“I started the firm because homeowners kept getting handed pretty drawings no city would approve, or approved drawings nobody wanted to live in.”Manny EmanuelFounder, LA Archviz
We design new homes, additions, interior remodels, and ADUs — then carry the drawings through plan check to a permit. Based in Los Angeles, working across LA, Ventura, Orange, and San Bernardino counties.
Who we are
LA Archviz is a residential architectural design firm in Woodland Hills. Homeowners come to us for one thing: a set of drawings that reflects how they actually want to live, and that a building department will approve.
We handle the whole path — measuring the existing house, developing the design with you, producing the construction set, coordinating structural and Title 24, submitting to the city, and answering plan check corrections until the permit is issued. No commercial work, no side businesses. Houses.
Most of our clients were sent to us by someone we worked for. This site exists so they can see the work before they call.
If you were referred to us, the projects below are what that referral is based on — real addresses, real permits, real construction.
Browse projectsWhat we do
Every one of them ends the same way — a stamped set of plans and an issued permit.
Ground-up custom houses, from the first site study through the permitted construction set. We work the zoning envelope, setbacks, height limits, and lot coverage before we draw a single wall, so the design you fall in love with is the design that gets built.
First and second story additions that read as part of the original house instead of bolted onto it. We verify the existing structure, work out how the new footprint lands on the lot, and detail the connection between old and new so the framing crew is never guessing.
Rearranging what you already own. Moving walls, opening kitchens to living areas, reworking a bad bedroom-and-bath layout, converting a garage into living space. This is where the biggest gains usually hide, and where a careful plan beats square footage.
Detached, attached, garage conversion, and JADU. California's ADU rules change constantly and every city applies them differently. We start with a feasibility review of your specific lot so you know what fits, what it costs to build, and what the city will actually allow before you commit.
Layout work on its own, before anyone commits to a scope. We test options on your existing floor plan — circulation, room sizes, where the light lands, what a wall move really costs — so the direction is settled before construction drawings begin.
Included with every project, not sold separately. We submit to the building department, track the review, and turn corrections around in days rather than weeks. We have run projects through most cities in California and we know what each one asks for.
Why our plans are different
Most sets are drawn by someone who has never engineered a beam or run a job site. Ours are not.
How the house actually lives. Where the light falls, how you move from the car to the kitchen with groceries, which wall is worth moving and which one only looks like it is. Design decisions come first, because everything else is in service of them.
What the structure will allow and what it will cost to force. We know before we draw whether that opening needs a beam, a moment frame, or a new footing — so the design that reaches your engineer is already buildable and the set doesn't get redrawn twice.
We have built custom homes ourselves. That means we draw for the crew that has to build it: real dimensions, real details, and choices that account for what materials and labor cost in California right now.
Where experience shows up
After this many projects, very little on a California residential lot is new to us.
State ADU law is one thing; how your city applies it is another. Setback interpretations, height on a sloped lot, fire access, utility separation, owner-occupancy leftovers still sitting in local code. We check your city's current reading before we design, not after the correction letter.
Slope analysis, grading limits, retaining walls, haul routes, height measured from natural grade. These are the projects where a beautiful plan turns expensive quietly. We size the problem in week one.
We are actively working rebuilds in the Palisades and Altadena. Rebuild programs, like-for-like allowances, and current code compliance pull in different directions, and the fastest path is rarely the obvious one.
Additions onto homes that no longer meet today's setbacks, coverage, or parking rules. What you're allowed to keep, what triggers a full upgrade, and where the line sits — this is most of the older housing stock in Los Angeles.
The wall everyone wants gone. We know before we draw whether it needs a beam, a moment frame, or a new footing, and roughly what each version costs to build.
Duplexes, added units, and ADUs on multi-family property, where unit counts, parking, and density rules interact in ways single-family projects never hit.
Projects
Hover or tap any drawing to see the finished space. Click to open the full project.
Showing 0 of 0 projects. New work added regularly.
Start a projectWhere we work
We are based in Los Angeles County and most of our work is here. Ventura, Orange, and San Bernardino counties are the rest of it. Every pin below is a city we have worked in, sized by how many projects we have done there. Different cities read the same state code differently, and depth in a few counties beats a thin presence everywhere.
We do take projects elsewhere in California when a client brings us one, and we have permitted well outside Southern California. But these four counties are where we work every week.
Ask about your city0 projects across 0 California cities. Tap a pin for street names.
Jurisdictions
Each building department reads the code its own way. These are the ones we know from the inside, grouped by county.
Who we work with
Most of our clients are families changing the house they live in. You get plain answers about what's possible, what it costs, and how long it takes — before you commit to anything.
You need a set your crew can build from and a permit that lands on schedule. We draw with the field in mind and stay reachable once construction starts.
Feasibility before you buy, unit counts and ADU potential on a specific lot, and a realistic permit timeline you can underwrite against.
How we work
We model every project in 3D as part of the design process. Not as an add-on you pay extra for — as the way we check ourselves and the way we show you what you're approving. Ceiling heights, window proportions, how the kitchen feels when you walk in from the entry.
It means fewer surprises during construction, and no moment where a client stands in a framed room and says "I thought it would be bigger."
Talk about your projectProcess
You always know which stage you're in and what happens next.
We pull your property records and zoning, review what the city allows on your lot, and tell you what is realistic — including rough construction cost — before you commit to anything.
Site visit and full measurement of the existing house, then layout options in plan and 3D. We revise with you until the design is right.
Full permit drawings with structural, Title 24, and any consultant coordination the project needs. This is the set your contractor builds from.
We submit, track the review, and clear plan check corrections. You get the issued permit and a set ready for construction.
What you receive
Sheet count varies with scope. Nothing on this list is an upsell.
Project data, applicable code summary, sheet index.
Property lines, setbacks, existing and proposed structures, parking.
Existing and proposed, fully dimensioned, with fixtures and finishes.
All sides, with materials, heights, and grade noted.
Cross sections showing structure, assemblies, and connections.
Slopes, drainage, equipment, and materials.
Panel, circuits, outlets, switching, and fixture locations.
Managed with our engineers and energy consultants, integrated into the set.
So you approve the space, not just the drawings. Included, not billed separately.
We file with the city, track the review, and answer plan check until it's issued.
We don't build, and we don't pretend to be a permit expediting practice. Design and construction documents are what we're best at, and permitting our own sets is part of that work. When a project needs something outside our lane — a complex entitlement, a coastal or historic approval, a hearing to attend — we bring in specialists we've worked with for years and stay coordinated with them. Telling you that early is cheaper for you than finding out late.
What design costs, what it's worth
In California you are working on one of the most valuable assets you will ever own. Design and permitting is a single-digit share of what you will spend — and it is the part that sets what the construction costs and what the finished house is worth.
A layout that wastes 200 square feet costs you every year you own the house. A wall moved on paper costs a few hours. The same wall moved during framing costs thousands. Getting this stage right is the cheapest leverage in the entire project.
Get a fee for your projectIllustrative proportions for a typical California residential project. Your fee depends on scope, size, and jurisdiction — we quote a fixed number after one conversation.
About
I came into this from three directions: design, engineering, and building custom homes with my own hands. Most people in this business have one of those. Having all three is why I can look at your house and tell you what it will look like, what it will cost, and what will fight you — in the same conversation.
That is why I built the firm around doing both halves: a design worth building, drawn well enough to permit, and priced honestly against what construction actually costs. Too many homeowners get one without the other.
My team and I run 100 to 200 residential projects a year, most of them in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, and San Bernardino counties. Working the same building departments week after week is the reason we can tell you on the first call what your city is likely to say — we have almost certainly been through it there before.
Nearly all of our work arrives by referral. That only continues if every project ends well, so we answer the phone, we return corrections fast, and we stay on the project until the permit is in your hands.
Get in touchClients
They went the extra mile to create an incredible result. The quality exceeded our expectations and made our property stand out in a crowded market.
I came in with zero knowledge. They walked me through codes, structure, and pricing, then delivered a clear plan and cost estimate so I could choose a contractor without compromising the design.
As an interior designer, I need plans done precisely. They turned my design ideas into an accurate, buildable set and saved me time and frustration.
Start a project
Send the address and what you're thinking about. We'll tell you what your city allows on that lot and what the project realistically involves — usually within a day.
Questions
Design usually takes two to six weeks depending on scope and how fast we get decisions. Plan check is the city's clock, not ours — it ranges from a few weeks for a simple ADU in a fast jurisdiction to several months in a slow one. What we control is the quality of the submittal and the speed of corrections, and we turn corrections around in days.
Los Angeles County is our home and where most of our projects are. We also work regularly in Ventura, Orange, and San Bernardino counties, and we know those building departments well. We do take work elsewhere in California, and we have permitted outside Southern California, so ask us about your city either way. Most of the work happens remotely with a site visit for measurement.
It depends on scope, square footage, and the jurisdiction. We quote a fixed fee after a short conversation about your property, and the quote covers design, the construction set, and permitting. City fees, structural engineering, Title 24, and surveys are separate and we tell you what to expect for each.
That's our feasibility review, and it's usually the first thing we do. We check your zoning, setbacks, existing structures, utilities, and the current state and local ADU rules, then tell you what size and type of unit is realistic before you spend money on design.
For most single-family work in California, a licensed architect isn't required — the drawings need to be correct and code compliant, and structural elements need engineering. We produce the design and the construction set and bring in a licensed engineer where the project calls for one. If a project does require an architect's stamp, we tell you up front.
Yes, on every project. We model as we design, so you can walk through the space and approve proportions and layout before we produce construction drawings. It's part of our process, not a separate line item.
We don't build. We design, draw, and permit, and we stay available to your contractor during construction for questions and any revisions the city or the field requires. We can point you toward contractors we've worked with, but you hire them directly.
Last updated September 2026
LA Archviz is a residential architectural design and permitting firm based in Woodland Hills, California. This page explains what information this website collects, why, and what we do with it. If anything here is unclear, call us at (843) 855-3732 or write to info@laarchviz.com.
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LA Archviz — Woodland Hills, California
(843) 855-3732
info@laarchviz.com
