How to Get Started with your Architectural Project?

 

How to Get Started with an Architectural Project

 

Architects are constantly asked about their methodology. People only see a finished project, a building or some apartments. But, there is a lot that happens before the first shovel hits the ground. This article is a brief but comprehensive overview of the process architects go through to take a project from an idea to excavation.

Basic Questions

There are some very foundational questions that need to be answered before an architectural project can begin.

1.What is the need?

This question is about the big picture. Why is the project happening? Is it a tenant improvement? If it is a tenant improvement, how can the best information be gathered? What needs to be done to make the business work?

2.How much will it cost?

This question may seem like an obvious one, but every possible cost that may arise needs to be included in one document. There are some that people might not regularly anticipate.

3.What is the time frame to completion?

Another way of asking this question is, “What are the requirements for making this project profitable?” An example would be taking out a loan. If a person takes out a loan, the longer he or she owes money on the property, and the longer it takes you to find a tenant for a rental property, the longer it will take to pay off the loan. Another example would be getting into a building. Before a person can start offering any services, he or she needs to get into a property. So, a person will need to calculate how long it will take, and what needs to happen, before work can begin.

4.Where will it happen?

The fourth one isn’t merely a question about geographical location or the building where the function is happening. It also includes demographic information you’ll need for the project to succeed.

After these four basic questions are answered, a client can begin to think about how to get started on his or her architectural project.

Foundational Considerations

1. Address issues related to need.

• Functional. Is someone trying to move walls around or shape the space to allow a certain function or the supporting functions that would happen around them?
• Aesthetics. What will the space be like? What kind of image should be created? How will a person feel when they walk in? Consider these things on the front end of your project so that good decision can be made later on. This kind of planning sets the course for the whole project. To make a plan, a person has to understand how things will feel to the end user. It is about emotion: things like happiness, ease of use, and peace. There is a sense of peace that comes with a space that is not cluttered and that is well designed. A space can appeal to emotions through color choice, textures, graphics, and even smells. A great example of this is Disneyland who pumps delicious smells at their entrance to impact the experience of each visitor.
• Permanence. How long will the structure be there? This question is most relevant to new buildings, both commercial and residential.
  • Tent/Tensile Structure. On one extreme of the architectural spectrum is a tent that can be put up or taken down. It may seem odd at first for an architect to be talking about a tent. But, the reality is that a lot of structures, even airports, are designed using tensile structures. This reality has to do with the material that spans the supporting structures as well as the support structure itself.
  • Wood Frame and Concrete Construction. These would be structures that are built to last longer than tensile structures. A person will have to decide whether his or her concrete construction will utilize poured place concrete, concrete block, or precast concrete.

So, concerning the need, a person will have to address aesthetics and permanence. These two things are pretty standard across industries and they might not be things that people necessarily think about before going into an architectural project. But, it is a part of what they need to be concerned about as a designer or an architect going into a project.

1. Answer Questions Related to Cost and Finances.

• • Will the project need financing? If a bank is going to give a construction loan, the bank will have certain constraints for the client. In certain situations, though, the architect has been able to provide plans in order to secure the financing. There is certainly a willingness to work with whoever needs help in this area, he or she just needs to be able to communicate it to the financer.
  • Is the land available? Has the land already been purchased? If so, that’s great because that part of the job is out of the way. If not, a person must have an understanding of the need that he or she has and how it will directly inform the purchase of land. He or she may want to buy something that is cheap in a certain area because the location of the land is perfect for what he or she needs it for. However, if the land is in a flood zone, a person may not want to purchase it because of the issues and significant problems that will inevitably arise.
  • What will the monthly payment be? If there will be monthly payments that are outside of the range of cash resources, then there will be significant problems. So, all of these things related to costs and finances need to be arranged and organized before starting a project. Think of someone who builds a tower. That person does not just go and build the tower before figuring out what he or she needs. And in reality, this is what an architect does. By planning, the architect takes care of a lot of issues on the front-end so a client doesn’t have to worry about it on the back end when the drawings are finished and construction begins.
  • What are the contingencies? Basically, this question is addressing the fact that things break. Not only do things break, but a person may want to change the location of a wall inside of a building and, in doing so, might have to account for the utilities and plumbing fixtures that are inside that wall. This will require an adjustment of cost and the client will have to accommodate with additional resources.

• Time frame to completion.
  • Does it need to absolutely positively be delivered within certain time frame? An example of this would be a child daycare center. If the project is starting in January, and the client needs everything approved and built before September, he she may be cutting it close. Why? Because it takes times to get permits and get drawings approved. Doing this is important because any aspect of a project that takes a long time will affect the length of time that everything else gets done. An architect can typically complete a standard job in 6 weeks. So, if a client wants something done faster, his or her cost is going to increase dramatically as the architect will have to bring on extra people to speed up the job. In summary, this whole process can be challenging. If a project needs to speed up, it will cost more money because more people will have to be brought in.

 

1. Location – Where will it Happen?

• Finding a piece of property that’s in a generally good location for its intended purpose would be great. However, there may be some restrictions on the land a person is looking to purchase.
  • Flood Zone Restrictions. If the land itself has issues such as flood zone restrictions, the 20,000 square feet of buildable area might be reduced to 10,000 square feet. This reduction would dramatically alter what can be done on the property.
  • Code Restrictions can alter what someone is able to do with the land.
  • Community Restrictions can guide what the project looks like.
  • Topography and Land Use Considerations. This means the shape of the land. Will there be a lot of land-filling or cutting away to achieve goals?
  • Site Peculiarities. There may be a protected amphibian on the property and, because of environmental rules and regulations, a person may not be able to move forward with plans.

Starting Your Project

1. Describe the Need. Given these considerations, how does a person get started on a project?

• Construction Feasibility Analysis. There are analyses that look at business operations. A Construction Feasibility Analysis, on the other hand, looks at the budget compared to what is possible. This includes talking to code agencies, government agencies, consulting agencies,
• Architectural Program. This program is a list of the spaces that are need. It includes finishes, fixtures, furniture, equipment, and adjacency analysis (showing what rooms need to be next to other rooms). An adjacency analysis makes sure that the rooms flow correctly.
• Schematic Design. The schematic design is the result of the process of the architect taking his or her best guess at drawing what the client wants, the design that has already been agreed upon. If the client and architect have already agreed on the construction feasibility analysis and architectural program, then the rest is pretty easy.

1. Secure the Financing

If there are architectural plans, a person will obviously need money to accomplish his or her goals. This can happen in three ways.

• Bank loan, Construction Loan, or Investor dollars. Having the schematic design work finished will help with this because it shows what someone is trying to do and that he or she is keeping track of the project along the way.
• Cash. There may have enough money in a client’s savings account to pay cash for the project.

 

1. Address Timeframe Issues

• Architectural. Communicate the “drop dead” deadline. A person has to understand what the deadlines are. The architect needs to know when he or she needs to have things done so he or she can pull together the staff needed to accomplish the goals.

• Government Agency Requirements. If a person has to start out by changing the use of a specific piece of land or changing an aspect of a piece of land by way of a minor use permit, it takes time. These aren’t the only things someone has to deal with. He or she will have to deal with building and safety review of the project which might take 3 to 6 weeks. He or she will also have to wait for other agencies to review the project. All of these people need to spend their time on it, including the architect who develops a schematic design, consultants, and structural engineers. After they finish their process, and the project is submitted to the building and safety committee, the client and architect may still be asked to go back and fix things.
  • Architects, if asked to make changes, will think about their own reputation and certification. So, when they sign off on their work, they are saying they met all requirements. These changes can take week.
• The big idea is that it takes time. It’s not like going to a big box store to buy a toaster. It is a lot more involved.

1. Addressing location issues

• Maybe a piece of land is in a flood-zone. A person is going to have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to shape the land, by way of civil engineering coming in, so that in the event of a flood, the buildings won’t be destroyed. This is so you have enough land available to render the project a financial success.
• If these things go through, location issues are addressed through architectural work and civil engineering, topographical issues need to be addressed. Addressing this means grading has to happen in different places to accommodate for rain water runoff and location of the building according to the structures that are needed.

Other Things to Consider

• Let’s say the excavation was started and the general contractor hits a gas main, or someone finds out that what was purchased was a Native American burial ground, certain things will need to be dealt with. Or maybe a person is doing a tenant improvement and he or she finds out that his or her building has asbestos. These are all issues that need to be addressed.
• After addressing the need, securing financing, addressing timeframe issues, the kinds of things someone needs to be looking at are issues related to the actual mechanics of getting the design process started:
  • Retainers
  • Client contracts
  • Assembling a team to manage the construction

Conclusion

Going through this whole process can at times be kind of intimidating. So, with lack of clarity, in the muddiness, a client needs to have someone alongside him or her who can set an agenda to reach his or her goals. That person will need someone in the driver’s seat who can make sure it happens. It could be the client, the architect, or the general contractor. It could also be, in a build, the architect working together with the general contractor. This kind of collaboration and teamwork doesn’t always go well.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard a person tries, things will come up. The key is believing that things can happen in a way that is peaceful and calm. When a leader has a good attitude, people are more likely to be peaceful and calm, they are going to do more quality work, and they will deliver a better product. That’s ultimate the goal!

Thanks for reading! More information can be found at grizzlybeararchitects.com.