Home/Process
Six phases, one accountable team
Every project we take runs through the same sequence. The phases overlap and the durations move, but the order does not, because each phase pays for the one after it.
Discovery & Due Diligence
1-3 weeks
We start with the record: deeds, prior surveys, title commitments, zoning ordinances, wetlands and floodplain mapping, utility records. The output is a written feasibility memo that says plainly what the site will and will not support.
- Zoning and use analysis
- Title and easement review
- Constraints map
- Order-of-magnitude budget
Survey & Site Intelligence
2-4 weeks
Our own crews establish boundary, topography and existing conditions. Where the site warrants it we add drone photogrammetry or terrestrial laser scanning, so design begins on a survey we can stand behind.
- Boundary and topographic survey
- ALTA/NSPS land title survey
- Existing conditions point cloud
- Base drawing for design
Concept & Feasibility
3-6 weeks
Two or three real options, tested against the constraints map and priced. We would rather kill a bad scheme in week four than defend it in month nine.
- Test fits and massing options
- Yield and parking studies
- Comparative cost model
- Recommended direction
Design & Engineering
8-20 weeks
Schematic design through construction documents, with civil, structural and MEP coordination running in parallel rather than in sequence. One model, one set, one team accountable for it.
- Schematic and design development sets
- Site, grading and utility plans
- Structural design
- Permit-ready construction documents
Permitting & Approvals
Varies by jurisdiction
We present at planning boards, zoning hearings and technical review meetings ourselves. Having the surveyor and the engineer of record in the room shortens the review cycle more than any other single thing we do.
- Land development applications
- Variance and special exception filings
- Agency and utility coordination
- Board presentations and testimony
Construction Support
Through close-out
Construction stakeout, submittal and RFI review, site observation reports, and the as-built and record surveys that close the permit and satisfy the lender.
- Construction stakeout
- Site observation reports
- Submittal and RFI review
- As-built and record surveys
Why it is ordered this way
Cheap questions first
A boundary problem found during due diligence costs a phone call. The same problem found during construction costs a change order, a delay and, often, a lawyer. Sequence is the least glamorous risk control there is, and the most reliable.
Architecture
Programming through construction administration for commercial, multifamily, municipal and institutional work, plus a selective custom residential practice.
Engineering
Site and utility design, stormwater management, structural systems, traffic and circulation studies, and the permit packages that get them approved.
Surveying
ALTA/NSPS land title surveys, boundary and topographic work, construction stakeout, 3D laser scanning and drone photogrammetry, performed by licensed professional surveyors.