This is an example of why we get professional surveys. We sketched a pool that encroached on some rock outcroppings on the slope, not readily visible from the house. The survey also gave us the exact slope, useful for calculating retaining wall heights, steps, terracing…
This was supposed to be four equal sized images, since no concept is more important than another until it’s chosen. The computer thought otherwise, alas.
Creating options…
Our original consult worked well enough, and just needed some adjustments to the pool. The slope, on the other hand, was less uniform that it looked as we peered off the top.
The slope was actually an opportunity to create more interesting terraces – or decks – or levels to either soften the transition from flat to slope or accentuate it.
All the options have basically the same features, although some functions take place in different areas of the landscape.
There’s a vegetable garden, pollinator garden and a vineyard. There’s lots of space for outdoor living and entertainment.
The ADU is something everyone seems to be building, and will need to be drawn up by an engineer or architect. It’s a whole different animal, with energy calculations and structural engineering.
A new workflow
The drawings were done to scale on iPads, using the surveyor’s CAD file as a base. This is great for quick concept development, but not so much for adding formatted text and creating multi-page documents.
We linked our iPads to the network, where we store the images. We can work anywhere, even in the garden! They’re then placed into desktop publishing files, where text can be styled, refined and formatted precisely. The files can also be reformatted for different page sizes, from 24″ x 36″ to letter for easy communication via e-mail as pdfs.