Architecture begins with use

Ask who, then what

Who will arrive, who will stay, who will clean, serve, maintain and visit? What does each of them need at the hour they need it most? These questions are simple, and they are often skipped.

Draw the day

Before drawing walls we draw a day: how a person enters, finds their way, gathers, rests and leaves, and how supplies and services move behind them. The plan, the structure and the systems then have something real to answer to.

Who will arrive, who will stay, who will clean, serve, maintain and visit?

Let the form follow

When the use is clear, the form can be bold without being arbitrary. It is shaped by light, climate, structure and the way the building is made, and people can read it, because it was drawn for them.

Test it by walking

We walk the design, on the plan, in the model and on the site, as the people who will use it. What we find changes the design. That is why the steps repeat.

Read more about our approach, or start a project.