Rebuilding the Pacific Palisades and Malibu
I am a Woolsey Fire survivor having lost a guest house, barn and accessory structures. We evacuated on the morning of the fire with horses, dogs and some essential items. The following night we came back with an Animal Control escort to check on the family hogs who had survived the flames. I witnessed first hand the fire’s ongoing effects that night with ground covering still smoldering, wood fences on fire and flaming branches still being blown around hundreds of yards from their trees.
This visit demonstrated to me the value of employing defensible spaces around each structure, to design with a vocabulary that protects the structures and to employ flame resistant building materials for ember protection. Fire hardening the design with proven techniques improves the survivability of the structure.
I employ my fire rebuild experience in all my designs, aiding my clients along each step of the rebuilding process from early strategies of recovery to coordinating a punch list of the final built product.
5 Key Steps to Incorporate in your Fire Rebuild Process
- Complete your insurance claim to determine your construction budget.
- Pause to reflect on your life style needs- size of building, nature of your living environment, same size home vs, smaller home with accessory dwelling etc.
- Select an Architect with Fire Rebuild experience and one with whom you feel the potential for a strong, honest working relationship.
- Create a schedule for the entire process from initial planning, Building and Safety processing, all through construction. Make a commitment to stay involved in each step as fire survivors carry influence with officials and contractors- you are essential in moving this process along.
- Chose a contractor that comes well recommended, has demonstrated experience and one with whom you can develop trust. Trust is key in construction.
Featured Projects
Fire Rebuild Highlights
Woolsey Fire Rebuild, Malibu
Custom Home Addition & Remodel
A modern rebuild tailored to hillside terrain with views, incorporating sustainable materials and enhanced fire resistance.
Woolsey Fire Rebuild, Malibu
New Guest House
Detached ADU rebuilt from the ground up with an open-plan layout and durable fireproof materials.
Palisades Fire Rebuild
Big Rock
Single-family fire rebuild with improved structural planning, designed to match modern code requirements.
Palisades Fire Rebuild
Mandeville Canyon
Elegant rebuild in a high-risk fire zone using elevated construction techniques and fire-resistant design.
Award Winning Design and Construction
Brett Shaw Architects, Inc. is a multidisciplinary practice specializing in commercial and residential architecture and construction. Our work is divided into four areas:
Office Interior
Tenant Improvement Planning, Religious Facilities, Schools
Residential
New and Remodeled Single Family Homes
Commerical
Suburban Shopping Centers and Office Buildings
Industrial
Multi-Tenant , Single User Warehouse Facilities and Master Planning
Our practice is founded on the principle of service. Our entire effort is focused on attaining the project’s stated goals and fulfilling the client’s needs. We achieve this by rigorously defining the program objectives at the outset of our work and constantly measuring the progress of each phase by these objectives. Regularly checking the road map ensures that we arrive at our destination in a timely and efficient manner. Our final product experiences a rigorous process of examination and review, confirming the attainment of project objectives. We consider each phase of this process to be critical in the achievement of a well-designed building and an efficiently organized set of architectural drawings.
The success of our practice is the result of our commitment to total quality: from initial design concept to construction documentation preparation, to construction administration. Ultimately, the final success of a project rests on our ability to organize a wide range of people in the pursuit of a common goal. As our references will attest, we are successful in our efforts to bring these individuals together in the harmonious completion of our client’s buildings. Brett Shaw Architects, Inc. remains committed to quality through dedicated services to our clients.
