But the tiny homes themselves were the one element the architects couldn’t spec: The eight-by-eight-foot shelter made by a Washington-based company named Pallet was preselected for them by city contractors.

I've reached out to a few architects in town but they all don't provide this type of work...Any referrals would be greatly appreciated! 

I already knew an architect, so I had him draw me a set of plans for the addition/garage which took about 2 weeks of back-and-forth.

Phellow Philly Phlippers - I have a cool little project going on in Philly, but sadly I got involved with the wrong architect.

(My architect has been back and forth with the city for almost 8 months now, still no permit.)

Tell the architect to keep his mouth shut, others can "figure it out" on how to build a bridge.

The factors here are several layers deep...1- The threshold decision is rooted in local ordinance and zoning...if you're in an area with tight local ordinances you're fighting with the people that live in the neighborhood before you ever reach the city zoning folks...this can go one of many ways2- ROI on the conversion...you're first stop should be with a local architect...they are worth their weight in gold when navigating a project like this and will wade through the regulatory waters much better than you...and a simple phone call may be telling to whether the conversion would be permissible.The extension of this is the cost of the renovation in relationship to the rents received...the stars would really have to align to say you should spend a significant amount of cash to convert a performing building with 4 revenue streams to serve another function (but there is more to this)...and the cost of construction (and lumber in particular) is 5 fold what it was 1.5 years ago...3- As you indicated...exit...I think the only rational reason to convert a 4-unit would be to get condo status or single family/ shared wall and sell one or both of the units to an end buyer (you are basically paying the role of a speculative developer here)...this is happening frequently in locations like Olde Towne East and Merion Village...hard to demonstrate how successful this has been, but it seems far fetched reasonable consumers would pay the same for a  free-standing SFR they would for half of a "duplex" or condo, but who knows for sure.Either way you look at it you're in a residential appraisal situation on the comparable sales approach....4 unit buildings are still "single family" homes. 

With all these hoops to jump through it's even difficult for contractors, purveyors, architects and myriad stakeholders to follow the bouncing ball. 

For professional help, you need an expeditor who's also an architect who is knowledgeable with building codes. 

The locality is asking our architect to include the electric panel schedules plus riser wire type and sizing.