Begun by the Matthews over 15 years ago, we have proven success in serving our clients.
At Grizzly Bear Architecture and Design, we specialize in custom Architectural and Design solutions to situations that may at times be challenging:
- You need a crafted experience that respects the professional nature of the theme and brand of your company.
- Your house has a design style that needs to be respected and complemented, and you aren’t quite sure who to call for help.
- There are unsightly things around you that you aren’t quite sure how to address.
- You need a design and aesthetic that responds to both real world needs and your specfic functional requirements.
- You need to accurately replicate an existing style.
- You need a bold aesthetic statement that carries a new direction and sense of excitement.
- You have an extreme requirement with less than favorable circumstances.
- You need an Architectural ‘Pinch Hitter’
Charles A. Matthews: GBear Architect
Professional Qualifications:
I want to ensure from the outset that you understand what you get when you hire me as your architect. I am Certified with the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards. I am currently licensed in 14 states. I attended a National Architectural Accrediting Board five-year accredited program where I earned my bachelor’s degree in architecture (BARC) and was in the Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society (Architecture Honor Society). From there, I moved to California and attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design, with a special emphasis on Entertainment and Themed / Narrative Design, which allowed me to work with Disney Imagineering as my first design job out of college. From there, I proceeded to work with all of the major themed entertainment design companies. As well, I worked with a number of Southern California architecture firms, including the Cuningham Group, AECOM, and Miller Hull.
I acquired my architecture license in 2010 and my wife and I started our company, Grizzly Bear Architecture and Design, Inc. to be a family friendly firm that exists to provide, “One of a Kind, Hard to Find, Architecture and Design”
I have worked on projects as diverse as ADU’s transforming garages into dwelling units in San Francisco to (my largest) a 50,000 SF house in the Beverly Hills area, to the San Diego Zoo, Disneyland and the Del Mar Town Hall.
Testimonials
I want all of my clients to feel so exclusively satisfied with my being their architect that they are happy for the additional care I will take to complete their work. Here are a few…
Groom and Play
“After having a bad experience with our initial architect, my wife and I were in dire need to find a responsible and professional architect to lay out the plans for our business. We feel very fortunate to have found Charles Matthews, not only because he’s highly knowledgeable, but he got us back on track. He’s extremely experienced with Santa Clarita Building and Safety city codes and has an easy going nature. Was always quick to answer any questions and worked extra hours to get our plans completed for the city. We highly recommend Charles Matthews to anyone in need of architectural design.” Brett and Yeva Syslo www.groomandplay.com
SCVRC: The Santa Clarita Valley Remote Control Raceway
“Charles was able to save my business and legalize all of the unpermitted improvements made by the previous business owner… Charles worked with me over 2 years on this project, and his work allowed me to keep the doors to the business open the entire time. This was a very difficult project; without Charles’s experience and knowledge I would not have been successful in my dealings with the city.” E. Schlaifer
Miller Hull Partnership: San Diego Zoo Africa Rocks! and the Del Mar Civic Center
“Prior to August (2015), we had determined that we would need additional manpower in order to finish the work within a
tight deadline, in that our in-house staff was at capacity. We needed a reliable, temporary person who could come in
and get the job completed with a very short learning curve using the advanced BIM technology our firm uses and a depth of knowledge of the building code as well as building construction techniques in order to create details from scratch for the special conditions that existed in the
project. We found that person to be Charles Matthews.
He didn’t waste any time in getting to work when he began. To start, he was reliable and dependable, showing up in many cases earlier than required in order to meet the demands of the day. He exhibited a care for craftsmanship and professionalism as an Architect who knows how buildings are constructed. His technical software skills using Revit and learning our implementation of collaboration software (Blue Beam) allowed him to quickly stay ‘in the know’ about the status of the work and make changes rapidly. He was a tremendous asset to the staff, in that he was able to check their work and make suggestions as to how the work could be made more reliably, consistently and remove potential headaches that can come with construction as well as potential litigation. He worked well with not only potential vendors, but also our consultants and especially our client.
Charles is willing to go the second mile. His attitude is a good one, in that his view is not ‘can do’ but ‘will do’. We
were glad about the way that he jumped in and helped us reach our deadline with quality, skill, knowledge and
understanding in a timely way.
So, I recommend Charles for any work or jobs that you may have available. He has proven to be an asset to us, and
will surely be so to any person or organization requiring architectural services.”
C. Kreiser, AIA
The Miller Hull Partnership
To find out more of the specifics of Grizzly Bear Architecture and Design.
