Specific goals along with opportunities and constraints are established for the overall project. Zoning ordinances and building codes are researched that may influence budgets and design solutions. Most importantly, we work with our Client to define the project program. A clearly defined program serves as a roadmap to the entire process and helps bridge between theories, ideas, drawings and built forms.
Important Pre-Design Considerations:
- Your goals for the Project
- Programming objectives
- Budget
- Schedule
- Site analysis / land surveying
- Existing building analysis
- Facility and infrastructure analysis
- Building Codes
- Community concerns
- Building technology / energy resources
- LEED Project registration, if applicable
We encourage the use of low energy building systems and use of sustainable resources. Sustainable design is growing more necessary as the environmental impact of our built environment becomes increasingly evident all around us. The United States Green Building Council provides guidelines and mandates requirements to enable a project to achieve LEED Certification.
There are both environmental and financial benefits to earning LEED certification, including:
- Lowering operating costs and increasing asset value.
- Reducing waste sent to landfills.
- Conserving energy and water.
- Developing healthier and safer buildings for occupants.
- Creating compact and walkable communities with good access to neighborhood amenities and transit
- Protecting natural resources and farmland by encouraging growth to be located in areas with existing infrastructure.
- Reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
- Qualifying for tax rebates, zoning allowances, and other incentives in hundreds of cities.
- Demonstrating an owner’s commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
