Notes on design, approval and building.

Planning and building approval can read as a tangle of stages, referrals and conditions. A clearer read of what each stage asks for — and what it doesn't — makes the whole thing less daunting.

A concept drawing sets a direction. A construction drawing tells someone how to build. Confusing the two is where surprises and rework begin — here's how to tell them apart.

Before walls move, a handful of questions can save you from expensive discoveries later: what works now, what can't be seen, and what the change should actually make better.

Collaborations with university researchers have shaped how we think about housing, evidence and the gap between a good idea and a buildable one.