Why We Start Every Project with a Site Study

Clients sometimes ask why we insist on walking the plot before discussing floor plans. The answer is simple: the site already knows what the building wants to be. Our job in the first week is to listen.

What a site study actually covers

Orientation and sun path across seasons. Prevailing wind direction for cross-ventilation. Soil bearing capacity and water table depth. Neighbouring building heights that will shade you — or be shaded by you. Access for construction traffic. And the by-laws: setbacks, coverage, height limits, the rules that quietly shape every plan.

The expensive mistakes it prevents

We have seen living rooms face west into the brutal evening sun, basements dug into water tables, and foundations designed for soil that wasn’t there. Each of those mistakes costs more than the entire design fee. The site study is the cheapest insurance in construction.

How we do it

One principal architect, one full day on site, a drone survey, and a written report with photographs, measurements and constraints mapped. It becomes the first page of the design file — and the last thing we check before issuing working drawings.