ORR Design Office, Inc.
About Us
Services Provided
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Architectural Design, Architectural Drawings, Building Design, Dock Design & Construction, House Plans, Landscape Plans, Multigenerational Homes, Outdoor Kitchen Design, Passive Solar Heating & Cooling, Project Management, Custom Home, Custom Fire Pits, Custom Water Features, Drought Tolerant Landscaping, Garden Design, Hardscaping, Site Planning, Swimming Pool Design, Construction Drawings, Masonry, Home Design, Modern Design Homes, Outdoor Rooms, Water Features, LEED Platinum Certified Projects, Contemporary Designs, Comprehensive Services, Steep Hillside Design, Valley Homes, Solar Design, Mountain Homes, Ranches and Estates, Country Homes, Vineyards and Wine making Faciliities, Art Consulting, Projects for Modern Art Collector, High Technology Project Features, Water Efficient Designs, Timeless and Inspired Design, Landscape Architects, Award-winning, Local & Regional, Regional, 30 Years Experience, Cohesive Designs, Full Service, Master Planning, Modern Homes, Wineries
Areas Served
Alamo, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakland, Orinda, Piedmont, Pleasant Hill, Port Costa, Walnut Creek, Atherton, Los Altos, Loomis, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, El Dorado Hills, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Stanford, West Menlo Park, Woodside, Danville, Livermore, Napa, St Helena, Marin County, Sacramento, Lincoln, Newcastle, Auburn, Granite Bay, Cameron Park, Truckee, Roseville, Hillsborough, San Francisco, Sonoma County, Ross, Larkspur, Sausalito, Santa Rosa, Tiburon, Mill Valley, San Rafael, Novato, Rocklin, Plymouth
Awards
Published in: Architecture, Dwell, Landscape Architecture, Custom Home, Architectural Record, Record Interiors, Better Homes & Gardens, Record Lighting, Lighting Design, Pools & Gardens, Pool & Spa News, Builder, Marin, Spaces, Sacramento and Diablo magazines
Category
Projects
Business Details
Business Name
ORR Design Office, Inc.
Phone Number
+1 800-647-4781
Website
Address
Bay Area- Sierra- Foothills- Sacramento- Central Valley
Bay Area- Sierra- Central Valley, CA 94553
Typical Job Cost
USD 800,000 - USD 10,000,000
License Number
CLA #002621
Followers
The ORR Design Office staff was great to work with. It was mind-boggling how much time and energy they put into our house, and they made it extremely easy for us. They designed everything in this house, from the cabinets to the tub spoutsRead Full Review
34 Reviews for ORR Design Office, Inc.
I think you had that recent Italian Hill Country vacation still lingering in the back of your mind. Pfunny!
We design from historical data that comes from current and past project bid results. To share a real-life example- We recently designed a high-end (but not the very highest end) comprehensive project that included a stunning custom home and guest house, hillside infinity edge pool, extensive foundations and engineering due to poor geology, an advanced high-tech media system, imported wood windows and a host of very detailed and special features. We prepare designs based upon a proposed a "low-bid" construction estimate and presented to our client a range of specific design alternatives (less quantity or less quality) to maintain most of the core original design features while saving costs based upon their own input on what was critical and what could be omitted in proposed design. Our clients understood that their budget (while ample) was at the top limit of a low bidder's quote. ANY one line item over planned cost would extend the net resulting bid beyond their planned budget. We always recommend a client contingency of at least 15% but as the example will show, bidding can result in a high to low bid spread of nearly 100%.
Our very detailed plans are (when fully completed) allow competitive and fixed fee bids (without any change orders) from highly qualified construction firms. In this case, 7 Bay Area and Sacramento Valley firms were selected to bid. After a 7-week timeline, the bids received ranged from 2.2 million to 4.2 million- for the exact same project. The LOW bidder was slightly over budget (6%) but was unable to begin a new project for 6 months. The client wanted to move fast and chose not to wait. They selected a higher bidder at 2.7 million that could start immediately. This cost more- and our client choose schedule over cost.
A construction budget can be a target goal or an absolute bottom line limit. Often bidding factors may require flexibility from the client to accept a less than perfect design that they may love, or lengthen the bidding timeline to allow time to compare a bigger group of subcontractor bids or be patient while waiting for a specific contractor's start date schedule. Each project, scope of work, importance of funding and client is unique.
90 percent of our clients "want what they want" and understand that value in good inspired design is financially and intrinsically worth whatever budget allocation that they ultimately choose to spend. At ORR Design, we try to develop concepts and designs that have an exceptional value which exceed the actual cost of construction. It is realistic to state that the vast majority of the projects we design will return every dollar spent along with solid appreciation that will be refunded upon eventual sale of the property. It's a win-win long-term investment that will stand the test of time.
33 Comments