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South Face Design/Build
Brownsvile, Vermont
Design Services

We don't design every project we build, nor do we build every one we design. But most jobs begin as a design project.

Building without a well thought-out plan will usually cost far more than good design services. We know residential construction. Jim Lyall, partner in charge of design, is also the job estimator and projects manager (and as needs dictate, he puts his carpenter's tool belt back on.) We don't design houses that can't be built, but neither do we design an addition that doesn't fit with the house. We are known for attractive and efficient designs that work on many different levels.

Today, the focus on alternative energy is as sharp as it was in 1980 when we began, and as experts in the field, we have never lost sight of its importance in designing for the future. Our projects all exhibit our commitment to traditional quality using appropriate technology.



Since our formation in 1980, SOUTH FACE has made extensive use of computers in the design process. Starting with an Apple II, we wrote our own BASIC programs to help with the solar & structural engineering, including dynamic modeling of the heat flows through each design. Since 1985 we have been doing our drafting on Macintoshes as well as providing the client with a realtime 3-D walk-through of the on-going design.



"Design" may involve analyzing and developing a program of needs and wants; turning this into a preliminary design; then concluding with a full set of working drawings and specifications. It may just be helping to adapt an existing plan to the client's site or acting as devil's advocate in critiquing her own design. Each project has it's own unique problems and requirements. We provide only what is needed or wanted, and that is all the client pays for.


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