BUILD
The build practice.
Where the ground takes shape. Every Alterra build is construction under one Principal, with named collaborators on record, sequenced so the resilience decisions carry through from drawings into the finished site.
Resilience.
What we changed after February 2021 — species, irrigation, materials, sequencing. The practice is not a line item; it shapes the whole build.
Read the Resilience section →BUILD DISCIPLINES
Pools & Spas
Pools designed to the house and the land, with freeze-ready spec and integrated material selection.
Hardscape
Terraces, walls, paths, and steps in Lueders limestone, Pennsylvania bluestone, and decomposed granite.
Planting
Native and adapted palettes for Blackland Prairie and Cross Timbers soils, with first-freeze-window observation built in.
Water Features
Basins, runnels, dipping pools, and fountains — scoped honestly to what we build ourselves and what we refer out.
SELECTED BUILD WORK
![[OPERATOR: alt text in register per §9.9 — describe the specific planting/hardscape/architectural condition shown, e.g., "Live oak canopy over Lueders limestone terrace, Highland Park estate"]](/images/projects/modern-masterpiece/001_hero.webp)
2024 · [OPERATOR: neighborhood per D-5]
[OPERATOR: proper-noun title per D-13, e.g., "Modern Masterpiece"]
[OPERATOR: 2–3 sentence project intro per D-23 schema]
![[OPERATOR: alt text in register per §9.9 — describe the specific planting/hardscape/architectural condition shown, e.g., "Live oak canopy over Lueders limestone terrace, Highland Park estate"]](/images/projects/cradlerock-circle/001_hero.webp)
2024 · [OPERATOR: neighborhood per D-5]
[OPERATOR: proper-noun title per D-13, e.g., "Cradlerock Circle"]
[OPERATOR: 2–3 sentence project intro per D-23 schema]
![[OPERATOR: alt text in register per §9.9 — describe the specific planting/hardscape/architectural condition shown, e.g., "Live oak canopy over Lueders limestone terrace, Highland Park estate"]](/images/projects/modern-backyard/001_hero.webp)
2024 · [OPERATOR: neighborhood per D-5]
[OPERATOR: proper-noun title per D-13, e.g., "Modern Backyard | Alterra Design LLC"]
[OPERATOR: 2–3 sentence project intro per D-23 schema]
ADJACENT PRACTICES
A Build at Alterra is the executed reading of the drawings authored in the Design practice — and in most cases, the drawings were authored by the Principal now standing on the site. There is no translation loss between firms, because the two phases are one hand. The six-phase arc described in the Process sets where Design ends and Build begins; the handoff walkthrough between phases is recorded, so mortar chemistry, manifold placement, and species substitutions remain decisions rather than defaults. The ground itself is the first input — the ecoregions, soils, and microclimates detailed in the Place section. Build is where the reading of the ground becomes the ground.