Consider the notion that each client, each site and each project is remarkably unique. Our process is a controlled chaos of sorts – we make a big mess as we brainstorm, question, sketch, model, discuss – and out of this evolves a unique order and approach to each project. Thus our process is not a set of static steps, not a procedure easily documented, but rather an organic evolution of one thought-action to the next.

We visualize this evolution not as a linear event, but rather as a spiral that begins in the field of infinite possibility and arrives at a specific architectural proposal. As we traverse this spiral, we make repetitive passes through each of the different representations of, and influences on, the project – massing, plan, section, elevation, idea, product, function, detail, and meaning.

If there is an identifiable consistency in the way we work, it lies in two areas – our belief in collective exploration and our tools of choice. Our Studio is founded on our experience of the power of the collective. We find we get further faster when we discuss together, compare together, draw together, and generally approach design as a group activity. With regard to our tools, we are great believers in the multi-dimensionality of architecture. We work full time in 3D, constructing physical study models, reviewing virtual models, and closing projects out with physical presentation models. The prized possessions in our toolbox are 12″ rolls of tracing paper, Sharpie markers, chipboard, basswood, and corrugated cardboard; and on the software side, Google Earth, Rhino, Lumion and Autodesk Revit.