Firm

The office of Richard Haier, AIA  Architect is a full service architectural practice focusing on the diverse styles of residential architecture prevalent in the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Area.  Located in Berkeley, Rick has experience working on projects in his home town as well as other East Bay locations such as Oakland, El Cerrito, Piedmont, Orinda, Lafayette, Danville, Alamo, and in Marin and Napa counties.  He has designed new homes on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington and in the Oakland-Berkeley hills fire area.   

Although Rick’s design experience has focused on single family residential remodels, alterations and additions, as well as new homes, he has also provided design services for commercial accessibility and tenant improvement projects.

Through the years, Rick has developed beneficial, long-standing working relationships with consultants, contractors, public agencies and their staff members resulting in successfully completed projects.

Rick welcomes the opportunity to guide your project through the various phases involved from defining your dreams, then moving forward with design, permitting and construction.

Profile

Rick began his career as an architectural designer in 1983 after spending several years operating his own studio as a potter and sculptor.  This artistic experience led him to a transition in media, taking his sculptural talents to the larger scale of the built environment and architecture.  Rick views architecture as a means to create a sculptural design that his clients can walk through and live within.  He takes special pleasure in working with clients – listening in order to understand their aesthetics and how they live their lives.  Based on these observations and his clients' project wish list, he guides them through the process of molding a cohesive spacial design that fits their needs and lifestyle while meeting current zoning ordinances and building code requirements.  All of this is done with an artist's eye towards developing interior spaces that fit modern lifestyles while maintaining the building’s existing exterior style for a remodel or seamless addition, or creating a updated, renewed and unified exterior style that is sensitive to the surrounding environment.

For each project, special attention is paid to the details and finishes, integrating them with the bones of the structural components to ensure a buildable solution that will stand the test of time.

Rick has been a licensed architect in California since 1992 and is a member of the American Institute of Architects, East Bay chapter.