The first site walk sets the project. A note on what we look for in the first hour on a new site, and why we walk it twice before drawing anything.
This is a working note, not a finished essay. It collects the points we keep returning to in the studio when the topic comes up. We publish it so clients can read how we think about the work, and so other studios can disagree with us in writing.
Why it matters
The decisions that shape a building are made in the first few weeks. A note like this one is a record of the principles that guide those decisions, written down so they can be tested against the next project rather than reinvented each time.
The best projects come from a brief that is argued over, not one that is signed off in the first meeting.
We revisit these notes before each new project starts. The note is short on purpose: if it grows past a page, it stops being a working record and starts being a manifesto, which is a different thing.
What we do with it
Each note is reviewed by the lead designer on the next project in the same category. If the note does not hold up against the new project, it gets rewritten. If it does hold up, it stays as it is. Either way, the note is the one we point to when the same question comes up again.