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Why We Stand in Your Garden Before We Draw Anything
The first visit to a site has no camera, no tape measure and no agenda. Here’s what we’re doing instead.
By
Noah Reynolds
Our first site visit has no camera, no tape measure and no agenda. Just a cup of tea and a lot of standing still.
A survey shows boundaries and levels. It can’t show where the wind funnels, when the sun clears the ridge, or which corner the family will drift to on a Sunday.
Walking the site
We walk the boundary, the street and the neighbours’ edges. We stand where the living room and bed will be, and turn slowly in every direction.
Reading the old house
Existing buildings tell stories in their joins: a change in floor level, a filled-in window. They show where change will be easy, and where it will push back.
Your ordinary Tuesday
We ask about routines rather than dream houses. Where do the shoes go? Who’s up first? Those answers shape the plan more than any style.
What we leave with
A few notes, rough sketches and a list of questions. That restraint is deliberate. Designs drawn after the site has been felt tend to belong to it.
It’s a modest exercise, and the one we’d never skip.
