How we work

Good design. Fewer unknowns.

We help you see what’s possible, shape the design with us, and work through the details before construction starts. Plans, 3D models and live design sessions make the decisions clearer, from the first idea to the drawings your builder uses.

01See what you’re deciding
02Find a better way to use the space
03Know where things stand

01 · See what you’re deciding

Your project, phase by phase.

Five phases: what changes in each, the decisions that are yours, and what you receive. For a house, every drawing here comes from the same project in Glen Mills.

Your projectRenovationNew homeMultifamilyCommercial

Our work
Your decision
City or township
Others

ProposalScope, fee, payment schedule and timeline, on paper before any work starts.

Phase 01 of 05 · Get started

Proposal and kickoff

The scope, fee and timeline, in writing. Once you sign, your team and your portal are set up.

Your decision

Sign the proposal and pay the retainer.

You receive

The proposal to review and sign online, then your team and first invoice in your portal.

ProposalLevel Nine
We set out the scope, the fee, the payment schedule and the timeline.
SignYou
Review it, ask anything, and sign online.
KickoffLevel Nine
Your portal is set up with your team, the schedule and the first invoice.
Within about one business day of signing

The 3D scan of the original house seen from above, every room as it was captured — 3D scanA house as we scanned it, before design: every room captured. Glen Mills, 2022.

Rendering of the proposed building at the end of a brownstone-toned row: the nearest building, its long side wall running back beside an open lot — 3D scanA house as we scanned it, before design: every room captured. Glen Mills, 2022.

Phase 02 of 05 · Understand

The building as it is

The site

What the site can hold

The space and the use

We measure and laser-scan the house, then turn the scan into a 3D model and existing-conditions plans, so the design starts from the real building.

We start with the lot: how it sits, what surrounds it and what its survey shows.

Before a full design: what the zoning district allows, how many units fit and the approvals ahead.

Whether the use is allowed there and whether a Certificate of Occupancy will be needed, then the space as it stands.

Your decision

Choose the direction before committing to a full design.

Your decision

Ideally, ask us before you sign a lease.

You receive

Existing-conditions drawings, in your portal.

You receive

The study, and the approvals it points to.

Building surveyLevel Nine
We measure, laser-scan and photograph the spaces in the work. It documents the building, not the property lines.
About 45 minutes on site for most houses
Existing-conditions modelLevel Nine
The scan becomes an accurate 3D model and plans, the starting point for the design.
Usually within about a week of the survey
Site visitLevel Nine
We walk the lot and its surroundings.
Property surveyOthers
A land surveyor you hire, when a property survey is needed. It often is.
FeasibilityLevel Nine
Zoning, unit count, layouts and the approvals ahead, tested before a full design.
Existing building surveyLevel Nine
When there is a building, we survey and scan it, then model it as it stands.
Use and zoning checkLevel Nine
Whether the use is allowed, and whether the change needs a Certificate of Occupancy.
Existing conditionsLevel Nine
We document the space on site; larger spaces take a longer visit.

Getting ready for the survey

The updated concept plan, October 2022: the dining room moved to the front room beside a gas fireplace, an eat-in kitchen and coffee bar in the back corner, and a larger living room with built-in cabinets — Concept planThe Glen Mills concept plan, revised with the owners. October 2022.

First-floor plan from the concept package: eight apartments on a central corridor, a stair at each end, the lobby and elevator at the entrance — Concept planThe Glen Mills concept plan, revised with the owners. October 2022.

Phase 03 of 05 · Design

Concept design

Floor plans and 3D views you shape with us, on the drawings or live in a Virtual Drafting Session.

Layouts, massing and 3D views, explored with you before one direction is developed.

Unit layouts, stairs, exits and massing, tested against the code.

A layout planned around customers, staff and how the place runs, and the front people see.

Your decision

Approve a direction before we develop the technical drawings.

You receive

The drawings in your portal: comment on them, book a session, approve.

ConceptLevel Nine
Your proposal sets the number of revision rounds — usually two.
Usually about 3 weeks from the survey
Concept and optionsLevel Nine
Your proposal sets the number of revision rounds — usually two.
ConceptLevel Nine
Layouts and massing for the building, with the code questions flagged early.
Approve a directionYou
In the portal, or in a session with us.
Zoning, when neededOthers
We prepare the zoning drawings; your zoning attorney handles the appeal and the hearing, and the Board decides.
Philadelphia: often 4 to 5 months to the hearing, in our experience

Zoning drawings, when the design needs relief. For your zoning attorney, who handles the appeal and the hearing. In Philadelphia it is often about four to five months from filing to the hearing, in our experience, and the decision rests with the Board.

A long section through the house: the new basement under one end, the old crawlspace under the other — Permit drawingsA section from the Glen Mills permit set: foundation, floors and roof in one cut. 2023.

Phase 04 of 05 · Document

Permit drawings and review

The full technical set, coordinated with the engineers your proposal includes. On most projects, a second architect reviews the drawings before they are issued.

The full technical set, with MEP engineering when the systems change and accessibility worked in from the start. On most projects, a second architect reviews the drawings before they are issued.

Your decision

Confirm the layout and scope reflect your decisions.

You receive

The current set in your portal, with earlier issues kept.

Permit drawingsLevel Nine
Plans, sections and details, coordinated with a structural engineer when the work needs one.
Usually about 3 weeks after concept approval
Permit drawingsLevel Nine
Coordinated with structural and, when needed, MEP and civil engineers.
Often about 4 weeks after concept approval
Permit setLevel Nine
Coordinated with the structural, MEP and civil engineers the building needs.
Permit setLevel Nine
Coordinated with MEP engineers when the systems change.
Sealed drawingsLevel Nine
We issue the sealed drawings. Your contractor, expediter or you submit the permit application. In Philadelphia we often recommend Permit Philly.
Sealed drawingsLevel Nine
We issue the sealed drawings. Your contractor, expediter or you submit the permit application, with a Certificate of Occupancy application when the use changes.
Permit reviewCity or township
The City or township reviews the drawings and issues the permit. We answer the reviewer’s comments, usually within a few business days; each round adds time.
Set by the City or township, not by us

A pricing set, when it helps. Drawings detailed enough for contractors to price before the permit set is finished, so the numbers can still shape the design.

The front gables in framing, sheathed: the steep porch gable with its round-top window, the taller gable behind it, trees beyond — ConstructionThe Glen Mills house’s front gables in framing, 2023. Finished in 2024.

The corner building: a light masonry base under gray and warm wood-toned panels — ConstructionThe Glen Mills house’s front gables in framing, 2023. Finished in 2024.

Phase 05 of 05 · Build

Construction

Your contractor builds, and the City or township inspects the work.

ConstructionYour contractor
Your contractor builds from the permit drawings.
InspectionsCity or township
The City or township inspects the work as it goes.

Construction-phase services, when your proposal includes them. Site visits at key points, answering the contractor’s questions, and reviewing shop drawings and product submittals.

Typical timings. Your signed proposal sets the schedule for your project, and your portal shows the next date we’re working toward.

02 · Find a better way to use the space

See how your project takes shape.

One house in Glen Mills, from the 2022 scan to the finished home in 2024. About a minute.

A simple model of the old house drawn from its plans: the walls of the first floor over the foundation, the wing over the crawlspace in gold

Before3D scanTracing the wallsExisting planExisting plan and model

01 · Record

Start with what’s there.

We measure, photograph and scan the spaces involved in the work, then build a model we can design from.

From the scan, we build a model and drawings of the house as it stands.

On a new house, we start with the site and the survey information available.

Studies based on the client’s references

1Steep gables

2Round-top windows

3Stone against white walls

The front elevation from the permit set: two steep gables with round-top windows, a stone gable between them over the arched front door, and the arched porch

123

The same model with the old house faded out: only the block walls of the crawlspace, in gold, stay

The new house's first-floor walls laid out on the new foundation and the kept block walls, with the rooms named: the primary suite over the old crawlspace

Primary suiteLivingBreakfast nookKitchenFoyerDiningPorchKept: block walls

The first-floor plan from the permit set: the porch and dining room at the front, the kitchen and breakfast nook behind them, the living room at the back and the primary suite to one side

DiningPorch

The permit set's 3D view of the house, faces only: the steep front gables, the roofs and the porch

The same 3D view with its windows, doors and trim: arched porch openings, round-top windows in the gables, the front door

The same 3D view with its materials: shingle roofs, a stone gable and base, stucco walls

A rendering of the design at dusk: white gables over a stone base, the windows lit, among the trees

Front elevationIllustrative studyPlan3D modelRendering

02 · Explore

Try the possibilities.

We start with what you’re drawn to, then develop those ideas around your home and the way you live.

See the materials, proportions and light before they’re built.

The first concept plan, September 2022: an office at the front, the dining room at the back by the fireplace, the kitchen in the middle and the primary suite to one side

DiningEat-in kitchenLiving

Illustration

Kitchen and living area in November 2022: the range in the island, the sink on the back counter

Kitchen and living area in March 2023: the sink and dishwashers in the island, the range on the back wall

RangeSink · DW

The questionWhere should the range and the sink go?

The kitchen island and its stools, with the arched front doors in view beyond

RangeSink

First concept · Sept 2022Revised · Oct 2022Kitchen · Nov 2022Kitchen · Mar 2023Finished · 2024

03 · Refine

Work through it together.

Meet with an architect, ask questions, and explore changes live in the drawings and model.

In the finished kitchen: the range on the back wall, the sink in the island.

Virtual Drafting Sessions run about an hour, are included in your design fee and are booked from your portal.

The basement plan: the new poured foundation and, to one side, the old block walls of the crawlspace, kept

Old block walls, keptNew basement

New basementOld crawlspace

A cutaway view from the permit set's model: two floors under steep gables over the deep new basement and the shallow old crawlspace

NewKept

The wall section at the old block wall: the new floor framing sits on the existing concrete block, drained and waterproofed at the footing

Existing block wallNew wall and floor

The structural engineer’s foundation plan: the new basement and crawlspaces, and the existing block foundation wall re-used and raised

The foundation from a drone before framing: the old concrete-block walls at the back, new poured walls and slabs in front

Old block wallsNew poured walls

Steep gableRound-top window

Inside the framed first floor: a wide window opening and a door to the yard on one wall, two windows on the next, trees beyond

The finished house through autumn leaves: two white gables with arched windows, the arched porch and front doors, and a fieldstone wing, behind a split-rail fence

Living room around a stone fireplace, the dining area and windows beyond

Permit drawingsConstruction · 2023Finished · 2024

04 · Document

Make the design buildable.

We work through how the pieces fit together, with the engineers the project needs.

Inside: the living room the October revision enlarged, around its stone fireplace.

Permit review follows: your contractor, an expediter or you file the set, and we answer the reviewer’s comments. Construction-phase services are available when your proposal includes them.

03 · Know where things stand

Your project, in one place.

The current drawings, your comments and approvals, messages with your team and the next date we’re working toward, between meetings.

More about the client portal

Sample rowhouseRear addition · Philadelphia

Project info

Overview

Proposal
Site survey
Model
Concept
Permit drawings
Sealed set

Now

Concept design

Next date we’re working toward: permit drawings, about 3 weeks after you approve

Waiting on you

Review the concept

Project architectDraws your project

Reviewing architectReviews the drawings on most projects

Book a call, a site meeting or a Virtual Drafting Session from the Schedule page.

Drawings

Concept — Set 1 Waiting on you

6 sheets · issued this week

“Could the kitchen island turn 90°?” — your comment on A-101

Existing conditions

4 sheets · issued two weeks ago

Your contractor can have view-only access: always the latest set, never the fees.

Messages

Could we fit a powder room under the stair?You · 9:12 am

We’ll check the headroom and layout and show you an option in the next review.Your project architect · 10:40 am

Great. We’d like to see that.You · 10:52 am

Everyone on your side sees the same thread, and each reply is emailed to you too.

Payments

Your proposalSigned online

Signed

RetainerInvoice 1 of 3

Paid

Concept approvalInvoice 2 of 3 · comes once the concept is approved

Upcoming

Only people with full access — usually the owner — see the proposal and invoices, with a link to pay online.

This is a demonstration. You can try the controls without sending messages or making changes to a real project.

What the design fee pays for.

Design decisions affect what you build, what it costs and how smoothly the work moves forward. We put time into understanding the property, testing the design and coordinating the drawings while changes are still on paper.

What the fee covers, and what it doesn’t

UnderstandA design that starts from the building as it really is.
ExploreOptions you can see and compare before you decide.
CoordinateOur drawings and the engineers’, checked against each other.
DocumentA clear set for the City and your builder.

Next step

Tell us about your project.

A few lines about the property and what you have in mind are enough to start. We’ll talk it through and send a proposal.

Start a project

Send a message or call (215) 259-8332

Wondering what the design work might cost?

Tell us about the property and the work you have in mind. For eligible projects, we’ll email a preliminary architectural fee range. A project-specific proposal follows our review of the scope.

Get a ballpark design fee

The design fee only, not the cost of construction.