At RYA, we approach every project with a blank slate. We prefer to use the creative process as a vehicle for exploration, rather than arrive at a project with preconceived notions. Approaching each client with humility, we listen, get to know you, learn about your goals, and acquire a feel for the potential and limitations of the site. Listening quickly evolves into conversation, prompting questions, then research. As ideas begin to surface, iteration begins. At this stage, ideas are not good or bad, right or wrong, but a way to understand the problem. The design process is like a funnel: At first, options are limitless, but as decisions are made and priorities are set, the design begins to come into focus. Eventually, from a limitless range of possibilities, one totally unique project is built.

Our job is to shepherd our clients, ensuring the best decisions are made, every step of the way. To do that, we distill ideas and solutions, rendering them in the context of your goals and overall design vision.

As we begin to peel away at the layers, the process becomes a search for the essential. What essential building blocks will make a qualitative difference in attaining your goals for the project? What essential elements will maximize its functional use, beauty, and enjoyment? What essential limitations cannot be ignored? Never losing sight of these questions, essentiality becomes the litmus test at every stage and scale of the process.

Our method can be understood through the following three phases: ︎Predesign / Concept Phase; ︎Basic Architectural Services; ︎Integration of Interior & Landscape Design.