Blender Architecture LLC

Excellent, I love such style - metal, wood and stone are exquisite companions. This reflects my national (Latvian) northern mentality.

When hiring an architect, I've leaned that there are a few non-negotiable qualities to ensure a successful outcome: an aesthetic eye that aligns with the client's, a willingness to listen to the client's vision and put that above the architect's own, honesty and integrity, good relationships with contractors/subs, and excellent organizational skills. Richard Blender has all of those qualities and more. We hired Blender Architecture for our ground-up single-family home, with the desire to design a home that would fit with the historical architecture of the neighborhood, while having a modern edge. Richard accomplished this expertly, while paying careful attention to all of the practical details that impact livability. His calm demeanor, creativity in problem-solving and attention to detail enabled the construction to proceed efficiently, yielding a high-quality result. People walking by our home stop all the time to comment on its unique beauty. He truly delivered our dream home, and we recommend him with confidence!

We could not be happier with Blender Architecture. Richard and Maria are both so collaborative and they are not only great listeners, but great observers. They saw how we used our space currently, listened to how we wanted to use it and their design helped keep all the elements of what we loved about the space, highlighting its existing architecture, while making it more functional. The juxtaposition of the old and new helped us honor the sacred space that this was while adding beautiful new dimensions to some its most dramatic elements. Richard worked so well with the builder; it really minimized the stress of renovation. We were also impressed with Richard's knowledge of the structural elements required for our build. There were some tricky components, but Richard's thoroughness gave us a lot of confidence. We would recommend, and have recommended, Blender Architecture.

I have worked with Blender Architecture since 2001, on both large and small custom residential projects – from $100k renovations to $3M new homes. As a General Contractor, what I appreciate most about Richard Blender is that he is a calm, steady partner both in planning for projects and on the site during construction. He works well with all the tradespeople-- he is respectful of their opinions and gets along well with everyone-- making the process run smoothly. He is very knowledgeable about construction for custom residential work, where the level of detail and organization is a key component of its overall success. Most importantly, however, I continue to refer my clients to Blender Architecture because the design work is super high level, and creative. Homeowners are always impressed with the process of working with Blender, their ability to understand clients’ needs and create visionary, thoughtful living spaces.

I worked with the principals and staff architects at Blender Architecture for two years in the design and build of my new construction single family home. Blender listened actively to my requirements and understood the dream home I wanted to create. They helped me identify needs I didn’t even know I had through their extensive interviewing process. Blender worked tirelessly to understand every detail about how I live and entertain before they began designing. The Blender team curated a manageable number of terrific environments—executing the lighting, custom tile and stone slab choices which allowed me to be involved in the look of my house without being overwhelmed. I wanted integrated outdoor spaces that flowed from all of the interior spaces and fluid and flexible entertaining areas. Blender delivered perfectly. Blender’s iterative design process and frequent client input meetings resulted in a house that I am thrilled to be living in and hosting my friends and family. Blender identified General Contractors for me to interview and helped me select a firm that paid attention to detail and finished under budget and on time. Blender worked closely with my interior designer and landscape architect and added an important voice when we discussed furnishings, final finishes and landscaping. Blender creatively problem-solved whenever we were faced with zoning, construction or materials challenges. Selecting an architect was the most important decision for me and I interviewed numerous firms before selecting Blender. Blender was the perfect choice, the most perfect fit for me. I strongly recommend the team at Blender for major renovations and new home design.

Richard and Maria did an excellent job with the architecture and interior design on my residence in Chicago. The project was a gut renovation of a single-story former industrial warehouse and required rezoning before construction could begin. Richard and Maria participated in the process from start to finish, which included rezoning the property, generating plans to acquire a building permit, selecting all the finishes, finding a general contractor to perform the construction, overseeing the construction process and driving it to completion. While it did take longer than planned to complete the construction (through no fault of the architects), the end result is so pleasing that I am loathe to travel and be deprived of it. The house has radiant heating throughout and solar panels on the roof, which helps keep utility costs low. Richard and Maria also referred me to a talented landscape architect who designed, bid out and oversaw the installation of 2 courtyards in the house.

We've collaborated with Blender on a couple amazing projects. Richard and Maria are a great team with a stellar vision for modern architecture and design. Their ideas are cutting edge and outside the box. Being Interior Designers and artists in design, we appreciate an architecture firm who can obviously understand structure and architecture, but also has an artistic awareness. It pushes us to be creative in a unique way to serve their home designs well with the interior furnishings and soft elements. I would highly recommend Blender Architecture on every level.