Our Process

Davidov Architects operates as a studio. Each project is developed closely from the outset, with Robert Davidov working directly with a project architect through design, documentation, and construction. This continuity ensures the intent established early is carried through to detailing, material decisions, and on-site resolution.

Our process applies equally to new builds, renovations and extensions, heritage-sensitive upgrades, rural homes, and selected multi-residential projects. The fundamentals remain constant: clarity of intent, careful sequencing, and decisions grounded in how a place will be lived in over time.

Every project begins with listening. Beyond the stated brief, we look for priorities that sit underneath, tensions that need resolving, and expectations that have not yet been named. This early phase is as much about reassurance as it is about design. It sets direction and helps the process feel steady rather than overwhelming.

Concept design is developed intensively and presented with enough clarity to move forward decisively. At this stage we consider how the home should feel when it is quiet and when it is full, how it responds to site and climate, and how the sequence unfolds from arrival to retreat. Light, outlook, thresholds, and moments of compression and release are central.

Design is then refined through iteration. Decisions are explained and tested against the original intent, balancing site constraints, planning controls, budget, structure, material performance, and spatial logic. Most clients meet weekly or fortnightly during this phase until architecture and interiors are resolved. High-level 3D visualisation is often used early to make space and atmosphere legible, reduce uncertainty, and support better decisions.

Planning and approvals can introduce delay and frustration. We manage the process, maintain momentum where possible, communicate clearly, and protect the design intent as external constraints arise. Documentation is detailed and disciplined, with close attention to junctions and repetition, because this is where architecture either holds together or unravels.

We assist with builder selection and remain involved through construction, attending key site meetings and guiding decisions as conditions evolve. Throughout the process we regularly return to first principles, asking whether each decision strengthens the concept or dilutes it. Pace, clarity, and consistency help maintain alignment.

For a longer reflection on how we approach briefs, decision-making, and refinement, the Editorial archive expands on our process in plain language.