Visualizing Goals

At Context By Design, we take the phrase “plan your work, work your plan” seriously. A well-thought-out plan provides you with the flexibility to install the project within your timeframe and budget. Good project planning gives you the confidence to know what needs to be done first, so you don’t have to reconstruct something because “you didn’t think of that” earlier.

By helping clients visualize their goals in various planning projects, Maine Licensed Landscape Architect Steve Ribble has learned that all good plans have one thing in common. They all consider a comprehensive list of potential impacts, if any, before determining a design solution.

Project planning provides you with the value of knowing if something will affect your project early on. It allows you to avoid or address it through design or the permitting process. It gives you realistic expectations for how your project will advance and your options to change something to move forward. It saves time and money by avoiding unanticipated changes.

View a landscape plan concept.

Making Goals Reality

Another value of creating a master plan is identifying what needs to be done when. By looking at the project comprehensively, you can see which elements are independent and interdependent. In some cases, this might be straightforward, like taking advantage of having an excavation contractor on-site to do more than the phase you originally intended to save on mobilization and site disturbance costs. In other cases, it might be a less obvious issue of permitting different stages together to avoid taking advantage of regulators’ familiarity with the project and avoid potential future complications of differing views.

A further value of a well-thought-out master plan is that it allows you to convey your vision to prospective financial supporters with the confidence that the plan and budget move forward as you’ve led them to believe it would. Many firms whip up a quick concept with the intention that they will work out the details along the way. This can leave you in an uncomfortable position if you need to explain to your backers why the project is over budget or the site plan is transforming into something less than presented.

Context By Design is proud to have given many clients certainty by creating master plans that are well thought out and constructed as intended. Have a development project in mind? Contact us to discuss your planning needs, or call 207-963-9171.