Practice01
Design and build, in one studio.
Architectural drawings, engineering, framing, and finish all originate from the same team. There is no translation lost between drawing and dust.
Single-family residences, designed and built by one team across Arlington, Falls Church, McLean, and the surrounding counties.
§ — Practice Notes
A custom home is the longest conversation we have with a client. It begins as a sketch on a kitchen counter and ends, two years later, with a set of keys and a house that fits a family the way a good coat fits its owner. Nothing about it is generic, and nothing about it is rushed.
Citescape has been building ground-up homes in Northern Virginia since 1994. We design and build under one roof — no general-contractor-as-middleman, no subcontracting the parts that matter. The hands that draw the line are the hands that hold it.
“We don't build spec houses. Every Citescape home is commissioned, drawn, and constructed for one family — and built to outlast all of us.”
§ — Why Citescape
Architectural drawings, engineering, framing, and finish all originate from the same team. There is no translation lost between drawing and dust.
The person who walks your lot on day one is the person who hands you the keys. Every question has one number to call.
Every joint, every flashing detail, every line of caulk is laid as if a Citescape grandchild will inherit the house — because someone's will.
We work where we live. If something needs attention five years from now, we're a short drive away — not a forwarded email.
§ — Process
No two projects are identical, but every Citescape project moves through the same six stages — in the same order, with the same people.
We begin on the lot, with coffee. We listen to how you live, what you've outgrown about your last house, and what you've never been able to find. No drawings yet — just questions.
1–2 weeks
Soil, setbacks, easements, and zoning. We confirm what the lot can hold and what the county will allow before a single architectural decision is made. You receive a written feasibility report.
2–4 weeks
Schematic plans evolve into construction documents in tight rounds with you. Material palette, structural strategy, and mechanical systems are all decided before a shovel breaks ground.
8–14 weeks
We pull the permits, finalise the schedule, and lock the budget. You get a single fixed-price contract with itemised allowances — no fishing for change orders later.
6–12 weeks
Excavation, foundation, framing, envelope, mechanicals, finish. Weekly site visits, monthly cost reports, a single project lead on speed-dial. We don't disappear in month nine.
10–18 months
A formal punch-list walk before move-in, a thirty-day check, a one-year warranty visit. After that, you still have our number — and we still pick up.
Ongoing
§ — Scope of Work
We do not subcontract the parts that matter. Every category below is handled by Citescape's own people, on Citescape's own schedule.
Materials & Finishes
§ — Selected Work
§ — From a Client
“We interviewed five builders. Citescape was the only one who walked the lot before they sent a number. Two years and one perfect house later, that's still the best decision we made.”
§ — Common Questions
The questions clients usually ask before our first walk. If yours isn't here — call us.
§ — Begin
Every Citescape custom home starts the same way — a conversation on the lot, with the person who'll be running the project. Tell us about your land and your family. We'll handle the rest.