ARE 5.0: Project Planning and Design

Project Planning and Design is the point in the licensure journey where architectural knowledge becomes a coordinated, defensible process. In the ARE 5.0 framework, this topic area connects the early design phases to the realities that shape a building: program requirements, site constraints, code compliance under the International Building Code (IBC), and sustainability goals that affect performance and cost.

Strong performance here is less about memorizing isolated facts and more about understanding how schematic design and design development translate intent into a building that can be permitted, detailed, and built. The architect’s job is to lead that translation clearly, documenting decisions and verifying that the design remains aligned with life safety, accessibility, and environmental responsibility.

Where Project Planning and Design Fits in the Design Process

Architectural projects are commonly described in phases, and while terminology varies by firm and contract, the work typically follows a recognizable sequence.

Schematic Design (SD): Defining the Big Moves

Schematic design is about establishing the overall direction of the project. During SD, the team tests massing, layout, and basic systems concepts against the program and site. Decisions here tend to be high-impact and hard to undo later, such as:

• Building orientation and basic form
• Core locations, circulation patterns, and egress concepts
• Preliminary structural and MEP strategies (enough to prove feasibility)
• Early envelope ideas that influence energy performance
• Site access, grading approach, and relationships to neighbors

A useful way to think about SD is that it answers, “What is this building, and how does it work at a planning level?” without committing to full technical resolution.

Design Development (DD): Making the Design Buildable

Design development deepens and coordinates the schematic design into a coherent building solution. The aim is not only to refine aesthetics, but to resolve the design so consultants and stakeholders can confirm that the project is technically sound. DD typically includes:

• Coordinated plans, sections, and elevations with more accurate dimensions
• Clearer structural grid and framing logic
• MEP space planning (shafts, equipment rooms, distribution paths)
• More specific envelope assemblies and glazing ratios
• Updated code analysis and life safety plans based on refined layouts
• Sustainability decisions with measurable performance implications

If SD proves the concept, DD proves the building.

Program, Site, and Constraints: The Foundations of Planning

Project planning starts with understanding what must be true for the project to succeed.

Program Analysis and Space Planning

Program requirements are rarely just a list of rooms. They include relationships, adjacencies, privacy needs, acoustical expectations, security, and operational flows. A medical clinic, for example, may require separate patient and staff circulation, clear clean and soiled paths, and waiting areas that protect confidentiality. A school may prioritize sightlines for supervision and durable materials that support long-term maintenance.

In planning, look beyond net square footage. Key questions include:

• Which spaces must be adjacent and which should be separated?
• How do people arrive, queue, move, and exit?
• What spaces need daylight, views, or controlled lighting?
• What flexibility is expected over time?

Site Evaluation and Early Design Risk

Site factors drive both design quality and project risk. Planning and design decisions should account for:

• Solar orientation, prevailing winds, and shading opportunities
• Topography and drainage patterns affecting grading and stormwater
• Access for pedestrians, vehicles, service, and emergency response
• Zoning or local constraints that may limit height, setbacks, or use
• Noise sources, surrounding context, and view corridors

A building that ignores site realities often pays later in mechanical load, uncomfortable outdoor spaces, or costly rework.

Building Codes (IBC): Turning Design into a Safe, Permittable Building

The IBC is central to project planning and design because it dictates minimum requirements for life safety and building performance. Code work is not a one-time check; it is a continuous design constraint that should be validated as the plan evolves.

Occupancy, Construction Type, and Building Height/Area

A code analysis typically starts by identifying the occupancy classification and whether the building includes mixed occupancies. That classification affects allowable height and area, required fire-resistance ratings, and egress provisions.

Construction type, in turn, influences what is permitted and how assemblies must perform in fire. Early planning often includes a feasibility check: the desired building size and use must fit within allowable limits for a realistic construction type, or the design must incorporate strategies such as fire walls, separation, or building area increases where applicable.

Egress: Life Safety as a Planning Problem

Egress success is often determined during SD because it depends on the basic organization of the plan. Core concepts include:

• Adequate number of exits and proper exit access arrangement
• Travel distance limits shaped by occupancy and protection features
• Stair placement that supports both code compliance and intuitive wayfinding
• Exit discharge and accessible routes that reach the public way

A common planning pitfall is treating stairs as leftover space. In reality, stair locations often shape building efficiency, leasing value, and long-term flexibility.

Fire-Resistance and Compartmentation

Fire-resistance ratings and separation requirements affect walls, floors, shafts, and penetrations. In DD, coordination matters: an elegant plan can fail if a rated corridor is interrupted, a shaft is not correctly enclosed, or door ratings and swing directions are incompatible with the life safety strategy.

Accessibility Considerations

Although accessibility requirements may be governed by adopted standards beyond the IBC, planning decisions still determine whether a project will meet basic accessibility expectations. Early design must consider:

• Accessible routes from arrival points to primary functions
• Elevator requirements based on building configuration
• Clearances at doors, restrooms, and common spaces
• Strategies for accessible egress where required

In practice, accessibility is easiest to achieve when embedded in layout decisions rather than patched in later.

Sustainability: Integrating Performance into Early Decisions

Sustainability is not a decorative layer. It is a set of design choices with measurable implications for energy, water, comfort, resilience, and operating cost. The planning and design phases are where the largest performance gains are typically available at the lowest cost.

Passive Design and Energy Logic

Before adding technology, strong sustainable design starts with fundamentals:

• Orientation and massing that manage solar heat gain
• Window placement and glazing ratios aligned with daylight goals and comfort
• Shading strategies that reduce cooling loads while preserving views
• Envelope continuity that supports air tightness and thermal performance

These decisions can reduce the mechanical system size and improve comfort, creating a feedback loop between design intent and building performance.

Water, Site, and Heat Island Impacts

Site planning supports sustainability through strategies such as:

• Stormwater management that reduces runoff and improves water quality
• Landscape choices that reduce irrigation demand
• Reflective or vegetated roofs and shaded hardscape to mitigate heat island effects

Even simple moves, like placing trees to shade west-facing glazing or reducing unnecessary paving, can change long-term performance.

Material and Durability Decisions

During DD, material selection often becomes more specific. Sustainable thinking here includes:

• Durability and maintenance planning to extend service life
• Thoughtful detailing that prevents moisture problems and premature failure
• Selection of assemblies that balance performance, cost, and constructability

Sustainability is not only about low energy use; it is also about making a building that lasts.

Coordination in Design Development: The Hidden Work That Prevents Rework

Design development is where coordination becomes a discipline. A plan is not “developed” until architecture, structure, and MEP systems can occupy the same space without conflict.

Key coordination targets include:

• Aligning structural grids with planning modules and parking layouts
• Reserving space for ducts, risers, and equipment without compromising ceiling heights
• Ensuring shafts stack logically and do not cut through critical framing
• Confirming that rated assemblies remain continuous across transitions
• Maintaining clear egress widths and accessible clearances as details become real

This phase rewards architects who can anticipate consequences. Moving a wall by a few inches can affect an accessible turning radius, a duct main, and a rated corridor condition simultaneously.

Practical Ways to Think Like a Project Planner

Project planning and design is ultimately about decision-making under constraints. A few habits help keep the work defensible and efficient:

• Treat code analysis as a design tool, not a compliance chore.
• Confirm the life safety concept early, especially stairs, travel distances, and exit discharge.
• Use sustainability as a set of first principles: orientation, envelope, daylight, and water strategies before mechanical complexity.
• Coordinate in three dimensions during DD; many “design” problems are actually spatial conflicts.
• Document assumptions. When the design changes, revisit the assumptions before the errors compound.

Conclusion: A Phase That Builds Confidence and Credibility

ARE 5.0 Project Planning and Design reflects the professional reality that good architecture is structured thinking. Schematic design sets a clear direction grounded in program and site. Design development proves that direction can be built through coordinated systems, IBC-aligned life safety, and sustainability strategies that improve performance over the life of the building.

When these elements are integrated early and validated often, the design becomes not only compelling, but permit-ready, technically coherent, and resilient in the face of real-world constraints.