I prepared the preliminary sketch for this Kin Domain for a friend of mine today. This is an example of how the thought process of designing a site works, before we get into the design of the structure itself. This site is just under an acre and a half in size and located in Taos, New Mexico, US. Note that in this plan, the berry hedges are kept inside the fenceline by 5'. Many people miss in the books that Anastasia told us to set the berry fence inside the actual line of the property so that natural circulation paths could be provided between domains. This also helps in harvesting both sides of the bushes (of course, the birds and critters won't mind either! *smile* Also, I left the southwest side of the property open as it bounds an existing acequia (diverted stream) and the vegetation provides a habitat for nesting and migratory birds.
The suggestions for the building materials echo those of the Southwest Architectural Vernacular as well and those for the Arid Climate Region. The suggested plantings respond to plants that grow well in USDA Climate Zone 5, and are proven in New Mexico's arid conditions.
I offer this as an example of what can be done for very little investment. The actual drawing is 11 inches by 11 inches (in honor of today's lucky date!) and can be blown up to 24x24 - large enough for use in actual site layout. This work would take approx. 2 days, preferably with a site visit, and would cost $500. I did this completely by hand, as a means of showing what can be done onsite. Preliminary drawings are fine when done like this. For a project to be installed by contractors (rather than oneself), or for more formal design documents, we'd put all the drawings in CAD, at an hourly rate of $50.
