Rudolph's projects are directly influenced by site. Whether perched on a steeply sloping waterfront lot or set deep in a wooded wilderness, each home design is guided by the character of the surrounding landscape and the rhythms of the natural environment. Rudolph's choice of material and form relates directly to topography, views, exposure, and orientation. Unusual but integral characteristics of the site exert a defining pressure on the design. Seemingly contradictory elements are thus allowed to influence the creation of forms, resulting in original and spontaneous intersections of plan and space. Rudolph takes full advantage of the characteristics of each site, because unique sites help to produce unique homes.
A site's building envelope is the maximum building that may be constructed on a lot based on local building codes and the laws of physics. The first step in designing a home is to obtain the site survey and to research the building codes to determine what limitations may apply. Building codes may limit the height of the home, zoning lot coverage, how close a home may come to the property lines, or may declare portions to be critical areas and not buildable. The site itself may have cliffs, streams, inclines, or other obstacles for which it would not be economically feasible to build on. From this list of limitations, the building envelope is determined - figuratively becoming a block of marble from which an architect can chisel a design.