| Layer | Source | Qué hacemos it settles |
|---|---|---|
| Zoning & overlays | City zoning portal / municipal code | Use, setbacks, height, FAR, parking |
| Parcel & ownership | County assessor / GIS | Boundaries, easements, lot area |
| Flood risk | FEMA flood maps | Zone, base flood elevation |
| Soils | USDA Web Soil Survey | Bearing hints, drainage class |
| Climate | NOAA climate normals | Temperatures, rain, design conditions |
| Topography | USGS / county LiDAR | Slopes, drainage paths |
| Site history | Historic aerials, Sanborn maps | Prior structures, fills, contamination clues |
The systematic study of everything that will shape a design before design begins: climate and sun, zoning and legal constraints, neighborhood context, the physical ground (topography, soils, utilities, vegetation) and the sensory character of the place. Its output is a set of diagrams and conclusions that justify the design moves that follow.
Six layers: regional and climate data; zoning and legal constraints (setbacks, height, FAR, easements); neighborhood context (uses, massing, noise, views, access); physical site conditions (topography, soils, drainage, utilities, trees); sensory observations from the visit; and synthesis documents: constraint and opportunity overlays, sun path diagram, buildable envelope.
Three zoom levels: mega covers regional systems (climate, ecology, transportation corridors); macro covers the neighborhood (land use, circulation, character, infrastructure); micro covers the parcel itself (topography, soils, vegetation, sun, wind, easements and existing structures) Read the result against your drawings, product sheets, or listing rules before you rely on it in a client meeting.
Most of the factual layers: zoning and overlays from the city portal, parcel data from the assessor, flood zones from FEMA, soils from the USDA survey, climate normals from NOAA, topography from USGS, and history from aerial archives. Arrive with the desk study done and spend the visit on what only being there reveals: light, sound, views and the feel of the approach.
A base plan layered with north arrow and sun path, prevailing winds, access and circulation, noise sources, views to preserve and screen, topography, setbacks and the resulting buildable envelope. One layer per idea. A diagram that says everything says nothing Read the result against your drawings, product sheets, or listing rules before you rely on it in a client meeting.