The following exploration represents a search for clarity and meaning in the formative work of a young architectural designer. Solving the design problem to create a viable community of elders integrated into the chosen site was merely the ostensible goal. The deeper task was to become more literate with the materials and tools of the architect's trade and develop a confidence with the language and grammar of architecture.

I wanted to develop an understanding of not just a single building type or a particular site condition, but to grow in more fundamental terms toward learning a way of building. This desire may be inherent in every good design, but I wanted to bring the idea of it to the surface and focus on the principles behind the architectural decisions.

I believe the confidence and vitality which the architect combines with the philosophical, technical and pragmatic constraints of a project to make great architecture are products of a thorough understanding of one's personal beliefs. My own attempt to organize thoughts and attitudes into a body of reference toward an understanding of that belief structure follows on the remaining pages. In the process as well as in the final result I have moved closer to a literacy in architecture, if only by gaining insight into the motivations which have guided my hand.