How we work

Place + Making

Our design approach is rooted in the exchange between place and making: revealing and enhancing the essence of place through the act of making.

 

 
 

To enhance place is to collaborate, research, draw, model, and discover through making.

 
 
 

“Didier Design Studio has been extremely collaborative.

They have been responsive to input but also strong leaders with a commitment to quality. Their effort and commitment has been some of the best that I have experienced. I and our clients love Emmanuel’s sketches and hand drawings. They are evocative and beautiful! They are very helpful for both presentations as well as collaboration with the architecture team.”

- Andrew Herdeg, Lake | Flato Architects

 
 
 
 

Our design process invites discovery and creativity while allowing projects to be grounded in research and guided by our tested experience.

 
 
 
 

Projects are realized through dialog and iteration, drawing from our client’s knowledge and vision to give form to their ideas.

 
 
 
 

What our clients appreciate about our approach:

  • We do our homework.

    We don’t enter a project with a preconceived notion of the outcome. First we listen. We ground each project in careful research, providing insight into the multiple layers operating within a given site. Interpreting patterns inscribed through history, geology, hydrology, ecology, human occupation and more is critical to our design process. We frame this site-specific research within a consistent global perspective.

  • We align the vision with the land.

    We often work with clients and stakeholder groups who have a sense of what they want to achieve, but don’t know how to get there. Through listening and dialog we take many ideas into account to build a single, consolidated vision. We apply our research and site analysis to the input we gather from many voices and perspectives. Through this process, we discover how to give physical form to the ideas generated.

  • We stay engaged.

    We are passionate about our projects and stay engaged every step of the way. We work collaboratively and communicate well with a wide range of project team members from directors, donors, key staff, designers, and trade partners. Ultimately we love our projects for the opportunities they present to engage with people and communities, grow a collective vision, and further discover the complex and diverse world in which we live.