Design Process

Designing a house that is responsive to its setting yet reflects its owners is an inventive and challenging process. The client is an integral part of this process, and the key element for us is listening to you. We work closely with our clients to make designs that are based on your own values, needs and dreams. We visit the site to study its constraints and opportunities – soils, contours, views, drainage, sun, wind, and vegetation. We then merge all we know about the client and the site in a design to optimize the experience of living in a dwelling that is comfortable, beautiful and fits its environment. We design buildings that express a sense of belonging: to their surroundings, to their region, and to their owners.

The character of the homes we design is as diverse as the individuals they house and the surroundings in which they are located. Our work is clean, strong, bold, sometimes traditional, sometimes contemporary, but never trendy. We enjoy creating a lively interplay between forms and spaces while focusing on natural lighting, capturing views, and integrating inside with outside. Whether the spaces make people feel welcome and secure, or they stimulate and surprise, they exude a sense of adventure and well-being. They are memorable spaces designed to support and enhance the lives of those who inhabit them.

We strive to create buildings that weather gracefully and grow richer with age. Although we use a wide range of materials and elements, we prefer to work with those that are familiar and time-tested in the region in which we are working. We often use natural materials, like stone, gathered from the actual site or surrounding area. We want our buildings to be good neighbors and to seem as if they had always been there.