Urban Pioneering Architecture Reviews
“Through working with us to design our home addition, Jim and Sarah have become like family. Most importantly, they are great listeners. They truly wanted to understand what makes us tick so that we would love being at home. And we do. The spaces they worked with us to create respect the unique history of our house, while reflecting a beautifully modern vision for elegance and comfort. Throughout the process, they shared their wide-ranging knowledge of available products in the field, including earth-friendly materials that we are committed to. The result of this ongoing conversation captured the essence of who we are and what we want our home to be. We cannot thank them enough.”
- Houzz review, name withheld
“From our first meeting, it was clear that Jim would put his all into our job. Throughout a long design and build time frame he never flagged.
I'm sure we weren't the easiest clients--- lots of opinions, evolving needs, impatient with delays, heavily involved. His good humor and steady guidance under pressure were greatly appreciated.
Renovating any 120-year-old building is full of surprises--- our project certainly had its share of twists and turns. Jim anticipated many potential problems and the issues he couldn't have seen coming, he handled admirably. One example— during construction Jim discovered a potentially unsafe structural condition that could have cost a fortune to correct if the most obvious solution were pursued. Instead, he and his engineering team came up with a brilliantly simple alternate approach that corrected the irregularity for a marginal cost.
Jim was able to work well with the tradesman, insisting on professionalism without getting into ego games, confident in his knowledge and still open to alternate solutions. He is thoroughly versed in the intricacies of the applicable building codes, skilled in the various crafts, resourceful and professional. What was most gratifying is that he clearly took a personal stake in the success of the project. Late hours, early mornings, many site visits and trips to the DOB; without his dedication, we would not have the home we have today.”
- Jonathon M., Brooklyn, NY
“Sarah Hill is an extremely creative, resourceful, and responsive interior designer. She gets your taste. One instance -- I had a beautiful old Chinese lantern and rather than buying a new silk Italian replica, she recommended and found a specialty lamp shade maker who electrified the lantern and inserted a silk cylindrical shade. It is gorgeous and means a lot to me as I love antiques. She also finds fantastic fabrics that surprise you and works well with upholsterers and carpenters. Whether you know your taste or not, she is a great sounding board, open to trying different materials and exploring different options. I love slate floors and mine in the kitchen was getting really worn. She found a mineral tile that had all the richness and natural look of slate yet is durable and looks great. She also found a countertop that transformed the kitchen and is skilled at working with what you have and love and integrating it with other elements that make the room work. She has great taste and knows every resource. And if she doesn’t, she'll find it. And she is a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend her.”
- Tammy S., New York, NY
“It was a pleasure working with Jim on my project, which was detailed and space restrictive. Jim has a great sense of creativity in solving problems and has an artist's eye to know what will work aesthetically. As construction challenges occurred over the course of the project Jim patiently and creatively provided solutions on the fly. He constructed a successful plan that incorporated my style and use of space. As a result of Jim's talents as an architect, I have an elegant apartment that I enjoy living in.”
- Patricia K., New York, NY
“I own a two-family, semi-detached brick home in Brooklyn with a walk-in tenant apt on the ground level and an elevated main level of approximately 850 sf. Space was tight for the four of us so the task for Urban was to add another level (raising the roof) with a rear cantilever design to gain another 1100 sf on the new level - in essence, more than doubling our current living space. I am extremely pleased with the final plans that also included a main level redesign. I enjoyed working with Urban and found them to be very professional, excellent listeners with very sensible and creative ideas. They were prompt and complete. I LOVE the design!"
- Dennis G., Brooklyn, NY
“Dear Jim, You have been a pleasure to work with, and really saved us major headaches in key places. We were delighted we stumbled on such a compatible, competent, honest architect, because this project has shown me how rare that really is. We look forward to settling in and having you take some pictures and hope you and your wife will join us when we have our open house. Thanks again, for your creative input and effort, All the best, Evelyn”
- Evelyn B. & Jeff H., New York, NY
“Dear Jim, It took a few weeks for us to hear from the board, but we were approved for everything (we are so relieved). Demolition started this week so we are on our way. Thanks so much for all of your help. I don't know anyone who needs an architect at the moment, but I will certainly be recommending you if I ever do. We really appreciated that you were nice, fast, and fair ‐‐ it's hard to find all three. Thanks again! Melanie”
‐ Melanie B. & Jeremy ., New York, NY
“Jim consulted with me several times on my gut renovation project and provided expert advice. He brings expertise from two decades of experience to the table, and also his work is of impeccable quality. I saw a passive house he was gut renovating in Park Slope, and it was absolutely stunning! Jim knows how to preserve historic details while bringing the design into the modern era in a tasteful, classic way. He exudes calmness and wisdom and is a pleasure to be around.”
- Sarah J., NY, NY
“Jim was great to work with. We did a semi-gut renovation in 3 bedroom/2 bathroom apt. The quality of his work and suggestions were exactly what we wanted based on my husband and my feedback. Jim is very detailed and each week during renovation, we had him manage the project with the contractor to ensure the final output was done properly. Most Manhattan apartments are not symmetrical, so the early stage on doing things a certain way goes a long way on the final look. He understands plumbing, and electrical well to communicate to our contractors. He referred us to a HVAC engineer.
When it came to interior design, we had Sarah who provided feedback and suppliers information. She was also very helpful.
Jim knows the DOB process well and helped us resolved many issues even during covid and DOB rule changed in 2020 and 2021. We also had him manage the project with the contractors. The contractors don't have the same design eyes and were a bit sloppy and forgetful so it was imperative to have Jim help us.
Urban charges by the hour and provided an accurate estimate of the cost. Make sure what projects he's working on so he can allocate time properly. In the beginning with the design drawing schematic, it took a while cause he was on a couple of brownstone projects but overall still have a very positive experience with Jim. He was responsive.”
- Betty L., NY, NY
“We found Jim Hill and Urban Pioneering off Freelancer's Union website in 2007 and after interviewing a few people I chose him for an apartment reno and was so glad I did. He is intelligent, conscientious an has a fine aesthetic sense. He is also scrupulous with structural details. He was fair in his pricing and actually charged me less than our contract when he did less. The job came out well and Jim was a pleasure to work with at all moments. I highly recommend him.”
- Evelyn B., NY, NY
“Jim is amazing! he's patient, efficient, and smart. I highly recommend him!”
- Kevina W., SF, CA
“Jim is really helpful. He spent time walking through key issues on my project and clearly explained how he came to his conclusions on each. He gave objective advice and recommended how to keep costs down for our project. I'd highly recommend him.”
- Aaron E., Brooklyn, NY
“I took over the reno for my mother's townhouse and hired Jim through a referral from a work colleague. Jim and his wife are a great pair, super professional, and they did amazing work. He made sure that it was a place my mom would adore, and that would fit my family as well when it gets passed down to us. Highly recommended.”
- Sean C., NY, NY
“I am excited to recommend Jim Hill of Urban Pioneering Architects. Having worked with many architects, I know there are a to z out there! I have referred him to many of my customers and they have been very happy-he's an A. He is detail organized, honest, straightforward about what can and cannot be done and does his homework. He is LEED certified and looking to make NY greener!”
- Laura M., NY, NY
“I contacted Jim for a consultation on building codes and general questions about renovating our new and very small Queens house. He fielded all of my boring inquiries and gave me his undivided attention with insightful answers and a generosity of time that is not commonplace in this era or area. I can tell Jim is a consummate professional and would recommend Urban Pioneering to anyone who is looking for the best in the business.”
- Philip A., SF, CA
“We ultimately chose Urban Pioneering Architecture who have a reputation for being very knowledgeable of the regulatory landscape and whose work is technically sound. Urban Pioneering's fee estimate was more in line with our budget, and their references were all extremely enthusiastic and mentioned that they were good at keeping things close to budget, something we didn’t hear too often.”
- Michelle C., Brooklyn, NY
“Jim is a talented architect and a trusted resource in the renovation process. We reached out to Jim when we were considering a bid on our current home. We knew that it would need a comprehensive renovation, so before making a bid we needed to take that into account. Without being a client of his, Jim took the time out to meet with us and provide his thoughts on scope and pricing, which allowed us to move quickly on the bid and ultimately close on the house. We engaged Jim for the project and found his work to be detailed and thorough, and always open to our feedback on the design and budget. Jim also works with a number of contractors, which made the bid process for the renovation work a straightforward process. He guided us on that decision as well. In the end, we are so pleased with how our house has turned out, and while a renovation is never without its ups and downs, we were able to rely on Jim throughout.”
- Laura S., Brooklyn, NY
“The designs that Jim came up with were concise and easy to follow. He met with the contractor to ensure that our wishes were not being compromised, as at several points they were. He helped source the products we really wanted and actually ordered several for us at his discount. The contractor we hired for the kitchen installation turned out to be a mistake and we relied heavily on Jim to intervene and keep the project on track. Do not be afraid to express your requirements no matter how ridiculous the trophy kitchen companies tell you they are. We wanted a working chef's kitchen. The high-end kitchen companies were having none of it. Jim and Sarah made it happen exactly as we envisioned it.
Urban Pioneering designed our kitchen this time. We had previously hired them in 2008 to design an addition for our house and in 2003 to design a small addition to our beach house in Delaware. Jim has terrific ideas for space usage. Every inch is utilized in some capacity. They have consistently been able to visualize what we were thinking and make it a reality. Sarah's eye for interior design is amazing. She understood what I was looking for when I was unable to verbalize it and her suggestions were invaluable to the end product they delivered. Their services are competitively priced, they are highly professional, and were fun to work with.”
- Martha S., Mahwah, NJ
