Process
Every project goes through the same six steps. The middle two are the ones we are known for: we cut the model open, and we follow the sun through it.
A small house takes about a year from the first meeting to the first stone. A large one takes longer.
01. Listen
We start with your site and your list, not with a style.
The first meeting is at the site if we can manage it. We ask how you live, what you need and what you can spend.
You leave with a short written brief. Nothing is drawn until you agree that it says what you meant.
You get
A written brief, one page long.
02. Walk the site
We measure the land, the sun, the wind and the views.
We survey the lot and note what is around it: the road, the houses next door, the trees and the slope.
We mark where the sun rises and sets in June and in December. On this coast, that one fact shapes most houses.
You get
A site plan with the sun, the wind and the views marked on it.
03. Build the model
We build the whole house as a model before we draw a single sheet.
The model is complete: walls, floors, roof and land. It is not a picture of the house. It is the house, in every part, on a screen.
You can walk through it with us and ask for changes on the spot.
You get
A model you can walk through, and three views to take home.
04. Cut it open
We slice the model to see what the plans hide.
A cut is a slice through the house, from the roof to the ground. It shows the height of each room and how the floors step.
We cut each model many times. Most of our best changes come from this step.
You get
A set of cuts, with our notes on what each one changed.
05. Follow the sun
We run a full year of sun through the model.
We set the model to the latitude of Vesper Bay and move the sun through the year. We watch where the shadows fall at noon and at sunset.
This is how we size a roof, a court or a window. It is also how we keep a room cool in August.
You get
A sun study for June, September and December.
06. Draw it and build it
The drawings for the builder come straight from the model.
Every plan and every cut on the builder's sheets is taken from the same model you approved. What you saw is what gets built.
A partner visits the site each week until the house is done. We stay on call for the first year after you move in.
You get
Full drawings, weekly site notes and a check after one year.