approach

The essence of successful design is to maximize the potential of your building site by the implementation of your building program to the greatest extent possible. This involves a combination of many interrelated factors, most of which you already know about, but perhaps wonder, 'how can we sort through all these issues to get the home we want?' Our design strategy breaks down these factors into their basic components, groups them by type, and ranks them by your priorities. The resulting design expresses your priorities in built form. We classify project parameters into two categories:

External Parameters are those that are imposed by others:

1. Site: including lot size, building envelope size, views, access, utilities

2. Context: including neighbors, HOA and municipal requirements

3. Time: current technologies and techniques in design & construction

External parameters are usually fixed. We therefore begin our work with an analysis of these external parameters. They will be the same regardless of what you (or any other owner) choose to do with the lot; they are site-specific but not project-specific.

Internal Parameters are those that express what you want for your home:

1. Project Program: building size, wants and needs, feel, image, phasing, and so on

2. Project Budget: construction costs, design fees ('soft costs'), furnishings, sales price

3. Project Schedule: for design, construction, and occupancy

Internal parameters are project-specific and client-specific. They are based on your priorities. We consider these parameters to be self-imposed, therefore they tend to be more fluid than the external parameters and are often modified as the design progresses. For instance, clients who want a 4-car garage may reconsider this when faced with the prospect of a smaller great room or master suite. Trade offs such as this are inevitable as the design phase progresses, and are an indication that the process is working. The clients are sorting through the wish list, prioritizing what matters most, incorporating that, and compromising on smaller issues.

The design process can be seen as a process of education for our clients and ourselves - as we learn more about the project priorities and their ramifications we can make more informed decisions. Our design methodology allows the process to stay fluid and incorporate these informed decisions into the final design and construction of your home. The result is a satisfying project that leaves you with the best possible home for your site, your priorities, and your budget at the time it is built.