Most expensive missteps in custom projects happen before the first drawing. A parcel bought before anyone confirmed it could be built on. A scope that doubles mid-design because it was never pinned down. A budget set against a vision the project can't support. By the time these problems surface in design, or worse, in permitting, the options for fixing them are narrow and costly.
Discovery exists to settle those questions while they are still inexpensive. It is an optional pre-design phase that stands entirely apart from a full design contract and therefore full design fee. There is no set scope of work. Some Discoveries define the project itself: the program, the priorities, the budget. Others test a specific property. Most do some of each. Every one is built around the same question: What is this project, and what will it take to build it?
What Happens During Discovery
Discovery runs along two threads, each weighted differently for every client.
The first thread is the project. What are you building, for whom, and how will it be used? We work through program, priorities, phasing, and budget until the scope is defined clearly enough to act on. For some clients this is the entire engagement. They arrive with property already in hand and a vision that needs structure before it needs drawings.
The second thread is the place. We study the physical realities: topography, orientation, climate, drainage, vegetation, views. These are working facts. The sun's path determines where glass wants to be. The slope determines foundation strategy, and foundation strategy moves budgets more than almost any finish decision you will ever make. This can also be helpful for evaluating a potential property prior to sale or purchase.
We can also work the regulatory layer: zoning, allowable uses, setbacks, height limits, easements, and access. We might develop a conceptual site plan early because a drawing is the tool that gets straight answers. With a site plan in hand, we can engage county planners and utility providers directly and confirm what is possible in writing, rather than relying on a listing description or a neighbor's recollection.
A recent case: a client engaged us to explore land use and entitlement constraints for a 15-unit micro-resort development in the western Sierra, in the foothills below Sequoia National Park. Discovery revealed that the parcel carried an overlay zone, a set of foothill development rules layered over its base zoning to manage building on sloped and resource-sensitive terrain. Under those rules, the resort would qualify as a special use, which meant the project would require a use permit before construction, and behind that permit a sequence of supporting studies: water supply, slope and grading, drainage, and fire protection. The client had already purchased the property, so the finding couldn't inform the deal. What it changed was everything after. The entitlement path, timeline, and budget were understood before a single design dollar was spent, and the project could be planned around the permit process rather than be derailed by it mid-design.
What You Receive
Discovery concludes with a Discovery Report, shaped to the engagement. Depending on the scope, it can include a defined program and budget framework, a site analysis and constraints map, a zoning and entitlement summary, a conceptual site plan, and a candid assessment of opportunities, risks, and probable next steps. It is a document you can take to a lender, a broker, or a builder. It is yours whether or not you continue with us.
What We Need From You
Discovery moves fastest when baseline information is already in hand. If the work is about defining the project, the most useful things you can bring are your goals: program ideas, precedents you admire, must-haves, and a working budget range. If a property is involved, any of the following help:
- Topographic or boundary survey
- Title report (easements and access rights live here)
- Geotechnical or soils reports
- Well, septic, or utility records
- Any prior permits, plans, or correspondence with the county
Missing pieces don't stop the work. Identifying which of these you need is itself part of the deliverable and having them early can help inform the process.
Why Start This Way
Discovery is intentionally low-commitment and entirely optional. Because it sits outside a full design contract, you're never paying for more architecture than your decision requires. The work is scoped and priced around the questions you need answered, on a short timeline typically 3-6 weeks depending on scope complexity and how much survey data exists. You end the phase knowing what your project is, what your property will allow before you have committed to anything larger.
Whether you are weighing a property or shaping a project, Discovery is where the right decisions get made early. Start a Discovery conversation.