One team from permit to walkthrough.
Specified and installed by the same hand.
The conventional split puts the architect and the contractor on opposite sides of the table. The architect draws. The contractor prices. What follows is months of value engineering, substitutions, reductions, decisions the client never asked for.
Riley works the other way. The person who specifies the window is the person who installs it. The person who draws the glulam joint is the person who orders the timber. Design choices are priced as they are made. No bid-to-build gap.
Learn. Design. Refine. Build.
Every Riley project moves through the same four phases. Learn runs the same on both paths. Design, Refine, and Build scale with engagement — catalogue shorter, commission longer.
Phase 01 — Learn
Before a line is drawn, we study how you live.
- —Ritual mapping: morning, cooking, work, seasonal use
- —Site analysis: orientation, topography, prevailing wind, sightlines
- —Zoning and entitlement read
- —Precedent study: houses you love, houses you don’t
- —Budget calibration against published ranges
- —Engagement model: catalogue or commission
- —Program: bedrooms, key spaces, outdoor priorities
- —Preliminary budget range
- —Timeline goals
- —Communication preferences: cadence, format, participants
- —Site memo
- —Program brief
- —Preliminary budget range
- —Included in the design engagement fee.
- —Initial conversation is free. No commitment.
Timeline: 4–8 weeks (both paths)
Phase 02 — Design
Space, material, and budget move together.
- —Schematic design: plan, section, massing
- —Material strategy from the Red List-free library
- —Structural layout against the post-and-beam grid
- —Real-time cost modeling as design moves
- —Energy model and net-zero solar sizing
- —Plan, massing, and exterior expression
- —Finish tier: Core, Select, or Reserve
- —Key materials: flooring, countertops, plaster, tile
- —Windows, doors, cabinetry, fixtures
- —Landscape concept
- —Site-specific decisions: orientation, setback, slope response
- —Schematic drawings
- —Fixed-price budget
- —Energy and carbon model
Timeline: Catalogue 8–14 wk·Commission 12–32 wk
Phase 03 — Refine
Every detail resolved before a shovel moves.
- —Construction documentation in BIM
- —Every assembly coordinated against structural, MEP, envelope
- —PE stamp on the post-and-beam package
- —Full finish schedule
- —Permitting: city submissions, plan check corrections, agency coordination. Timeline varies by jurisdiction.
- —Milestones you attend: structural review, MEP coordination sign-off, final selections confirmation, permit submission
- —Final finishes and fixtures
- —Appliance specifications
- —Hardware
- —Lighting control scenes
- —Landscape planting
- —Any modifications to the base plan
- —Permit-set drawings
- —Full spec book
- —Signed contract with fixed price
Timeline: Catalogue 10–16 wk·Commission 12–32 wk
Phase 04 — Build
Built by the team that drew it.
- —Construction sequence: site work, foundation, framing, mechanical rough-in, exterior envelope, interior finishes, landscape, commissioning
- —General contracting by the design studio
- —Weekly owner update: photos, budget, schedule
- —BIM-to-fabrication for the glulam package
- —Two-year finish walkthrough scheduled
- —Change requests: cost and timeline impact documented before work proceeds
- —Custom add-ons beyond the catalogue
- —A finished house
- —Full 10/10/5/2 warranty with assembly documentation
- —Commissioning report: blower door, HRV balance, HVAC balancing, plumbing pressure test, electrical load verification, solar handoff, final punchlist
Timeline: Catalogue 6–12 mo·Commission 10–24 mo
Fixed price at design, not after permit.
Riley provides the total project cost at the end of Design (Phase 02), not after the permit pulls. No cost-plus contracts. No allowances that balloon at selection. The budget you sign is the budget you hold, with a real-time dashboard against it.
Build your budget →The same person on the phone for the whole project.
One point of contact
Your project lead owns design, engineering, construction, and communication. No relay between architect and contractor.
Weekly written updates
During construction: a written summary — completed, upcoming, budget, decisions needed — with photos. Same day, every week.
Real-time budget dashboard
The client portal shows committed costs, pending allowances, change orders, and contingency, updated in real time.
See the portal →Scheduled site visits
Walk the project with your project lead at every milestone.
Decision tracking
Every material, fixture, and detail is logged. No question of whether a selection reached the field.