For projects that live
outside any catalogue
A process built around
your specific project
Custom design-build is not a faster version of the conventional model — it’s a different model entirely. One team carries the project from first conversation to final walkthrough. Design fee, then a fixed-price proposal. Cost certainty is still the goal; the catalogue just isn’t the constraint.
A structured conversation about your site, your program, your constraints, and how you want to feel in the space. We learn what the project actually requires before we draw a single line — budget range, timeline, adjacency needs, the non-negotiables.
Before design begins, we study how your household or organization actually operates. Morning routines, work patterns, seasonal rhythms, the moments that matter. Custom design means calibrating every decision to a specific life — not adapting a template.
Architecture, interiors, and landscape developed together by one team. No hand-off, no misinterpretation. Design development moves toward a fixed-price proposal — cost certainty is still the goal, even when the scope is fully custom.
Riley constructs what Riley designs. Same team, same accountability, same real-time project dashboard you'd have on a product build. The custom scope is the variable — the commitments are not.
Same specs as the product.
No exceptions for custom.
The five Riley commitments aren’t product features — they’re how we build. Custom scope doesn’t change the material standard, the sustainability spec, or the warranty.
No ILFI Red List materials across every finish package, standard or custom.
All-electric, high-performance envelope. Solar sized to the building load.
Materials selected for year 10, 30, 50 — not the photo shoot.
10-year structural · 10-year envelope · 5-year MEP · 2-year finishes. Same terms as the product.
Projects that need
a different starting point
Steep slopes, constrained lots, fire zones, flood plains, historic adjacencies — conditions that a preset plan cannot accommodate. We start from the site and work outward.
Boutique retreats, restaurants, mixed-use buildings, workplace studios. Commercial programs require custom thinking. The Riley commitments — healthy materials, zero operational carbon, designed to age — apply here too.
Clients who need something genuinely outside the catalogue — an unusual program, a specific architectural vision, a site that demands a response no plan library could anticipate.
Ground-up multifamily, townhomes, mixed-use. We work with developers who want a differentiated product — one they can sell on material quality, sustainability specs, and a transferable warranty rather than just square footage.
Not a different quality.
A different journey.
- —Select from a library of tested plans
- —Choose a finish package (Core / Select / Reserve)
- —Fixed price from design phase
- —Faster timeline — system is already proven
- —Available for SFR and ADU today
- —Starts from your site and brief — no catalogue
- —Bespoke design developed by one integrated team
- —Design fee, then fixed-price proposal
- —Longer timeline — complexity is the variable
- —Available for residential, commercial, and mixed-use
Tell us about
your project
Every custom engagement starts with a direct conversation — no pitch, no commitment. We'll tell you honestly whether a custom or product path makes more sense for what you're building.