Home / About
Architects who also build
S² Architecture Inc. is a California architecture firm focused on housing: multifamily, small-lot, ADU and custom residential work, designed by a principal who has priced, financed and built projects himself.
Jeff Schneidereit, Principal
Jeff founded S² Architecture Inc. and has practiced architecture in California since 1991. Born in Southern California, he studied architecture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Alongside his architecture practice he has worked as a builder and developer, which shapes how he designs: every project starts with the numbers it has to hit.
The firm works throughout California, from the Central Coast and the Bay Area to Los Angeles, Long Beach and the Inland Empire.
Projects designed
Built or developed by the principal: 7 commercial, office, retail and restaurant projects and 12 single-family residences.
Architect, builder, developer
Designed to be built
Jeff has been on the paying side of construction as a builder and developer. He knows what a design decision costs once it leaves the drawing.
Design standards are written to make good neighborhoods, and planning staff apply the rules they are given. Some of those rules carry a construction cost that is easy to miss on paper. A deep window recess or a large wall offset looks small in a drawing and shows up as real money and lost floor area in the field. Our job is to meet the intent of each standard at a cost the project can carry. When a standard and the numbers truly can't both work, state law gives us a way to ask for relief.
| Requirement | Where the cost hides | How we keep the intent and the budget |
|---|---|---|
| Deeply recessed windows | Extra framing, flashing and waterproofing at every opening, plus more trade time per window. | Shadow lines from trim, surrounds and sill depth that read as depth at a fraction of the framing work. On density bonus projects, a concession can be requested when the standard adds cost. |
| Large facade offsets and step-backs | More corners and roof-wall intersections, more complex framing, and floor area lost on tight lots. | Articulation through material changes, balconies and entries. A density bonus waiver applies when an offset physically keeps the permitted units from fitting. |
| Covered or structured parking | Often the most expensive square footage on the site, and it can cost units. | SB 1123, SB 9 and ADU law bar covered-parking mandates. Density bonus projects use the state's parking caps, with none required near major transit for qualifying projects. |
| Discretionary design review | Months of carrying cost and redesign rounds with no fixed finish line. | Drawings built to the published objective standards. SB 1123, SB 9 and ADU applications are ministerial. Under the Housing Accountability Act, a compliant housing project is judged against objective standards only. |
We would rather solve a standard than fight it. Most of the time a good design detail meets the intent and the budget, and the city gets the project it wanted.
How we work with developers
We've always aimed for buildings that cost less to build and are better to live in. The new state laws give us more room to do that.
- Feasibility
We test your parcel against every path above and show the unit count, home sizes, parking and the construction cost drivers for each.
- Program
We set the unit mix and target sizes with your pro forma and market in view.
- Entitlement
Drawings built to objective standards, so staff can check boxes and the 60-day clock starts.
- Permits and build
Coordinated construction documents and contract administration through completion.
Send us an address
Tell us where the site is and what you are hoping to build. We will tell you which of these laws applies and roughly how many homes it can hold.
info@s2arch.us