Family Estate Planning and Design Services

1. Site Analysis

Before any design process, we need to carry out site exploration where your estate will be built. Our team will study the characteristics of the plot and take notes to help them with the design. We especially look at the topography of the land to help us decide the best locations for your buildings.

Your land will have some good views and bad views and we can identify them through visual inspection. The process enables us to select locations for the main house, ancillary buildings and any other structures. The analysis helps to locate the best places for your garages, driveways and even your porches (front or rear). We can also plan for other necessities like septic tanks and water sources.

Our team will also take photographs of the plot to assist us with the design process. We will also note down some of the featured locations to help us design your estate.

Site analysis is an essential step in the design process and helps us develop a site understanding.

2. Goals and Objectives

Now comes the turn for us to know what you desire. We will arrange meetings with you and your family members to get an idea of the type of estate you want. Our team will ask about your goals and objectives including lifestyle choices to come up with the best design.

• The things that you want to accomplish
• The main spaces, buildings and rooms you wish to include in your estate
• Estimated heated square feet of the buildings
• Outdoor living spaces and porches that you want
• Estimated square feet for ancillary structures and outdoor spaces
• Orientations of your constructions
• Number of garage bays you require
• Any site features you may want
• Preference of materials for exterior and interior construction
• Any special needs you may have

The site analysis and evaluating your goals help us obtain all the information we need. We can also analyze the information and help you decide the best way to go. This step can be conducted in-person, or we may also talk over phone or Skype, as per your convenience. If you ask us, the best way is to meet in person to discuss the nuances. But if you are located far away from our offices, we can use other means.

3. Project Consultation

You can include project consultation with the above step if you wish. This is where you sit with our architects to clear any doubts you have about your estate. You can convey your thoughts to our team and also ask any questions you have in mind.

We will use the information from site analysis, goals and objectives and our experience to answer your questions. This step helps to clear any doubts and give you a rough idea of how things are done. We will take all efforts to provide satisfactory answers to your questions. But some questions may need more time to answer as we only have preliminary information in our hands.

1. Programming

The pre-design process helps us obtain the necessary information we need to start our designing. But still, we need to make everything clear and get your nod to move ahead.

The first stage of the design process needs your full participation. As your architect, we listen to what you have to say. We take down notes and ask you occasional questions.

You might have some preconceptions with your family estate without understanding how they impact your project. We make you aware of things that our experience tells you might wish to consider. We point out various aspects and help you understand how they affect your project in terms of functionality and budget.

Our team will mentally walk you through the spaces of your estate, one by one. You will be able to imagine the features of every space and room to form a preliminary idea. We will document all your descriptions and include our input to create the foundation for your design.

You may also get a project document highlighting everything we discussed so far. If you want any changes or modifications, you can let us know immediately. We will make the necessary changes and send it for your approval.

2. Schematic Design

Now comes the turn to develop the schematic design of your family estate. We may need the help of your surveyor to allow us to design your estate successfully.

The survey provides us with the legal canvas to develop your design. We get to know the dimension and size of your plot and other implications like legal easements. The survey also makes us aware of any building restrictions, utility locations or other considerations that affect the placement and design of your estate.

We use computer drawings from the beginning so that everything is accurate and without any mistakes. You can know if your home will work out, right from the start!

Next, we will develop the first design of your site plan and floor plans. Then we involve you in the process to see what is going on. You can review the first iterations and suggest any modification if needed.

We like to involve you at every step as it's your land and money. We are dealing with your house and you have the right to see how everything is advancing. We gather your input and get your approval so that no stones are left unturned.

We will carry out any changes suggested by you before proceeding to the next stage.

3. Design Development

After you have approved the schematic design, we go in for the design development. It is the step where we add more detail and develop the previous plan. Our creative designers use their artistic capabilities to create the exterior building elevations.

Elevations determine how your buildings will look like when you face then standing in the front. You can have an idea of how the different sides look by taking reviewing the elevation design. Our elevation designs include elements like doors, windows, porch and anything you want to add.

You can check out your building elevation and tell us if anything needs to change. After that, we will design the rest of the exterior building elevation for your family estate. We can use computer drawings to create neat and precise designs meeting all your specifications. Our systems use a list of checklists so that your designs turn out to be well-coordinated and professional.

As always, you are welcome to review the design documents and suggest any modification if you want. After we have received a go-ahead from you, we begin our next step.

4. Construction Documents

In this step, we create the construction documents which can be used by a contractor to build your family estate. We add more details to the plan and make it construction-ready for the builder. Our designs will be detailed, with plenty of dimensions and notes. We will also add all the necessary specifications and information so that the design results in a successful project.

The construction documents can include the following :

• Floor plans
• Roof plans
• Site plan
• Exterior elevations
• Drawing index and general information
• Building sections
• Wall sections
• Specifications
• Door schedule
• Electrical schematic plans
• Structural engineering documents

You can have a look at the construction documents after we have prepared them. If you feel anything needs modification, just let us know. Finally, we hand you over the construction documents so that you can start building your family estate.

This is where our design process ends. We can also help you out with other services like construction administration.