approach.
A home is unique, a place like no other.
At Longhouse Design Studio, we encourage our clients to be active participants in the design of their homes. We listen to your thoughts, priorities, and dreams, and collaborate in the design of a meaningful space for you and your family.
Our approach centers around creating a home that is a reflection of you - tailored specifically for you, your property, and your budget. We are dedicated to helping our clients get the best possible home for their investment. We will look beyond your immediate requirements and ensure that your home is flexible enough to adapt to your changing needs. We also consider the life-cycle costs of owning and operating your home. A well-planned building will provide the owner long-term savings in maintenance costs, operational costs, and functional efficiency.
Our design approach is characterized by:
A three-phase process
Our three-phase design process and fee structure allows us to work together to maximize the value of your investment. The design process begins with an initial meeting either on the site or in the office at no cost. From there, our design phases include: Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction Documents & Construction Administration.
Sustainability as an inherent part of our thinking.
We believe the most sustainable home is first and foremost a well-designed home. Sustainable design promotes positive environmental decisions. Careful and sensitive planning can eliminate the negative impacts associated with conventional residential construction, and add lifetime value to your home.
Experience in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
From as far north as British Columbia to as far south as the Bay Area, our 15+ years of site-specific design experience in the PNW have given us a comprehensive understanding of all the climatic and geographic factors that dramatically affect a home’s performance in our region.
Experience with a variety of project types.
Rather than rigidly advocating for a particular architectural style or whim, we let the design of each project evolve from the evaluation of your site, your programmatic and spatial needs, and your lifestyle. We often refer to the surrounding context of the neighborhood, site or area context when considering building scale, proportions, massing forms, and materials. We design everything from new custom homes to additions, renovations and accessory dwelling units.
Site-specific design.
We believe a home’s design should develop from an appreciation for and understanding of its site and surrounding context. Because of this, we design homes that are tailored to fit the homeowner and their site. This means orienting the home to maximize sun exposure, natural light and ventilation, and views, while taking advantage of any natural features.
Contact us today to set up a meeting to discuss your project.
our process.
Whether your project involves new construction and site development or renovating an existing home, Longhouse Design Studio looks forward to providing design services. We offer our clients three phases of design services.
Each phase is structured to provide a specific level of design services. They are sequential, each building upon the last, providing a specific level of information for particular use and purpose.
We offer an initial client meeting in person or virtually at no cost, and invite you to contact us to arrange a time to meet and discuss your goals for your home, your site, and to review our design services. We bill hourly for our design services. Our total fees traditionally range from 5%-10% of overall construction costs.
Our three-phase approach is laid out below:
schematic design
It all begins with a concept. In this first phase, we work with you to develop a broad-brush design concept and understanding. With your input, we learn about your lifestyle, interests, and the goals for your home. We will meet with you on site and assess site context, applicable code requirements, climatic features, and design aesthetic. At the completion of this phase we provide a series of Concept Drawings and images describing the overall design vision.
design development
Building upon the information developed in the first phase of service, we continue to work with our clients to refine the design. You will be afforded the opportunity to make informed decisions concerning the home’s relationship to the site, building size, complexity, massing, spaces, amenities, materials, budgetary goals and permitting requirements. When appropriate, we assist in the evaluation and selection of a General Contractor. As the design advances we issue a progress set of Pricing Documents suitable for building permitting, and general budgeting of the project by qualified GC’s.
construction documents
This phase of our services includes refinement and documentation of the interior architecture and Construction Administration. We work with you to build upon the information defined in Phases 1 & 2, and develop a set of documents that define the interior architecture, architectural details, and define material finish and fixture selections. During the construction of your home we provide Construction Administration services that include regular site visits, field reports, and SK drawings.