Architecture + Design FAQ

Yes. Kala’s award winning architecture team can provide turnkey services that are tightly integrated with the construction team to ensure maximum beauty, performance, and durability from your home.

The Kala architecture and build teams are closely integrated, ensuring that every home we design has high performance built in from the beginning. Our staff includes Certified Passive House Builders and Certified Passive House Consultants, and every design team member is continuously training to bring the latest performance strategies to every project.

It typically takes six to twelve months to go from first meeting to a building permit that allows the construction process to begin. Design complexity, decision making speed by the homeowner, local jurisdiction regulatory requirements can affect design time.

Yes. Kala provides in house interior design services and also partners with an exceptionally talented collection of other interior designers and companies.

Yes. Kala’s portfolio includes projects developed and built in conjunction with some of the finest architectural firms in the region. We enjoy working with anyone that will engage us early in the process of designing your home, will respect our strict performance requirements and the positive impact they will have on your life, and will be open to our suggestions for ensuring that the right balance is struck between programming, size, finish level, building envelope design, and other attributes to ensure your budget and timeline is met.

Yes. Kala works with many of the most accomplished interior designers in the area on projects large and small.

Possibly. We're glad to provide design services for projects outside our own build team, as long as three conditions are met: the project targets genuine high performance (not just code compliance), the builder has the expertise to execute it, and all required field validation is carried out. We don't design homes that aim only for minimum code compliance — it's simply not what we do.

Possibly. In most cases, existing plans become the starting point for a new set — we take the conceptual and schematic design elements you love and layer in the high-performance details that standard drawings rarely include. Plans from plan services or online sources tend to be conceptual in nature, which can reduce early design effort, but there's still substantial work required to develop a complete, high-performance construction set.

No. Kala designs and builds homes of virtually every style and size, and every home we build has the same performance characteristics regardless of size, shape, or location. Our job is to find the performance solution for any design idea that matters to you.

Yes. The health of every person who lives in a Kala home matters to us — indoor air quality is non-negotiable. We vet materials, finishes, and construction methods against rigorous standards, drawing on resources like Living Future's Declare list and the Red List, which flags dangerous materials to avoid. Both are well-documented, trusted references in high-performance building.

Kala is happy to help you evaluate the suitability and characteristics of a piece of land you are considering building on, including its suitability for a high-performance home. We can also help you find land if you're still in that stage. Very few sites are off the table, though some are more complex than others.

Yes! We've designed and built a wide array of new, custom, high-performance homes across the Kansas City metro area. You can see some examples in our online portfolio.

We don't currently offer predesigned home plans. While Kala primarily architects and builds custom homes, we also maintain a small number of curated spec home projects. Current active projects include Observation Row in the Westside and West Plaza. Kala is also involved with The Way Home in creating affordable homes on the east side. You can visit our portfolio to find additional projects as they develop.

Kala designs in a variety of styles, though our homes tend to be modern takes on traditional or classic designs. If we feel another design studio would be a better fit for your project, we'll tell you right away. Our construction team works with other accomplished architects and can ensure that no matter who designs your home, it will be high-performance and deliver unmatched comfort, durability, health, and sustainability.

Architectural fees for a custom design and build home are structured in three phases. 

• Design Documents — the process of documenting your personal design decisions — is billed hourly and typically runs 2–4% of build cost. 
• Construction Documents, the technical phase that produces your permit-ready drawings, typically also runs 2–4% of build cost. 
• Finally, Construction Administration — where our architects stay close to the build to ensure everything is executed as designed — is billed hourly and typically runs 1–2% of construction cost.

Design fees are not normally part of any financing, but depending on your situation it may be possible. It's worth discussing with your lender early.

Honestly, only you can answer that. A custom design and build project creates a home that fits your life precisely — your routines, your aesthetic, your values. But it takes real time and energy on your end. If you're ready for that investment, what you get back is a home built specifically for you, performing at a level no spec home can match.

Design and build with us means architecture, interior design, and construction all working together from day one — no handoffs, no gaps, no finger-pointing when something doesn't align. Our process is structured and transparent, so you always know where things stand. And you'll have one point of contact through each key phase of the process, someone who knows your project as well as you do.

It starts seemingly vague and ill-defined, but with our team's guidance and experience, it quickly translates into something tangible that you feel deeply connected to. We begin by getting to know you as a person and using a detailed questionnaire to learn all about your wants and needs in your new custom home. 

As the pre-design process progresses, we get a clear understanding of the project scope, your objectives, and the constraints and opportunities we're dealing with. This means we're aligned with you from day one.

Most decisions happen early — during the vision and design decisions stages with the guidance of the appropriate architectural, interior, and construction design team members. 

When the process is running as it should, there won't be much to decide late in the game. Instead, you'll get to enjoy watching your home come to life.

No.

The last phase for our architects in every project is called Construction Administration, or CA for short. 

During CA, the architects stay close to the project to ensure the design is executed per plan, and are on call for the inevitable questions that arise and changes that are necessary because of the brilliant idea you had late in the process.

Your largest time commitment is in the early stages where you and the design team are developing the plan for your home. They are skilled in guiding you through the process, but it will help if you have a clear vision and can make decisions reasonably quickly. The more you change your mind, the longer the design process will take. 

As construction progresses, there are still decisions to make, but your role shifts more toward watching your home come to life than driving it forward.

The most important way is for you to be unambiguous about what your overall budget is. It's our job to bring to life your new home within the cost constraints you have laid out. We have a strong track record of finishing homes on time and within our clients' budgets.

It's our responsibility to lay out all costs clearly from the start — design fees first, then construction costs as the project develops. 

No surprises, no fine print.

You're welcome to, and we'll accommodate all reasonable change requests. As a general rule, the later in the process you change your mind, the more likely there will be a cost and time penalty. That's why we work hard in the early stages of design to ensure that major shifts are unlikely to occur.

Yes. We coordinate all the moving parts — structural engineering, civil work, city planning, permitting — so you don't have to. Our job is to make this seamless for you, from first concept to certificate of occupancy.

It comes down to listening and communicating well in the early stages — and we're good at that. At any point, if the design isn't going in the right direction, you're free to pause or stop; there's no contractual obligation to continue with design or into construction. 

But if we do our job right, you won't want to stop. We aim to give you something that exceeds what you imagined, not just what you described.

We've developed a clear, proven process that takes you from first conversation to move-in day. Learn more.

Yes. The same high-performance design and build principles that we use to achieve passive house certification can also lead to a net-zero home. 

Because all Kala homes use 70 to 80% less energy than a standard build, getting to net zero is a much smaller leap than most people expect. 

True net zero will require a local generation component, but every home we build meets DOE Efficient New Homes Program criteria, formerly DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH).

Yes. We can apply the same passive principles, high-performance techniques, and seamless design and build process that make Kala homes exceptional to your commercial project.