About | Christensen Architects

About Us

Christensen Architects is a Pacific Northwest design firm committed to delivering highly crafted projects.

Our work is driven by a commitment to context driven solutions and a passion for the tangible aspects of material and detail. Our goal is to merge our client’s vision with the site’s specifics, to express the richness of craftsmanship in a way that creates enduring, livable architecture that inspires and delights.

Locations of current and past projects include Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Mercer Island, Issaquah, Sammamish, Island County, Pierce County, and King County.

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Who we are

C.J. Christensen | Principal

Christensen Architects was founded by C.J. Christensen.

C.J. is a licensed architect with over twenty years of experience in design and construction. He brings a breadth of experience and attention to detail that spans many scales, locales, and levels of technical difficulty.

Locations of projects C.J. has worked on include Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Idaho, Utah, Taiwan, and Abu Dhabi.

Project types include an art museum, concert hall, music school, a floating home, commercial office space, and numerous private residences.

Prior to founding Christensen Architects, C.J. worked for award-winning architects Frank Gehry in Los Angeles and Olson Kundig in Seattle.

C.J. holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Washington State University and also studied at the University of Sydney.

Learn more about C.J.

Our Services

Architecture

From rough sketches to to final construction drawings, we create architecture that is practical and inspiring.

Interior Design

Interior material selections, lighting design, plumbing fixtures, appliances, and cabinet design all have to work together.

Feasibility

We help you understand what is possible, legally and financially.

Permitting

We work with a trusted team of engineers and specialists to get the permits you need.

Frequently asked questions

When possible we prefer to work under a fixed fee. Fixed fees eliminate surprises and allow clients to more accurately budget a project. The fixed fee is paid in installments aligning with project milestones such as start of design, building permit submission, Permit issuance, beginning of construction, etc.

Fee ranges will depend on services provided, the size and type of project as well as the difficulty of the site, e.g., waterfront sites, environmentally critical areas, steep slopes, etc.

We typically tell clients to budget 4-8% of anticipated construction cost for architectural design services. Example: For a project with a $1M construction budget, expect to pay $40k-$80k in architectural design fees.

We offer a range of services including Architectural Design (new buildings, additions, remodels), Interior Design (cabinet design, fixture selections, material & finish selections), Permitting (documentation and engineering for permits), Lighting Design, 3D Computer Visualizations (exteriors & interiors), Site Analysis & Feasibility Studies (setbacks, height limits, lot coverage, etc.), and Construction Administration (contractor questions, reviewing work, troubleshooting).