The First Case Study Group

Design Your Own Eco Cabin

Before week one

Everything I need from you before we meet the week of 12 October.

You're in.

Thank you for taking one of the five founding places. I don't take that lightly, especially in a first group where you're backing something before there's a wall of testimonials to point at.

Here's how the next few weeks work.

We have six weeks together, and I want to spend them designing your cabin rather than gathering paperwork. So this page is the gathering. It takes about ten minutes.

You tell me about your land, which documents you have, what you want the cabin to become, and which times work for you. There's also a short list of what to have ready before we start.

The more I know about your site before week one, the further we'll get in it.

Warmly,Shaan

Progress
0 of 6
01

Who you are

Also how I reach you if anything changes on the day.

The WhatsApp group

I'll set up one group for the whole cohort. Which one would you prefer?

Session times below are given in South African time and US Eastern time.

02

Your land

Just the basics for now. We'll look at the land properly together in week one.

On your phone: open Google Maps, press and hold on your land, then share the dropped pin. This lets me look at your orientation, contours and surroundings before we meet.

03

Legal documents

Tick what you already have. These tell us where your boundaries actually are and what you're allowed to build.

The three that matter most

These three are worth chasing before we start. If you don't have them yet, tell me and I'll help you get them.

Helpful, but not required

Don't go hunting for any of these. If a copy is already sitting in a drawer or an inbox, bring it. If not, that's completely fine and we'll work without it.

If none of the above

Where to find them. In South Africa, your conveyancing attorney or the seller usually holds the title deed and SG diagram, and the Surveyor General's office can supply the diagram against the erf or portion number on your deed. The zoning certificate comes from your local municipality. In the United States, the deed and survey are usually in your closing packet or with the title company, the county recorder or assessor can supply copies, and zoning comes from the county or township planning department. Let me know if you have trouble getting hold of any of it and I'll help you track it down.

04

What you want it to become

Short answers are fine.

This shapes the material palette and the construction system, so a rough figure is more useful than none.

05

When we meet

Two things to place. The weekly workshop runs two hours, the three masterclasses run one hour. They need to sit at different times, so mark every slot and then give me your first choice for each.

How this works

Please mark all five, including the ones that don't work for you. I'm looking for the slots everyone can make rather than the most popular ones, so a clear no is just as useful to me as a yes.

Mark them against the two-hour workshop. Anyone free for two hours is free for the masterclass hour.

Eastern time shifts back an hour on 2 November, when the US clocks change and ours don't. Both times are shown on every slot.

Slot Can you make it?

Six sessions, one a week, two hours each.

Three sessions, in weeks 2, 3 and 4. One hour each. Pick a different slot from your workshop.

06

What to have ready

Tick these off as you get them. Whatever isn't ticked when you send this, I'll help you sort out before week one.

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The six weeks

Once everyone confirms their availability, I'll confirm the time. These are what the weeks will look like.

Milestone 1 Unique Foundations The cabin is rooted in your land, your needs and the experience you want to create.
Wk 1
Week of 12 October Define Your Cabin Get clear on who the cabin is for, the experience you want to create, and what the cabin needs to include.
Wk 2
Week of 19 October Find Its Place Understand your land and decide how you want to use it, where the cabin should sit, and how it can respond to the opportunities and constraints of the site.
Masterclass Land Regeneration 101
Milestone 2 Ideal Flow The spaces, movement, form and relationship with the land all work together.
Wk 3
Week of 26 October Map Your Flow Create the ideal layout, work out how the spaces connect and flow, and integrate the cabin with the land.
Masterclass Off-Grid Essentials
Wk 4
Week of 2 November Shape Your Cabin Develop the cabin's form, roof and structure while considering views, solar, rainwater harvesting and other site-specific opportunities.
Masterclass Healthy Buildings
Milestone 3 Realised Cabin The design is brought together through drawings, materials, construction decisions and visualisation.
Wk 5
Week of 9 November Bring It Together Bring the design into a coherent whole, modelling and drafting the cabin to scale through plans, sections and elevations.
Wk 6
Week of 16 November Make It Real Define the materials and construction approach, and create 3D rendered views that show what the finished cabin could look and feel like.
After
Once the six weeks are done Your 1:1 Next Steps session Thirty minutes, just the two of us. We look at your finished design and work out what happens next. Builder quotes, municipal drawings, engineering input, or simply a plan.

Send it to me

Your answers come straight to me. You'll get a confirmation email a minute or two later.