Design/Build
Conceptual Design
Consider your property as an extension of your living space. Plan it as carefully as you would a room in your house. Carve out a gentle slope or erect a dramatic boulder stairway. Re-contour the land and expand your outdoor living options. Vary fences, walls or hedges to open a vista, screen a neighboring house or create a quiet refuge. Explore the infinite variations of structural elements like pergolas and arbors mixed with trees and shrubs to add shade, texture and color throughout the seasons.
Our designers will lead you to those landscape elements that are compatible with your wishes and employ design principles, with a professional eye, to create unique and exciting solutions. They will ask questions, show options, sketch ideas and research products culminating in the creation of a master plan and an accompanying cost analysis for your project. The designer will always seek to balance cost with benefit to achieve the highest value for your investment. Throughout this creative process we listen carefully to your comments and work in partnership with you to yield a direct expression of your vision.
Design Development
There can be no blind leap from an idea to a high quality, finished product. Once the conceptual design and budget are agreed upon, we address structural and engineering concerns and explore the design in detail. For example, a proposed brick terrace will require a paving pattern and a plan for proper drainage; the precise placement of a driveway may need to relate to existing underground utilities; or, the posts of a new pergola may need to align with the structural supports of an existing deck. Detailed plans are critical at this point to verify and refine the design, enable accurate pricing, and ultimately reduce costly field changes during construction.
This final design stage before construction is the production of working drawings. These drawings clearly and logically spell out every detail. Their focus is on precision and the clarity needed to communicate our intentions to builders, field managers and installation crews. The drawings not only determine the costs of construction, but also guarantee the seamless progression of the project to its completion.
Construction
Like the master builders of old who were architects as well as craftsmen, the design/build process reunites these two disciplines. In landscape development, the involvement of the designer/architect in the building process is critical because of the uniqueness of every site. Opportunities present themselves as a project unfolds allowing us to take advantage of unforeseen possibilities. The presence of the designer’s eye during construction allows us to create a landscape beyond the ordinary.
Other more tangible benefits from the collaboration of designers and builders arise from a single company taking complete responsibility for the project from beginning to end. The construction manager’s daily presence assures consistent quality. The efficiencies of design/build frequently reduce the overall cost of a project. A rapid transition from design to construction is possible. In all, our design/build process yields exceptional quality and greater likelihood of producing the project on budget and on time.