but no one seems to want more housing. And as long as people keep moving to Los Angeles, we need more housing. After...
Read More
Map showing the location of eight modern units and their surrounding streets and buildings. The eight units are colored bright red to indicate their location.
  Top 5 Questions When Purchasing a Lot in LA The fact that development in Los Angeles is at a recent high gives rise to many questions relevant to the construction location. From structure type to zoning to whether you’re contemplating building a new house, a small residential addition or a brand new commercial structure,...
Read More