C. Groch, Architect

12/17/2025

This is the project in El Cerrito. On this corner lot house we are adding a "primary suite" with a Work Shop below and modifying the rear of the house to enlarge the Kitchen and provide a Family Room.

12/17/2025

I have two projects under construction at this time. Here are two photos of the project in Orinda. The work includes a new roof, a new "skin" for all of the exterior walls, some modification of the interior, a small addition to the bedroom adjacent to the entry and a revised front yard.

05/09/2025

Since 2017 it has been legal to add a small living unit (ADU) to every single family home in California. This was an early study of adding an additional bedroom over an existing garage and turning an existing workshop into an ADU

05/09/2024

May 8, 2024 was the 50th anniversary of my California Architect license. Still practicing.

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11/18/2021

This project includes adding a second floor, remodeling the existing Kitchen and adding a Family Room to the ground floor of a house built in 1926. The new second floor includes a Primary Bedroom suite and a Home Office. One of the design objectives was to make the completed addition appear to be part of the original house.

03/15/2020

I was retained by a local Developer to study the possibility of constructing a mixed use project on his property in Downtown Richmond, Ca. The zoning allows only mixed use projects with commercial space on the ground floor and apartments or condos above. The conceptual design is five stories tall with parking and commercial space on the ground floor. There are five units on each of the four floors above. There would also be common space on the roof. The rooftop space would have view in every direction.

Do not know if this will ever be constructed, but it was fun working to develop this concept. It gave me a chance to incorporate some ideas that had been bouncing around in my head as we reviewed similar projects for the El Cerrito Design Review Board. Mostly, rather than having a "podium" between the ground floor and the portion of the building above to separate the building mass, I propose to use the variations of the apartment exterior walls extended to the ground to add interest and scale to the building. I think that works better.

03/01/2020

Working on a new project. A small mixed-use building in El Sobrante, Calif. This project will include about 1,500 square feet commercial space and covered parking on the ground floor with two, two bedroom apartments on the second floor.

The commercial space is designed for small tenants such as professional offices or service providers. The second floor apartments are designed for families. Each apartment has a large deck placed away from the busy street and looking toward the nearby hills.

Here are the first design sketches for the project.

12/27/2019

The project in Kensington is making progress. The construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of January, 2020. It will take a real team effort to make that deadline.

The exterior is just about ready for the application of the cement plaster. The interior gypsum board has been installed and the interior finish work can now begin.

09/16/2019

OK, you have this old house in a great location with great views. However, it is way too small for your family. The house is located on a steep hillside and has lots of room below the house. Soooo, why not use that space and build a whole new floor below the house.

This is what it looks like when the new foundations are complete and the new wood framing has just begun.

The old decks will go away soon. You can see only a small portion of the large new foundation. On top of the concrete wall closest to the camera a two and one half story stair tower will be constructed to connect the floors and the ground.

09/14/2019

Sometimes it does not take a large addition to add significant living space to a home. By adding less than 100 square feet to this home in El Cerrito we were able to enlarge the kitchen and add add utility spaces. A covered entry and a new bay window for the existing living room provide added interest to the street side of the home.

04/05/2019

We have been living with this interior for 34 years and still enjoy the way it functions and interacts with the environment. The "sunroom" is a particularly good place to watch passing clouds and rain.