First, before we get into a journey through a specific project, we need to set the stage, so to speak.  In general, a High-End Custom Residence can be one of the most complex project types.  Arguably more difficult than generic Office Buildings, Bank buildings, even smaller single or multiple professional medical offices, churches, retail and some restaurants. Keep in mind, however, that complexity can refer to both the project type and the nature of a client.  When we deal with “committee clients” such as Boards of Directors, Planning Committees for larger organizations, etc., it means that our client is more than one or two people.  This can substantially create additional effort through a project because of the multiple decision makers and varying goals or objectives between each involved person on the committee.

So, for the purposes of this journey, we will set the stage with a husband and wife looking to build their dream home.  They are looking at several properties and have retained us to assist them with property selection as part of our pre-design services.  Prior to that however, it is critical that we understand their Program Requirements so after our first initial meeting, we sign our Owner-Architect Agreement and begin with our interview process.  Among many other details we learn about them, we have a good basic feel for their goals and believe they will need around 5,000 to 5,500 Square Feet to accomplish them.  They prefer a “transitional” design style, and will occupy the home as a permanent residence. They also want a pool and some developed outdoor living space. He likes to collect a few cars and she requires a studio for her Painting hobby. They have two grown children who live out of town and want to accommodate the entire family in their home during family visits. These major elements give us enough to consider as we begin our property analysis.

We plan to visit three properties in one day for efficiency and set up our first site visit…