Context
A landing for a premium architecture studio — luxury residential and boutique commercial, a client with a budget upwards of €500,000. Most such sites open with a manifesto: a long text about "the philosophy of space", a video background, a mega-menu — and only then the work. But a client with that budget wants to see finished buildings first, and will read the manifesto later, if the work appeals. The order had to be flipped.
The solution
Photography-first: the homepage opens with a photo of a finished building, not text. Text is subordinate to the image — short captions, an editorial layout like an architecture magazine (paired "photo + comment" blocks). Palette — dark-grey background and a warm tan accent, there to support the photos, not fight them. Navigation is minimal — four pages instead of twelve: fewer paths, a higher share reaching the contact page.
The outcome
HTML/CSS with minimal JS, photos in light formats sized to the screen, the hero shot loaded with priority; scroll effects on desktop only. Work first, text second — and speed held at Lighthouse 90+, rare in the architecture niche where heavy video usually eats the whole performance budget.