Discovery
Every project begins with a conversation. We listen more than we talk. We ask about how you live, not just what you want to build. About the things that have frustrated you in every space you have inhabited before. About what the building will mean to the people who use it, not just the person commissioning it.
At the end of Discovery, we write a Design Brief — a document that both parties can test every future decision against. If a decision serves the brief, it belongs. If it does not, it does not.
Concept
Concept is where we propose an idea. Not a plan — an idea. A spatial proposition that answers the brief in a specific, arguable way. We present one concept. We have found that presenting multiple options invites clients to choose between ideas rather than commit to one — and commitment is what allows a building to become itself.
Design Development
Once the concept is approved, we develop every part of it in detail. Floor plans, sections, elevations. Interior layouts. Landscape structure. Every junction, threshold, and material transition. This is the longest stage. It is also the most important. We do not proceed to documentation until every part of the design is resolved.
Construction
We remain present throughout construction — not as supervisors, but as designers. A building under construction is still a design in progress. We work with contractors and craftspeople whose standards we know. When a problem arises on site, we resolve it within the design intention, not around it.
Handover
Handover is not the end. It is the beginning of the building's life. We conduct a detailed walkthrough before occupation — not to check boxes, but to ensure the building is understood: how its systems work, how its materials should be maintained, how the landscape will evolve.
We remain available after handover. The best conversations we have had with clients have happened two years later, when the house has settled and the family has discovered what the design gives them.