Residential Design:

For over thirty years, Bisnett Design Associates has been designing fine landscapes from Monterey Bay to the shores of Lake Tahoe. We consider good design a three-way collaborative process, bringing together the unique qualities of the site, the distinctive personalities and lifestyles of our clients, and our own perceptions and instincts as designers to create design solutions that are creative, unique and satisfying. Our typical residential design process involves several steps, including:

• Thorough site inventory and base map preparation: Good design absolutely depends on thorough mapping of the site, which accurately captures and represents the three-dimensional essence of a site, including buildings, roadways, trees, and topography, in two-dimensional paper space. The site inventory should also identify and quantify the challenges, such as steep terrain or unattractive views, and the possibilities, such as appealing views, level areas, or significant site features, of the site.
• Preparation of alternative conceptual sketches: As we’ve said before, good design is not brought down from the mountain by the landscape architect chiseled in granite. It is the product of the collaborative process between landscape architect and client, through consideration of alternative design approaches intended to explore and narrow down the breadth of possible design solutions.
• Preparation of construction documents: Without construction documents the final landscape product will most likely reflect the decisions of the contractors and laborers as much as those of the client or designer. Accurate and thorough construction documents are the key to not only ensuring the finished product is built as intended, but to obtaining hard, competitive, and reliable construction costs from contractors.
• Project management: Landscape design, even more so than architecture, is a fluid and ongoing process, continuing beyond plan preparation through construction and into the maintenance of a project. With decades of construction experience, we are able to manage projects through construction and beyond, to ensure that the design concept is followed and continues to evolve throughout.