Jerome & Marilyn Bidinger
7665 E. Sweetwater Ave.
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Date: 25 October 2011
To Whom It May Concern:
In 2010, we decided to have a home designed and constructed that would facilitate and, in fact, enhance, our somewhat unique life style. After interviewing several architects, we selected Michael Rust precisely because he has a demonstrable record of practicing organic architecture whereby he develops for each client a structural design that seamlessly integrates the structure’s form and details with the client’s particular requirements and life style activities. In Mike’s organic architecture, the structure/home becomes an integral part of the resident’s life, facilitating and enhancing every activity.
At the outset of our working relationship, Mike established a clear, well constructed and understandable design development process that facilitates the comprehensive specification of a client’s life style requirements and preferences and simultaneously stimulates comprehensive thinking about the best means of encompassing those requirements and preferences in an organic, home design. Mike immediately established excellent rapport with us, listened well and carefully to our comments, ideas and instructions and enthusiastically guided us through the design development process. He always paid close attention to design details, found answers to all our questions, endeavored to incorporate all our ideas into the design, but cautioned us about design directions when caution was appropriate. At every step in the design process, and, in particular, when design challenges were encountered, Mike proved to be an excellent problem solver, finding creative solutions to what seemed initially to be intractable problems.
The design of any home is, in substantial part, a cooperative enterprise including not only the owner and architect, but also various engineering specialists and, in an optimal environment, the contractor who provides practical construction insights. Mike assembled an excellent team of engineers, structural, mechanical and civil, and brought their special insights and contributions into the design mix precisely when required. After we selected a contractor, Mike worked closely with him, giving due consideration to the contractor’s practical construction insights and incorporating those insights where they enhanced the home without ever compromising design integrity.
Mike was timely and responsive in all his communications, always well prepared for all of our meetings and was respectful and considerate of all involved parties. We were provided in a timely manner with interim drawings for our review, and, at the end of the design process, Mike prepared excellent, detailed drawings that easily passed regulatory review.
We are very pleased with all aspects of Mike’s performance in the design of our home. He is a creative, organic architect, who bases his designs on his clients’ requirements, provides guidance, suggests possibilities, presents options and, in the end, provides a design that completely expresses the clients’ preferences and requirements in an imaginative and innovative manner. Should we ever design another home, we would not hesitate to engage as architect Michael Rust.
Last, but definitely not least, Mike will always be our friend!