Frequently asked questions.

As early as you can, ideally before you buy land or soon after. An architect can look at a lot's orientation, access, slope and zoning before you commit, and help you set a realistic brief and budget. The earliest decisions have the most effect on cost and on how the house feels to live in.

You don't need drawings. It helps to have a sense of how you live now and what isn't working. Bring whatever you have on the site, like an address, a survey or photos. A few pictures of spaces you like and a rough budget range and timeline are useful too. The first meeting is about getting to know each other. Nobody has to decide anything.

We talk about your goals, your site or current house, your timing and your budget range. We explain how we'd approach a project like yours and what the next steps might be. There's no obligation. Whether or not you work with us, you should come away with a better sense of what your project involves.

For a simple, standard house a builder alone might be enough. For a home shaped around a particular site and way of living, an architect helps you explore options, coordinate engineers, get through permitting and protect the design during construction. The less standard the site or the brief, the more an architect adds.

Design and construction drawings for a custom home usually take several months and can take a year or more. It depends on the size and complexity of the house, how quickly decisions get made, input from engineers and local permit requirements. Construction is a separate phase with its own schedule, which you set with your builder.

We use four. Discover is about your goals, site and constraints. Design is where we explore and choose a concept. Refine covers details, materials and drawings. Realize covers permits, pricing and construction. Each phase ends with a decision before the next one starts.

Yes, and some change along the way is normal. Changes are easiest and cheapest early on. Later changes can affect drawings the engineers have already worked from, and once construction starts they can affect cost and schedule. We'll tell you plainly what a change will mean.

Architects usually prepare the drawings for the permit application and respond to reviewer comments. Requirements vary a lot from town to town, and some projects need specialist consultants. We figure out what's likely to be needed early so there are fewer surprises.

Because the budget shapes the design. Size, complexity, site conditions and finishes all drive construction cost. Knowing your range from the start means we can suggest ideas you can actually build. Otherwise you risk designing something you love and then having to cut it back. You can always pick "prefer not to say" at first.

There isn't one reliable number. Cost depends on location, site conditions, size, complexity, finishes and the market when you build. Local builders and cost estimators give the most dependable figures, and we recommend bringing them in at the right points during design.

Common approaches are a percentage of construction cost, a fixed fee for each phase, an hourly rate or some mix of these. The right one depends on how big and how defined the project is. Either way, fees and services should be written down in an agreement before work starts.

Yes. A site review covers orientation, access, slope, views, drainage, likely zoning limits and where a house might sit. It doesn't replace a survey, a soils report or legal due diligence, but it will tell you which questions to ask before you commit.

Yes. Renovations and additions are a big part of residential work. We start by understanding what works in your house and what doesn't, then look at options from small targeted changes up to larger additions. Older buildings can hold surprises, so we recommend keeping a contingency.

Yes. Choosing materials is part of the design work, from structure and siding to cabinetry, stone and hardware. We look at climate, upkeep, durability and how things age. Before anything is final we look at samples in the light they'll actually be seen in.

We start with the basics that apply to every project: orientation, shade, daylight, cross-ventilation, durable materials and not building bigger than you need. Beyond that the right strategies depend on climate, site and budget, and they're best worked out with an engineer or energy consultant.

No. Field & Form Architecture is a concept website made by Site Proper to show its work in branding, writing, UX, SEO and web development. The projects are fictional design studies and the consultation form is a demo that doesn't send anything.