Gravitas

Derek was such a professional to work with. Very responsive and a great communicator. He really helped us take our vision of our project and make it a reality with our challenging, to say the least, project. Our new ADU is situated in the Boise foothills and we relied on his expertise and knowledge of the permitting process. He is known with the city for being extremely thorough and went above and beyond to help us through all the behind the scenes paperwork. The design process was very easy and Derek was open to our needs and ideas. His designs always blew us away. So nice to have easy, honest, face to face meetings that were productive and scheduled appropriately. Can't recommend Gravitas enough and hope to work with him again.

From the initial dream and wish stage to the final stamp of approval, Gravitas was fantastic to work with. We started with a 1960’s near full demo and will end up with a forever home. We found Gravitas to be extremely knowledgeable and the commitment to detail unparalleled... and yet hasn’t lost the fun and creative side of the architectural business. Would highly recommend and if the stars (and moon window) align, would enjoy working with Gravitas again.

Gravitas excels at creating supremely designed projects for each client they work for. You can see in each design how Gravitas takes the time to work closely with each person involved throughout the process.

My wife and I hired Derek to design a second- story addition to our house. After meeting with us to discuss in depth our vision for the project it wasn't long before he was ready to share his design with us. We were very impressed with his initial design and he was very receptive and agreeable to the changes we later wanted to incorporate. He was able to maximize both our limited space and our limited budget. I would definitely recommend Gravitas to anyone looking to remodel and/or build new. Especially with an older home.

I provided Gravitas with Structural Engineering services for the design of a new custom home. I am impressed with not only his design abilities in Architecture but also his understanding of structures which provides an economical design without losing his, or the homeowners, vision for the final product.

I had the pleasure of working with Derek to design an ADU/apartment to top my existing two-car garage. It was a great experience from beginning to end. Derek works very collaboratively. He respected my ideas while also providing expert advice and design suggestions. He was able to fit a standard kitchen with an island and lots of storage, a full bath with room for a washer and dryer, and spacious living and sleeping spaces into a very small footprint with creative use of a cantilevered extension to the floor plan. The result was a beautiful contemporary design that was even better than I had imagined. His design expertise and skill in navigating historical regulations and committees made the project very enjoyable and gratifying.

Gravitas is a company that I hold the utmost respect. Derek has referred clients to me for Interior Design and they always arrive more prepared and more thought out because he asks all the right questions and doesn't sell them on something they may not need. In meetings, I notice that Derek gives his undivided attention to the client and their wishes and is calm and open minded. His work is detailed and creative beyond what anyone could anticipate. Derek is a pleasure to work with at all times.

This is what I have come to know about Derek Hurd: He has attention to detail and is Historically accurate. He has the ability to understand his client’s needs and design in the style they are looking for, be it a log cabin, mountain contemporary, French Provincial, or a North end bungalow. Derek understands and appreciates the different components in the home and how they contribute to the design - from roofing and wall surfaces, to Windows and doors, to interior finishes and colors. He is very professional.

This is what I have come to know about Derek Hurd: He has attention to detail and is Historically accurate. He has the ability to understand his client’s needs and design in the style they are looking for, be it a log cabin, mountain contemporary, French Provincial, or a North end bungalow. Derek understands and appreciates the different components in the home and how they contribute to the design - from roofing and wall surfaces, to Windows and doors, to interior finishes and colors. He is very professional.

Derek Hurd worked with us to design our dream home. He is very professional, is easy to talk to, and is good at listening to his clients. Derek is a creative designer and was able to make smooth transitions with any architectural changes we asked for. His design fees are fair and he stays within the client's budget. He is available to his clients and is prompt with emails and phone calls. He works well with contractors. Derek coordinated with other engineers throughout the process. Derek is knowledgeable about alternative materials and methods, such as "green" living and corrugated metal siding. He took the time to visit our former residence to see our current styles and our likes and dislikes. Derek also came out to the new home site to see how he could make the modern/contemporary house design fit the hillside and the environment. We are enjoying this amazing home Derek helped us design.

Derek from Gravitas was absolutely incredible to work with. My Tiny House Development is all about the lure of a unique and artistic design. It is a new concept, but the town and county felt assured in it's approval process with Derek's professional and catchy design. The six clustered houses used as infill in a cute mountain town in Colorado is a flagship model for simplicity and good design.

I have had the privilege to work on a few of Derek’s projects. He is one of the few Architects that I work with that actually creates his own 3D model of their designs. The detail that goes into his designs and models are second to none. I specialize 3D landscape design and visualizations – having an extremely well detailed model to import into our landscape designs, makes the overall visualizations experience superior! I get to talk to Derek’s clients as we discus designing the outdoor spaces, and Derek’s client just rave about their experience with Gravitas!! I would recommend Gravitas to anyone who is looking for superior architectural design for their new home or remodel. Thanks, Chuck B. Edwards, PLA, ASLA Breckon Land Design