Studio Crowley Hall

We are general contractors and have been in business for over 10 years. We’ve worked with a few different architects and have found that with working with Studio Crowley-Hall that they work to meet the client’s needs to create what the client has envisioned for their home and/or business. They are creative, professional and attentive to detail. They have a good working relationship with the whole team on a project- the client and the contractor. As a contractor we know that it is the responsibility of contractors to verify all dimensions of a project prior to the beginning of the work. Perhaps the contractor did not read the notes in the drawing plans. Our experience with Studio Crowley-Hall has been great. We strongly recommend them if you have a vision for your home or business. They will take that vision and make it a beautiful, aesthetic reality that you will be able to enjoy now and into the future. more

We hired Studio CrowleyHall to design our 2 story addition project in our neighborhood of historic Mt Pleasant- and fortunately for us we got both Michael Hall and Anne Crowley for the price of one. They produced an inventive but practical plan for our addition with new kitchen downstairs and new master bath upstairs. We love the new spaces they created for us- especially where our new and very modern kitchen has been opened up to the adjoining dining room. Early on we actually really wanted to keep our traditional large dining room (lots of original stained hardwood trim) and so were reluctant to open the common wall with the kitchen. However, SCH figured out a graceful plan that allowed us our traditional dining room but is now also opened up to our new modern and larger kitchen. Our new kitchen/ dining room is now the place everyone wants to be! Michael also seems to have a special talent for taking ordinary building materials, (like siding, windows, steel brackets, lumber), and when the assembly is made, makes the whole uniquely pleasing to see. more

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If you are considering building a new home the biggest mistake you could make is to go to a big builder to select from a set of stock plans hoping you'll end up with something you like, instead of going to Studio Crowley Hall to have Michael and Anne help you create something you'll love! We had been looking to buy a home in the DC area for over 2 years, but were very disheartened but what was available and the asking prices. When we decided to build our own home we turned to SCH for help. From the initial concept design to architectural drawings to bridging the gap between the builder and the contractors Michael and Anne have been great throughout the whole process. During our design meetings SCH exposed us to ideas that we thought were not possible within our budget. They worked with us throughout our bank financing process, through the ups and downs of construction, and cared about every detail from start to finish. Designs and material selections were thought out to meet our budget, to get the look we wanted, to minimize construction cost and to make it easy to build for the workers that would be actually doing the work. After only a couple of meetings we had forgotten that this had started as a business relationship because we were very quickly we happy and proud to consider them our friends. SCH takes pride in their work and they care about the final outcome and about you. If you are considering building a new home, take some time to meet with SCH - they will make all the difference from getting a house you will like to a house you will love. Don't underestimate the value of a creative and experienced team and what they can do for your project. It can make all the difference in the world. more

Studio CrowleyHall architects did an addition for us that includes a large family room, bathroom, large closet and mudroom. Most additions look just like that--additions that don't match the exisiting house at all, that are simply stuck on. Ours is seamless and looks like it was part of the original plans, as many neighbors have pointed out to us. We had wonderful contractors who paid much attention to detail. CrowleyHall met with us and the workmen every single week to make sure everything was on track, to take note of any problems or any changes we decided on--before it was too late. Their oversight made a huge difference between a so-so job and a great one. The design is practical yet elegant and the structure sound--CrowleyHall insisted on excellent materials and equipment without breaking the bank. And they were great to work with, collaborative, cooperative and understanding of our needs. We highly recommend them! more

We had not expected to need architectural services for our historic renovation project. But when the initial work revealed major structural issues and our contractor wanted to tear the house down and start over, Studio-Crowley Hall came in and calmly determined that the house could be saved. They set about doing just that in the most professional, resourceful, and efficient manner, handily coordinating a team that includes an engineer, a permit expediter, a general contractor, and numerous subs. They are cheerfully and effectively working with the Office of Historic Preservation. When problems arise [as they will,] they solve them fast. When crises break, they tackle them head on. When we call them, they answer, and when we speak, they listen. Between them, Anne Crowley and Michael Hall seem to have every facet of architecture and design and construction management covered at a high level of expertise. They are a remarkably complimentary partnership. Their solution to our particular set of problems was visionary: rock-solid, creative, and elegant in its efficiency. It was not easy to choose from the multiple floor-plan options they presented, all good. They have been highly sensitive to our budget constraints in both their design choices and their management. We are convinced that when the dust clears, it will be a far better house than it ever was more

Studio Crowley Hall designed the plans to add a floor to our house that includes a bedroom, bathroom, entertainment area, roof deck, and artist's studio. We had interviewed with three other architectural firms -- including the very popular Case -- and were really getting discouraged with the boring designs and lack of imagination we were seeing, when we decided to talk to SCH. Michael could see exactly what we were envisioning and Anne was always practical and up front about costs on materials and fixtures. We got our plans quickly, they were complete, thorough and accurate. They regularly referred to their notes in all our meetings, and sent e-mail summaries of them seeking confirmation from us. Any differences -- and there will be differences on ALL construction projects -- were handled maturely and amicably. But what really distinguished their firm was that their support didn't end when their designs were complete. They worked with DC Historic, with Mt. Pleasant Historic, with permitting downtown, and, naturally, with the contractor. When DC Historic required changes to the design, these were made promptly. The result is a light-filled, high-ceilinged, gorgeous addition that awes everybody who sees it. Our experience with them was so good that we are now friends, we've had them do another job for us (a deck/storage room), and have two other jobs in the pipeline that we're involving them on (an overhang and a solar panel project). When I read this other review, it was obvious to me that this person did not understand the relationships in a construction project -- architects NEVER order the materials; the contractor does this, so the architects COULD NOT have mis-ordered anything. Without knowing anything else about their job, I can't help but suspect there are a lot of other delusional references in this review and anybody reading it should discount them accordingly! Perhaps the problem wasn't Studio Crowley Hall but the client!! more

This is a husband and wife studio, but you don*t get\r two for the price of one. More accurately, you get less than one for the price of over two (as they often bring an intern and charge both for two architects and one intern). Their strength is that they do a great job of marketing themselves as the beginning of a project. They appear tolisten and take a lot of notes (which they subsequently ignore). The only other strength is that Michael is quite knowledgeable about building materials.\r Their weaknesses are many. They have little imagination and creativity; they were grossly dishonest with us; they were extremely sloppy in drawings and in execution of the project; they did not deliver what we had contracted for; they recommend very expensive items; and, they made many costly mistakes that they blamed on us and the contractor. (When we began having problems with them, we learned that several other clients have had similar problems. We understandone of them was also sued by a former employer.)\r It begins with the contract you sign. We signed a fixed-cost contract. They sent us monthly bills in which they charged by the hour (including an instance of billing more than once for the same work, which they said was a *mistake*.) When we asked them how this was consistent with a fixed cost contract, they told us it was simply a way to keep track of the project. When we learned from another dissatisfied client that they also had a supposedly fixed cost contract but Crowley-Hall demanded more money after the number of hours they had billed exceeded the original cost, we asked them explicitly whether the costs would exceed the fixed cost we agreed upon. They assured us more than once it would not. Sure enough, when they claimed that the number of hours they had put in exceeded the original fixed cost, they said they would do no more work until we paid them more. We tried to come to an agreement, but they said we they would need an extra payment of about 30% of the fixed cost to complete the job, we refused. They then walked off the job, even though the work we had paid for was far from finished.\r Design problems started early on. The initial drawings, which took them three months, were poor and sloppy and did not reflect at all what we had requested. They also showed little imagination. It was our impression that they did them very hurriedly before submitting them to us. From our initial meeting, we expected more than one possible plan, but they prepared only one with some options in it. We were amazed and told them this was not at all what we expected. To get changes, we often had to ask them more than once to change the design according to our requests/ideas until they actually did so. Even redrafting of plans was drawn haphazardly and only partially. (Though we worked with them for 20 months, we never received as full set of plans.) Once construction started, we found out that they made huge mistakes in the drawings * often of several feet * that were caught by the contractor (who luckily was excellent) when he said that things just didn*t fit. some other mistaks were not caught on time: toilet under the roof so no one taller than 5 ft can use it... windows in the bathroom ar so high so no one shorter than 7 ft could reach them.... they specified wood windows inside the showers so we had to install glass dividers that cost us another 10k.... \r The mistakes were not only in misdrawing but also in implementation. They messed up the windows order (yes, they comunicated directly with the manufacturer to make sure the measurments are correct ...)which had to be reordered at our expense . We could go on and on with details of their sloppy work and malfeasance, but you get the idea.\r In short, Studio Crowley Hall showed a lack of professionalism, of creativity, and of willingness to take responsibility for their mistakes and behavior. more