Joe Kramer started J. Kramer Corp. in 1990, encouraged by his father and taught the sequence of how a building goes together by the fathers of two childhood friends. In the mid-’90s he fell for modern architecture, and the firm was soon asked to take on progressively more difficult houses on difficult sites.
Based in Laguna Beach, those early builds were all on hillsides, a trial by fire that shaped how the firm works today. That work has since been recognized by Architectural Digest, which named Joe one of six builders to watch in 2026, and by the AIA.
Start Your BuildMaterial choices and the skill behind them give our houses an x-factor. We work with highly skilled subcontractors and feature their work.
Many of our subcontractors have worked with Joe for years. Each trade knows the standard, and Joe checks the work himself.
To the point and complete. You always know where your project stands and what decisions are coming next.
Our collaborations with architect Anders Lasater have earned three AIA awards: Outstanding Design, People’s Choice, and a 2026 Merit Award.
“Impressed with how they articulated the site and used it to develop the architecture. The house derived its sense of purpose from the site and created some really nice moments.”
2026 AIAOC Design Awards Jury
“Impressed with how they articulated the site and used it to develop the architecture. The house derived its sense of purpose from the site and created some really nice moments.”
2026 AIAOC Design Awards Jury
We learned to build on Laguna’s slopes the hard way. Since then we’ve completed caisson foundations and major retaining walls that hold steep lots in place long before the framing begins.
It’s why we keep being asked to take on the difficult sites. When our Coast Highway duplex called for a recycled-steel prefab system from Canada, we built the first BONE Structure building in Orange County, and it went on to win an AIA People’s Choice award and a Gold Nugget award.
