FIRM OVERVIEW
Vertrees A&E PC is Southern California’s boutique architectural and engineering
firm for specialized industrial facilities. We work with owners and design-build
partners who need technically exact documents, fast agency processing, and a
principal who still reads the details.
The practice was founded in Brea in 2000 and converted to a California
professional corporation — Vertrees A&E Engineering, PC — in 2026. The DBA
remains Vertrees A&E. Engineering services are provided by the PC. Select
consulting architectural services are available through Joseph Vertrees,
Licensed Architect.
JOE VERTREES, P.E., AIA
Principal Architect and Engineer | Owner
Joe Vertrees is a California licensed architect and registered civil engineer.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering and Management from
Cal Poly Pomona (1987) and has more than 40 years of progressive experience in
design, documentation, and construction administration.
Joe founded Vertrees A&E in 2000 after 15 years managing commercial, industrial,
and technical facilities at a mid-size Southern California A&E firm. Since then
the office has completed more than 1,200 projects for manufacturers, food and
beverage processors, transportation and fleet operators, waste and recycling
companies, and design-build contractors.
Representative work under Joe’s direction includes:
- Evolution Fresh juice plant relocation and expansion, Rancho Cucamonga
- Angelus Block Office, Rialto — 2026 CMACN/AIACA Grand Award, Commercial
- Brown Strauss Steel distribution campus, Banning
- Multiple Fast5Xpress express car-wash structures across Southern California
- Fleet and maintenance facilities for Penske, Union Pacific, and others
- PEMB and hybrid steel buildings with overhead cranes, bi-fold doors, and process-driven layouts
Joe has also consulted on facilities in Mexico and Northern Ireland and
previously managed quality assurance for a national metal-building contractor
on retail rollouts in the Western United States.
He stays in the work: programming, code, structure, agency comments, and
construction administration. Clients hire this office because the person whose
stamp is on the sheet is the person who will take the call.
HOW WE WORK
Every project is coordinated for constructability. We supervise architectural
and structural production, bring in trusted civil, landscape, and MEP partners
when the scope requires it, and stay with the job through agency review and
construction administration. Value-engineering is part of the design process,
not an afterthought after bid day.
Every project is coordinated for constructability. We supervise architectural
and structural production, bring in trusted civil, landscape, and MEP partners
when the scope requires it, and stay with the job through agency review and
construction administration. Value-engineering is part of the design process,
not an afterthought after bid day.
Joe Vertrees, P.E., AIA
Principal Architect and Engineer
Owner
Registered Civil Engineer, California
Licensed Architect, California