Our Process

A Team Approach.

Our process is one that is unique to the profession. Rather than asking a client to provide information that we then take behind the curtain to work on in a vacuum, only to have “the big reveal” several weeks later, we do things a little differently. What we ask for from each client is a commitment to the project with the client as an intimate part of the design team.

It begins with gathering of information by the client and our staff. We not only gather technical information such as site surveys with topographic and other unique features, we assemble a project manual containing any design guidelines, budget constraints, potential builder lists along with any additional information that may have an impact on decisions to come. This becomes the basis for all of our decisions on the project, a sort of “wish list” in the early stages of the project that evolves as we both define the project in more detail during the design process.

We are visual by nature.

We find that visuals are one of the biggest ways of communicating design ideas between our staff and clients. We like for owners to put together images from the internet, magazines and even personal photos of homes that touched their hearts over the years. We like to hear what was special about each image and how our owner wishes to capture that concept in their new home. We temper this information with the budget and begin to break that down into terms of square footage requirements. Once this programming and information gathering is complete, we begin our most unique design tool, the owner driven design charrette.

That begins with an initial design session where my staff and I personally synthesize your ideas into conceptual sketches on paper. We spend 3 days together working face to face with your wish list, site survey and images of Architecture and Interiors that inspire you. We spend each morning sketching concepts, constraints, character features and site analysis in relation to your specific needs.

Each afternoon we break after lunch to give me and my staff time to clean the morning’s sketches up into more hard line concepts which are reviewed and refined the following morning. This is the process for each of the three days so by the end of our time together we have developed a comprehensive understanding of your wishes, dreams and concepts for your home. These ideas are tempered with the external influences of topography and budget, all with immediate feedback from you.

The design process should not be a mystery.

At the end of the three day work session, we strive to have conceptual floor plans to scale, site plan and exterior elevation concepts on paper and a series of images that capture the essence of the project. This allows the coming months of work and communication to easily be handled remotely if needed as most of our clients are in other areas of the country and even the world. After spending 3 days together face to face we both begin to understand the nuance in each other’s statements and pick up on important concepts an owner may not know exactly how to express in writing. Likewise, our owner develops an intimate knowledge of the factors that influence the decisions made on their behalf and have an investment of time in understanding the design process. This approach gives our clients the opportunity to ask immediate questions for understanding why decisions are made on their behalf. Clients then are intimately involved from even the earliest planning stages and have a comprehensive knowledge of the factors influencing their project.

Our philosophy is that our clients should not only understand what it is that we do but they should be a part of what we do. This is the main factor in why our projects are as unique as our owners and when you look at our portfolio the architectural styles range from “Mountain Rustic to European Classical. When the design is driven by the owner and not the Architects personal preferences, the combinations are limitless allowing each home to stand alone.

The projects we work on are not our homes, they are the homes of our clients and as such they should reflect every unique ounce of character that our owners possess.