Define the Project

We provide project focus by researching, analyzing, and defining design opportunities.

Architectural programming is the phase in the design process when relevant values of the client, user, architect, and society are identified, important project goals are articulated, facts about the project are uncovered, and facility needs are made explicit. Our inquiry blends intellect and intuition, tangible and intangible building issues, to discover the nature of the design problem.

The architectural program is the recipe or formula that the design team refers to when creating design solutions. It focuses the design teams efforts, and is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of various design strategies.

Each client is different and has a unique vision of their building project. Clients differ because of the values and goals with which they identify. In this age of sameness, difference creates value. The architectural program is a client’s differentiation code, similar to genetic programming. This code is as vital, powerful, universal, and unique as DNA. The vast majority of the DNA code in human beings is identical, but a very small percentage creates difference. The design teams goal is to precisely define each client’s singularity and uniqueness, and to express that difference in the design solution.

This is the perfect moment in the design process to apply entrepreneurial logic. Systematic analysis enables opportunities and constraints to be discovered and transformed into innovative design solutions. The design team is looking for things that are not ideal, for things that need to be improved. We want to develop the full, and often unseen, potential of each project. Recognizing these opportunities creates value for our clients.