Parti Planning

1. Parti Planning Defining the Design Problem Before You Start Designing • Concept • Goal • Form • Content • Process Parti Planning

2. Concept It is NEVER enough for a building to be designed a certain way because the designer felt like it. Design is NOT only a process of self-expression, although that plays a part. If that bothers you, become an art major. Architects have a fiduciary duty to their clients and the community impacted by the projects they design to RESPOND to real needs and conditions. Parti Planning

3. Concept Let’s look at one example: How many square feet should a project be, and how tall? Think about it. • Should the answer be solely up to the architect to determine? • Is it merely a question of self-expression? • Or is there a duty to design in accordance with other considerations? Parti Planning

4. Concept Building area and height is of concern to… • The Investors since larger buildings cost more • The Local Government since bigger buildings hold more people, who need more services and infrastructure (schools, police, roads, sewers) • The Neighbors since it might alter the feel of their community or block views or the sun • Mother Nature since building size affects wind patterns and storm water runoff • The Occupants since size affects ease of use • The Fire Department since it’s harder to rescue people from big buildings Parti Planning

5. Concept Any of these groups have the power to prevent construction of a project, or ruin it once built. If they did that, the designing architect’s reputation and ability to get other design commissions would very likely be compromised (as well it should be). Parti Planning

6. Concept Owners hire architects, in part, to suggest ways to reconcile the concerns of all these interests. Since area and height have a major impact on design, concerns related to them need to be resolved before design starts. This is very important, since design takes time (and costs clients real money), and there’s no point in designing a project that will be rejected. Parti Planning

7. The Point Design is a problem-solving process. It must be responsive. Such a process takes time. If you spend a lot of time solving the wrong problem, simply because you didn’t take the time to learn about and define the right problem, your design will most likely be rejected and your effort will have been wasted. Parti Planning

8. Goal The most important foundation for design excellence is a • comprehensive • balanced • defendable understanding of the design problem. Parti Planning

9. Goal But is a design problem so simple? Can a single definition be established? The answer is often yes, but only after a lot of searching through multiple potential definitions. Clients depend on their architects to go through all of the possibilities and propose a few alternative definitions for consideration. Parti Planning

10. Goal Each definition balances, in a different way, all of the different issues related to the project. Once one definition is selected or developed by the owner with input (either direct or indirect) from the other vested interests and advice from the architect, design work can start. Parti Planning

11. Form What form would such an approach take? An architect might, for example, recommend several different proposals. • Proposal A: Maximize project size by taking advantage of certain exceptions allowed by code, offsetting increased costs with higher projected revenues. • Proposal B: Make material quality a high priority; reduce size to maintain budget. • Proposal C: Design for a balance of size, quality, and a short construction schedule. Parti Planning

12. Form Each proposal would represent a unique combination of budget, massing, relationship with the environment, program, response to surrounding buildings, way of satisfying codes, and other things. Each proposal would list its benefits and drawbacks relative to the alternatives, and would include the supporting research. All vested interests could then consider the proposals and decide which to support. Parti Planning

13. Form But there might be hundreds of possible combinations. How many proposals should an architect develop and present? As many as he or she thinks are solid, justifiable, and worth pursuing. Parti Planning

14. Form Note that none of the proposals would include a design for the building, but would instead simply clarify and focus the basic design question: What kind of project would be best? Once one proposal is settled upon, all involved can be fairly sure that the eventual design, whatever else it is, will be responsive. Parti Planning

15. Content What are these issues, to which pre-design analyses must respond? They are: Feasibility • Mission • Budget • Location • Style • Expression • Site • Natural • Urban • Built • Function • Program • Safety • Life Cycle Parti Planning

16. Content The design problem must be defined relative to each of the content areas. Each area can be defined in any number of ways, but only one definition can serve as the basis for a given design. Each relevant option must be explored and discussed before one is chosen. This exploring of alternative definitions and recommending of one is a core service of architects. Parti Planning

17. Content Architects must know about each of the ten content issues. But for now, let’s talk about process. Parti Planning

18. Process How does one define the design problem? By a clear method involving… • Strategic Planning to focus the effort • Collecting Data identified as relevant • Organizing the Data to make it useful • Observing the Data to find patterns in it • Drawing Implications from the patterns • Assembling Options from the implications • Presenting Options for consideration • Negotiating a Decision with the client Parti Planning

19. Process Let’s look at these tasks, one at a time. Parti Planning

20. Strategic Planning • It’s hard to accomplish one’s goals (and equally easy to get distracted) when goals haven’t been established. • So the most important first step in pre-design analysis is strategic planning. Instead of plunging in, first decide what’s important. • Is there a danger that one will fail to see a good option because it fell outside the plan? Yes. So the strategic plan must be carefully considered. Parti Planning

21. Strategic Planning • How? • Ask Design Questions. What questions will come to mind when you start designing? What’s the main idea behind the building? How should it relate to buildings around it? How big should it be? What rooms should it contain? How should they be arranged? What weather conditions will it have to address? • Rank them. Which questions are most important? Which least? Parti Planning

22. Strategic Planning • How? • By ranking them, you’ll address the critical questions first. If you run out of time you’ll still be OK, because the most important issues will have been reviewed. • You can decide how many questions to address by how much time you have. Revise the answer at any time. Parti Planning

23. Strategic Planning • How? • Don’t develop one issue and leave others unaddressed. Develop the whole range of issues to the same level of detail. • That also guarantees that whenever you stop the process, either temporarily or to move on to the next phase, your work will be internally cohesive and balanced. • It also guarantees that you will have time to sleep at night and have a life outside of your work. Parti Planning

24. Collecting Data With priorities established, it’s time to start tracking down information sources that would likely have answers for the questions raised. • Find out where or what has the info. Which books, codes, guides, websites, people, sites, maps, etc. have what you need? • Get copies of the needed books or drawings, arrange to talk with with the relevant people, get permission to visit the site, etc. Parti Planning

25. Applying the Data It’s fine to have information, but meaning-less until you apply it to your project. This generally pertains more to regulations than other kinds of data, since other data are probably already project-specific. For example: • A zoning code that limits lot coverage to 70% means little until you realize that this limits your floor plan to 17,620 SF. • 1 parking space per 75 SF must be convert-ed to a requirement for 132 parking stalls. Parti Planning

26. Organizing the Data • It’s almost impossible to use data until it is organized, making it easier to understand. • Put statistics into a table, chart, or graph • Arrange program information into a matrix, and from there into a coherent bubble diagram • Highlight the locations of transportation networks and other infrastructure on a map • Organize financial data into a statement Parti Planning

27. Observing the Data What do you notice when you look at the organized data? • Is anything missing? (This would have been hard to detect before organizing the data) • Are there any patterns? • Do certain bits of information occur more frequently than others? • What elements stand out as distinctive? • Which elements fade into obscurity? • Do any elements have strong relationships with other elements? Parti Planning

28. Drawing Implications • What is the meaning of the patterns you observed or noticed? Do they have any implications for design? Do they suggest any possibilities or close off any from consideration? • Here, it generally makes sense to start drawing little design vignettes—sketches that convey a sense of the directions that will be worth considering later, when designing. Parti Planning

29. Assembling Options • At this point, many different issues have been explored. Some work well together, others would conflict. • Since any given design must address all of the relevant issues, sets of complementary approaches to those issues must be assembled into comprehensive options. • Several alternative but equally compre-hensive options should be developed. Parti Planning

30. Presenting Options • Prepare presentations for each of the alternative options. • Make sure each presentation is similarly formatted, so those to whom it is presented can compare “apples to apples.” • Start each presentation with a summation, with conclusions. Put supporting research in an appendix, to be shown only if requested. Parti Planning

31. Negotiating a Decision With all of the options presented, it’s time to make a decision. • Work with the client. • Answer questions. • Be prepared to do any follow-up research requested. • Let the client make the decisions, remembering that the role of the architect is as fiduciary advisor, not decision-maker. Don’t start designing until one option is confirmed. Parti Planning

32. Summary Design is a tough process. Starting it without knowing what you need to achieve is a recipe for rejection and disaster. A little (well, maybe a lot of) discipline early in the game goes a long way toward ensuring a rewarding design experience and an outcome that will be appreciated by all involved. Parti Planning

33. Summary Pre-design analysis takes time, but is certainly within the capability of any designer. Effective pre-design leads to increased competence, reduced frustration, and a greater likelihood of design excellence. For more information, visit http://architecture.cua.edu/courses/arch315 Parti Planning