Live beyond walls.

Your land is an extension of your home and should be an extension of your personality and values. Beyond the walls that shelter you are outdoor spaces that should reinvigorate you. Whether you enjoy gardening, playing with your family and friends, entertaining or simply relaxing, let Plandesign help you define a vision for your land that embraces your lifestyle and extends your living beyond walls.

Our site design studio specializes in helping homeowners plan outdoor spaces that balance what you want—beauty, individuality, sustainability, room to play, room to grow—with what you need—access, safety, security, proper grading and drainage. Whether you intend to build on your own or hire others, build a new home or renovate your existing land, all at once or in phases, Plandesign will provide the plans, sketches and specifications you need to define your vision and transform it into reality.

What do you envision? Contact Andy Albright, owner and licensed landscape architect, today to learn how Plandesign can help you.

What to expect when you work with Plandesign

No matter what the scope of your project, the planning and design process will include site analysis to learn your land’s story, a discovery session to learn your story, conceptualization to explore ideas and options, and plan refinement to define the final vision. The next step takes either your entire site plan or a first phase of your plan to a level of detail that is ready to build. If you plan to hire contractors to implement your project, Plandesign will also provide assistance throughout the bidding and construction process to help ensure the final built project meets your expectations.

Below is a description of the process we may take together during a typical project, from planning through design and construction. Of course, every project is unique and Plandesign will customize the process according to your needs.

Site Research, Inventory and Analysis: Research and evaluate existing conditions.

During this part of the process Plandesign collects and reviews existing and historical data and reports that address your property’s cultural history, general topography and soils, adjacent land uses, development guidelines/ordinances and other pertinent issues. Plandesign will also review architectural drawings of your home and will conduct a site visit to investigate and document existing conditions such as site-specific topography and soils, storm water drainage, flora and fauna, critical views, utilities, sun and shade, safety and security.

To complete this part of the process Plandesign will compile this research into an Opportunities and Constraints Diagram that will act as a critical point of reference to check ideas against later in the planning process.

[Above: an example of a site opportunities and constraints diagram]

Discovery Session: Understand your goals, personalities and ideas about outdoor living.

Your home and property are a reflection of you. It makes sense then to start by sharing some of your own “big picture” goals and values. These broader concepts will help shape further discussion about setting priorities in regard to your property and will eventually act as the foundation for your final site plan. Examples of broad goals might be simply “be green/eco-friendly” or “relax” or “have fun.” After setting goals, we will focus closer on programming your site and creating objectives that support those goals. We begin this by taking a look at pragmatic issues (needs), such as circulating people and vehicles through the site, grading/drainage issues, and security concerns. Next, we have a little more fun and brainstorm on wish list items (desires), such as gardens, outdoor dining, and play space or easier maintenance, more controlled views/screening, and more/less shade.

Preliminary Plan Development: Present recommendations and alternatives for site improvements.

Conceptualization begins as a design workshop where we put our collective creativity to the test. Our objective will typically be to come up with at least 2 very loose diagrams of your site that differ fairly significantly in how they balance or prioritize the various goals and objectives we documented earlier.

Next, Plandesign will go back to the drawing board, literally, and flesh out these rough concepts into Preliminary Site Plan Alternatives. These loosely sketched plans, hand-drawn to scale, will establish the site direction, including the location and conceptual design of proposed features such as drives and paths, patios and terraces, outdoor kitchen and dining, fireplace/fire pit, retaining walls, water features, garden spaces, play space and others. Concept alternatives demonstrate how each configuration may alter the balance or prioritization of project goals and objectives. Plandesign will present these alternatives for your review, at which time one alternative or one hybrid of alternatives will be chosen to be refined.

[Above: two preliminary concepts for the same residence]

Master Plan Development: Refine an overall vision.

Based upon input from the preliminary plan process, a Master Plan will be developed to incorporate all proposed site improvements into a holistic vision that captures and communicates the spirit of your home. The Master Plan is not a construction-ready document but rather a road map to help guide your improvements. Key site features will be identified and described in a manner that serves as a clear starting point for detailed construction documentation or design-build work. Some features may be determined to be implemented as future phases.

[Above: two examples of final master plans for existing homes]

Design Development: Refine specific plan elements.

While the Master Plan phase of a project paints a picture with broad strokes, Design Development begins to sharpen the vision with greater detail. Specific plan elements may be explored in greater detail, often with variations as ideas further develop.

[Above: Burger Family Vacation Home, Three Lakes, WI. Boulders harvested on site are used to resolve grading issues and frame stone steps connecting the front of the home to the rear with a drop in elevation of 10 feet. The rear, lakeside of the home features a stone patio, fire pit area, hot tub and outdoor shower.]

[Above: Taggart Residence, Prairie du Sac, WI. 3-Dimensional renderings of the home were used to explore variations in fence, gate and pergola designs.]

Construction Documentation: Prepare final plans, details and specifications suitable for regulatory approval, bidding and construction.

Depending on the scope of proposed improvements, regulatory approval/permits may be required. Plandesign will prepare drawings and documentation required for the approval process and will coordinate with regulatory agencies.

Plandesign will typically develop a detailed Site Plan (to identify, locate, dimension and describe all site hardscape features) and Landscape Plan (to identify, locate and describe all planting materials). Where necessary, Plandesign will prepare additional plans, details, cross sections, elevation drawings, 3-dimensional illustrations, etc. to appropriately describe various site features.

[Above: Bergamini Residence, Madison, WI. Construction documentation for this project were kept relatively simple and allowed some flexibility during implementation as new ideas surfaced.]

[Above: Flynn Residence, Bloomington, IN. The set of construction drawings for this new home, prepared by Andy Albright for Context LLC, required a much greater level of detailing and coordination with the Architect.]

Implementation/Construction Observation: Provide assistance throughout the construction process to help ensure the implementation of the project meets the performance standards and design intent established by the Construction Documentation.

Plandesign will assist in the bid process and subsequently will facilitate a preconstruction meeting with you, the Contractor and Sub-Contractors and other parties as needed. During construction, Plandesign will perform the following services: review and approve, or take other appropriate action, regarding shop drawings, samples and other data that the Contractor is required to submit; conduct periodic observation of construction to determine conformity to the plans and specifications; prepare a final punch list, if necessary, and coordinate with the Contractor for completion of the project.

Design Visualization

Design Visualization is a critical part of every stage of the planning and design process. Visualization is a method of graphically or physically depicting a concept in a way that helps you, any other designers on a project, the contractors and others better understand design intent and the nuances of various outdoor spaces and features.

[Above: Bergamini Residence, Madison, WI. While much of the design process is performed at the drawing board, some ideas must be fleshed out in the field. On this project, the owner had found some new stone materials that he wanted to incorporate into the pizza oven and wanted to also explore some modifications to the oven design. The mason was already working on site, so there was no time to get back to him later. Here a simple sketch on whatever paper was available did the trick.]

[Above: Koster Residence, Madison, WI. During an initial visit with the homeowners, design visualization takes the form of hand-drawn sketches and even a rough layout with rope to test the general "feeling" of the space. Quick 3-dimensional studies were later used to refine design concepts. The final terrace, even with a few modifications during the construction process, holds true to the original design intent.]

[Above: The Flynn Residence, Bloomington, IN. Rainwater from this new home’s roof traverses a watercourse before dropping into a basin and being stored underground. The captured water is then available to be recirculated through the water feature or used for irrigating gardens. Various section and elevation drawings were used to communicate the concept both to the owner for approval and to the contractors for construction.]