The Architectural Process
We’ll always take time to explain exactly what is entailed at each step of the design process in terms of architectural services and deliverables. Specifics are tailored to each project, but below is a summary of how we arrive at a finished building.
Concept
This phase involves the preparation of a concept design for the project that addresses the client brief, and local authority and statutory requirements in relation to the site.
Once we’ve listened, we’ll prepare a detailed written brief. This document becomes an essential benchmark with which we can measure the success of the project, and helps us and you as a team to make key design decisions that meet the desired outcomes.
It’s a myth that we scribble our concepts on the back of a napkin. They’re rubbish to draw on. But we do prepare concept sketches and bulk and location diagrams, capturing site constraints (both physical and statutory) and opportunities, such as landscape, neighbours, views, sun, and prevailing wind.
Next we’ll look at a preliminary design concept, tailored to suit the specifics of the site, including sketches and layouts. We begin to explore the building through the development of a 3D CAD model, and start to ‘build’ the bigger picture, refining the preferred concept and layering detail into each set of drawings.