At this stage, our directors Tim and Ana work together with you to examine the brief in closer detail and identify site opportunities and constraints.

We want to start learning more about how you wish to live, work and play in the building and on the site. This will help us ensure any design we develop is a bespoke fit to you.

We will work with you to tease out a design brief that covers practical layout requirements and connections to the site and surroundings. We’ll help you balance these aspects against the budgetary constraints – we will be looking to develop a holistic view of the project.

There are a few steps involved in this stage:

• A good starting point is for you to write us a brief of both your practical requirements and aspirations for the project.

• It is generally also necessary to get an accurate measure of any existing building and/or the site, including surveying levels and boundaries, making drawings and taking photos. We can help engage and brief a land surveyor to provide the site information and we will measure any existing buildings both inside and out. Once we have your brief and the existing building and site measurements, we will undertake an in-depth analysis of the site, looking closely at how sunlight moves across it throughout the year, wind and views, levels, relationship with neighbouring sites and available utilities and services.

• We will review the local authority building regulations, including district plan rules and heritage and design guide compliance requirements for the site and highlight any resource consent issues.

• We will then begin looking at design options, with sketches and 3D modelling of bulk and location options matched to the site information we gathered.