Studio 285 Architecture

01/22/2026

This a rather facetious blog post. But also very serious. I have done much residential design work in the past for quite excellent clients. But most of the work has been of relatively modest scope and not always for the best of fees, to be quite honest. So I have been looking for clients that can afford a full and fair market fee the work I can do for them.

And in doing so provide a far superior services. As it is I have to do it all myself, being able to farm out certain aspects such as the construction drawings frees me more up for more time in design and meeting with the client. And access to more capable technical resources.

An ability to finance a more plush budget means an opportunity to have more fun with respect to design and pursuing more challenging ideas and concepts.

The may seem rather mercenary, but its not. (I think?) I know I'm better positioned to create a cost more relatively) cost effective home through efficient design. Having worked on projects of much more humble scope I know how to make a home plan orderly, rational, livable and efficacious.

You will have to read it to get the full gist of it. But in a nutshell the fact that I'm not much of a sportsfan is exactly the reason why I should be retained.

Its stull just a draft, but I feel compelled to publish it for review and comment.

Posted on January 21, 2026 by admin Why no pro athlete should hire Studio 285 Architecture or Andrew E Mitchell Architect to design their multimillion dollar home. DRAFT JANUARY 21, 2026 In this post I am going to do my best to give a compelling argument as to why am the last person a big-time athle...

01/21/2026

Why the Design Build process should be Architect led.

This a pull quote from the AIATrust regarding this issue"

"Two decades ago, the AIA and the AIA Contract Documents Committee recognized that the growing use of design-build often limited the roles of the design firms involved in projects, relegating them to subcontractor status under the design-build entity. This diminished status created substantial professional liability exposures and commercial risks."

The AIATrust article gives a brief overview of modifications in AIA Documents for Design Build Projects and how the create a greater level of parity.

I've started a blog post regarding this issue. I'm well into it but far from being finished. I felt that I had to get it out even as a raft to get some review and comment. So here is a draft.

"Why the Design Build Process Should be Architect Led"

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Andrew Mitchell Why Design Build Should Really be Architect Led DRAFT January 21, 2026 I once really was a believer in the Design Build process. A couple experiences through the years have soured me on that project delivery modality. I had thought that working with a co...

01/21/2026

This insanity is one reason why I'm not a dues paying member of the AIA - American Institute of Architects. It has gone totally PC and WOKE!

Apparently the Trump Administration pulled out of a UN Forum/Agency on Climate Change and the pantywaists the have a lock hold on the AIA are having a fit.

This is their statement:

AIA responds to U.S. withdrawal from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

01/16/2026

How do you select the best contractor?

This is a blog post I wrote and posted a year ago. If you are anywhere in the process of a remodel, addition or new construction of any type or scope. it bears a read. Even if you are just contemplating. Word may get out and you may be approached. Be wary and be careful and thorough in your research. Ask perinate questions and don't be afraid to not just ask for references but seek out others that may know of them.

Do your homework. There are plenty of really good ones but there also those to beware of. Some talk a good talk but are as phony as a three dollar bill. I have been burned a few times in multiple markets. I did not call anyone out in my post, specifically. But what I have written reflects my experience both good and bad.

A few types to be wary of and check further are those who wear out thier home market. Two subtypes, the "gypsy" and the "doughnut".

The gypsy is like a grazing animal that moves from pasture to pasture after it has nibbled the current pasture down to dirt and stubble. So it is after a contractor that has burned his bridges in the current pasture er, market.

The doughnut is one who stays put but must continually seek work in a wider radius as he burns his bridges in the current market.

In spite themselves they may yet hit a home run and find a really nice patch of grass in that grazed out pasture. (bring in something nice in spite of themselves) Don't be fooled. A person does not change easily and they may be able to behave for a time but eventually revert to old ways.

I'm sorry if this sounds cynical but I've learned the hard way.

Whatever client that gave the "doughnut" or "gypsy" a bit if grace and another project may, after the process is complete, why they decided to not give this contractor any more work.

08/26/2025

https://issuu.com/andrewemitchellarch84/docs/studio285architectureresidential_a_portfoilio_of_f/s/109435227

An unbuilt cabin that designed for a farming family on Lake Poinsette, SD

In any premium lot with a view, all primary living spaces ‘need’ to be facing that view. Such primary spaces could be considered:

08/21/2025

https://issuu.com/andrewemitchellarch84/docs/studio285architectureresidential_a_portfoilio_of_f/s/109213083

The site where I keep my online portfolios has added a feature, "articles" where one may cull portions of an uploaded PDF and turn it into a targeted article.

This deals with a residence I designed a good while back when I lived in in the Olympia, Washington area. It

Olympia, Washington

08/01/2025

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Andrew Mitchell Building on That Dream Lakefront Property So you are looking at, or just closed on a very sweet lakefront property. Those dreams of: Fishing from your own shoreline for that lunker bass. Piling into your boats and charging into adventure from your own pier....

08/01/2025

New post on the blog site. I need to blog on a far more regular basis. This has to do with building on a premium lakeside or seaside lot. I did a number of new and remodels on seashore and Lakeshore.

This is near and dear to me as I did most of my growing up in a lake community. Lake Killarney was an awesome place to be a kid.

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Andrew Mitchell Building on That Dream Lakefront Property So you are looking at, or just closed on a very sweet lakefront property. Those dreams of: Fishing from your own shoreline for that lunker bass. Piling into your boats and charging into adventure from your own pier....

12/02/2024

08/09/2024

I continue to get cards from the AIA (American Institute of Architects) encouraging me to become member again .I cannot think of a more compelling reason NOT to than this.

PC/Woke/DEI/Save and Worship the Earth has taken over and coopted many organizations, sadly it looks like the AIA is just one other.

The AIA is supposed to defend and promote the profession. This nonsense is something the AIA should be pushing back against, not embracing It is deleterious to the profession and ultimately puts the public's interested and safety at risk as ability and merit take a lower priority to race ethnicity and what should be confined to one bedroom.

Sustainability is feel good virtue signalling that ultimately accomplished nothing but wasted time effort. Burning up the clients fees jousting at windmills. As is all of the LEED scam.

All of this nonsense can be best summed up in the spectacle of a genetically male beating the daylights out of a women in the boxing ring.

This is what the AIA has come too? Men beating up women? You simply can't defend DEI without defending a guy beating up a gal.

You can't.