Why we draw every house by hand first

Every project starts the same way: a roll of tracing paper, a soft pencil and a section through the site. Not a plan, a section. It shows where the ground falls, where the sun comes from and how high the roof can go before the neighbour loses their view.

What a section settles

Ceiling heights, the depth of the roof overhang, whether the kitchen sees the garden or the fence. These are the decisions clients feel every day, and they are easier to see in one cut than in ten floor plans.

Only when the section works do we move to the computer. By then the house has a shape that can be argued with, and changed, quickly.