Architects miffed at website that offers low-cost bids

Edan Bar-Lev needed some inspiration for a makeover of his North Tustin front yard. The yard is oddly shaped, in a cul-de-sac with a curved driveway. And it was almost completely raw, with a small patch of grass and lots of weeds. A far cry from the English-style garden Bar-Lev and his wife craved.

I just got stuck, said Bar-Lev, who is the co-owner of a home-remodeling company.

Rather than dole out $2,500 to hire a landscape architect, Bar-Lev decided to use $350 and try a website he'd stumbled upon that crowdsources architectural design services. Soon, four designers had bid on the job, with one nailing a design that included a curved pathway to a hedged rose garden.

On arcbazar.com, property owners upload descriptions and photos of their space, setting an award and a timeframe for the competition. Architects from around the world can then submit their best designs, competing for the cash, plus points and recognition with Arcbazar.

The startup company has stirred some controversy. Industry professionals question the quality of the designs and lament the low-price rates. They fear it straps architects to the Internet's slave-labor machine, with professional design services lumped into such labor-bidding efforts as Mechanical Turk, TaskRabbit and Fancy Hands.

Arcbazar is gaining traction with clients, though, making design services accessible for home and small business owners who might otherwise go without them.

A Chino Hills family used the site to get plans for its living room makeover from a designer in France. A Redondo Beach man had his family room designed by a Colorado company. And Sara Medina got a design for her Huntington Beach yard from an architect in Albania.

Medina's backyard is quite barren, with grass and thick bushes covering a rotted fence. She wants to transform it into a tranquil, yet low-maintenance, oasis.

I'm really excited about it because they basically did everything we asked for, Medina said. It's going to fit perfectly.

Medina had consulted with a local architect, but the price she was quoted sent her looking for other options. Then she found Arcbazar through the Angie's List website.

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Architects miffed at website that offers low-cost bids