Hajian Architects Inc

Forty drafts before a plan was settled. That is how one Belmont homeowner described working with David Hajian in a 2014 review — tireless, patient, thorough, and willing to keep drawing until the renovation fit the house they actually wanted. Hajian Architects works out of 29 Williams Street in Watertown and describes itself as a full-service architectural firm handling single-family houses and residential renovations, academic and religious institutions, and commercial and retail work across New England. The company says it is run by brothers Paul and David Hajian, both licensed architects with more than 25 years each in the field, and states that the practice holds registrations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York and New Mexico. Houzz's profile lists those same states without numbers, so treat all of it as the firm's own account rather than anything confirmed with a licensing board. This is a design practice, not a building contractor — homeowners hire it for drawings, permitting and design oversight, and then hire builders separately. The written record reflects a small, quiet practice: 5.0 on Houzz from two reviews, both posted in 2014, alongside a single five-star Google rating. The second 2014 reviewer described a firm that adapted sketches until they were right, made its own site visits, flagged problems as they came up, and stayed in close contact with the general contractor and owners. Ten projects are shown on its Houzz page. The most current signal is not a review at all. In a March 2025 thread on r/ArlingtonMA, a commenter recommended the firm, noted that the two brothers own it and one lives in Arlington, said the office is in Watertown but they will meet you at your home, and reported a great experience. What is thin here is recency: the written accounts are a decade old, so ask for recent references and to see drawings from projects finished in the last year or two. Confirm the architects' current Massachusetts registration directly with the state board, and be clear about where the firm's role ends and your builder's begins. A reasonable call for a homeowner planning a designed renovation or addition around Watertown, Belmont and Arlington who wants an architect involved from the first sketch — with the caveat that the public record backing it is small and mostly old.