Residential per square foot construction costs, for properties in Santa Cruz County can be guessed by looking at how the City does it. The highest number on the current BVD chart is $119.76 + (City) 13% of $119.76 = $135/sq ft. The Toph has heard $250 used anecdotally, but wonders if $300, a low value for more central Bay Area locations, is appropriate.

Tags: costs, fees

Rafael Viñoly Architects...
1. CRAFT VERSUS THEORY. Theory and craft are equal elements of architectural practice. Architects need to develop and work from an understanding of essential role that craft plays. This, then, sets out to separate craft from theory, in order to recover it as a basis for practicing and thinking about architecture.
Commentary...
Theory offers some interesting things to think about, which isn't craft, and craft is what makes a building, the "Architect of Record" stuff. Usually theory is skipped in small practice, and big practice has it, but only the big practitioners theorize. The Toph butted heads with theory in a competition judged by Stephen Holl, among others. Apparently some "curvy" redefinition of space was called for, and a shoebox SRO spatial scheme was slightly curved at corridor. It was a better result than otherwise would have been the case, and based on that experience, theory, any theory, could be welcome into the ever-present craft discussion.