After talking to a few US firms, It became clear that though they were professional, and eager, to tackle the project, they were not intimately familiar with the obstacles involved in building in Costa Rica. I decided to hire a Costa Rican firm to design the structure.

This is more difficult than it sounds perhaps. In the US, you would ask around for reputations, interview, and do some research. In CR, its hard to know even how to get a listing of architects.

I ran a search on "Architects" and "Costa Rica". One result was a yellow pages type database. It listed everyone in CR who claimed to be an architect. There were about 300 entries. This was really not all that helpful. I tired entering each name into a search and seeing if they had a web site. This actually unconvered a link to a realtors page. Realtors in CR are often involved with selling land and then offering the service of helping the clients build on that land. This page listed the handful of architects with which the realty company recomended working. I dropped anyone who did not have a web page, reasoning that if they did not feel compfortable with the internet enough to post a web page, then communications would be difficult. That left only several options:

Zurcher Architects, Jorge Mojica, Rouillon Arquitectura; Jaime Rouillon, and Neo Arquitectos Sergio Bogarin.

I added three more names to this list.

Quirpas, Icesa, and Guillermo Garita of DatumZero.

Quirpas I found while searching for architexts using a search engine. I found the CV of a Luis Diego Quiros on line. His training and influences looked like a good fit, and I liked that he had taught architecture at Kansas state.

Icesa I found by just looking at houses images on line and finding one I really liked.

DatumZero I found years earlier. Or rather, they found me. I had, in 2004, when I was just realizing I needed to get to CR a build, posted a request for information about architects on a Costa Rica bulliten board. I received some good advice about pricing and considerations, and also was contacted by an architect who introduced himself and offered to answer any questions. I dislike hard sells, so I told hom very little about the project, but was pleasantly suprised that he offered candid and striaghtforward answers. We corresponded briefly, and I kept his emails tucked away in my inbox. When I looked him up again in 2006, I found his website, and was impressed. It was clean, and contained a modest, but impressive cannon of work that complimented the vision I had. I bookmarked his page, and continued my research.

I sent out emails to all of the above firms but Zurcher's. He is well respected in CR and Central America. He places are sophisticated and well built, but just not my style. See for yourself on the link above.