ARE 5.0: Programming and Analysis

Programming and Analysis is the first major stop on the path from an idea to a buildable architectural solution. In ARE 5.0, this division focuses on the pre-design phase, when the architect gathers inputs, tests assumptions, and defines the problem before form-making takes over. Done well, it prevents costly redesign later and supports decisions that hold up under client scrutiny, code review, and real-world site constraints.

At its core, Programming and Analysis asks a simple question: what must this project do, and what will it take to do it responsibly on this site?

What “Pre-Design” Really Includes

Pre-design is sometimes described as information gathering, but that undersells the work. The architect is translating scattered needs and constraints into a coherent set of requirements that can guide design. This includes:

• Understanding the client’s goals, priorities, and operational needs
• Evaluating the site and its limitations
• Researching applicable codes and regulations early enough to influence feasibility
• Identifying building systems strategies consistent with budget, performance, and schedule
• Establishing a basis for scope, area, and adjacencies that will become the program

Programming is not a static document that is written once and never touched again. In practice, it evolves. The exam emphasizes the architect’s ability to structure this work logically and verify the implications of early decisions.

Site Analysis: Letting the Place Define the Problem

A sound site analysis turns a parcel of land into actionable design criteria. The goal is not to list facts but to interpret them. Several categories regularly shape feasibility and concept direction.

Physical and Environmental Conditions

Topography, drainage patterns, soil conditions, and existing vegetation can affect building placement, foundation approach, and stormwater strategy. A sloped site might suggest split-level organization or drive decisions about accessibility routes and retaining conditions. Even without detailed geotechnical data, early awareness helps the team anticipate risks and coordinate next steps.

Climate considerations often begin here as well. Sun exposure, prevailing winds, and shading opportunities can influence orientation, glazing strategy, and massing options. Early moves that reduce heat gain or improve daylight distribution can lower mechanical loads later, which ties directly to building systems selection.

Access, Circulation, and Surrounding Context

Site access decisions are rarely neutral. Vehicular entry points, service routes, and pedestrian approaches affect security, safety, and user experience. A school project, for example, may require separated bus drop-off, parent pick-up, and service access to reduce conflicts. Urban sites demand similar discipline, especially when loading, fire department access, or curb cuts are constrained.

Context is also about compatibility. Adjacent building heights, setbacks, view corridors, and neighborhood patterns can suggest what will be perceived as appropriate, and in many jurisdictions they influence approvals.

Legal, Zoning, and Easements

Before a program is considered “fit,” the site must allow it. Zoning regulations, setbacks, height limits, floor area ratio, parking requirements, and open space standards can dictate massing capacity more than any design preference. Easements and rights-of-way can quietly reduce buildable area, and early identification protects the schedule.

A practical habit is to sketch a zoning envelope early and test it against the area needs. This is often where feasibility is proven or disproven.

Programming: Turning Needs into Requirements

Programming defines the “what” and “how much.” It creates a bridge between client goals and spatial consequences.

Gathering Requirements and Setting Priorities

Clients often begin with aspirations, not requirements. Programming interviews and stakeholder meetings translate those aspirations into measurable needs. Key questions include:

• Who are the users, and what are their peak loads?
• What activities occur, and what equipment or clearances are required?
• What are the hours of operation and security expectations?
• What must be adjacent, and what should be separated?

Programs are rarely funded to include everything stakeholders want. A good architect helps prioritize needs, identifying what is essential versus what is desirable. This prioritization is where scope discipline starts.

Area Planning and Efficiency

Area is not just a list of room sizes. It includes how net areas convert into gross building area, accounting for circulation, walls, structure, shafts, and mechanical spaces. Early grossing assumptions influence budget and site fit, so they must be realistic.

Efficiency varies by building type. A project with many small rooms and specialized support spaces will typically have a lower net-to-gross efficiency than a large open office floor plate. Understanding this relationship helps set expectations and avoid underestimating the building size required to meet the program.

Adjacencies and Functional Relationships

Adjacency studies are a pre-design tool that expose operational logic. A clinic may require direct proximity between exam rooms and nurse stations, while keeping public circulation distinct from staff circulation. A restaurant might need an efficient relationship between receiving, storage, prep, cooking, plating, and dining, with code-compliant egress and separation of waste and clean deliveries.

The point is not to draw floor plans early, but to prove that the program can work in an organized way that supports users and staffing.

Code Research: Reducing Risk Before Design Hardens

Early code research prevents late-stage surprises that can derail a concept. In the Programming and Analysis context, code work is typically about establishing constraints and identifying triggers.

Occupancy, Construction Type, and Basic Allowable Size

Determining likely occupancy classification influences fundamental decisions about fire protection, egress, separation, and allowable building area and height. Construction type options affect what is feasible in terms of size, cost, and schedule.

Even at a conceptual level, the architect should understand that these choices are linked. Allowable area increases might be possible through fire sprinklers, frontage conditions, or other code provisions. Conversely, mixed occupancies or hazardous uses may introduce separations and additional requirements that alter planning.

Egress Implications

Egress planning begins earlier than many teams expect. Occupant load drives exit widths and the number of exits; travel distance limits influence corridor layout and core placement. A program with large assembly spaces or high occupant loads can force multiple exit strategies that must be recognized before a schematic layout becomes fixed.

Accessibility and Inclusive Design

Accessibility is not a finish-line check. Early decisions about site slopes, entry points, level changes, toilet room count and distribution, and vertical circulation affect whether a project can be made compliant without awkward retrofits. Inclusive design thinking during programming often improves usability for everyone, not just code compliance.

Building Systems Selection: Making Concept Decisions with Consequences

Systems selection in pre-design is about setting direction rather than designing in detail. Still, early choices create long shadows over cost, coordination, and performance.

Structural Strategy

The structural system affects span capabilities, floor-to-floor heights, façade options, and flexibility for future change. For instance, longer spans might support adaptable planning, but they can raise structural depth or cost. Early alignment between program needs and structural rhythm reduces later clashes between architecture and engineering.

Mechanical and Electrical Approach

Mechanical system concepts influence space planning through equipment room sizes, shaft locations, ceiling depths, and rooftop or yard requirements. A high-performance goal might suggest tighter envelopes, enhanced ventilation strategies, or energy recovery solutions that need to be accounted for in planning and budget. Electrical capacity and emergency power requirements similarly tie back to program, especially for healthcare, labs, and mission-critical uses.

Life Safety and Fire Protection

Whether a building is sprinklered, how smoke control is handled, and where fire-resistance-rated assemblies are likely needed can affect core layouts and tenant separations. These are not only code issues; they are planning issues.

Pulling It Together: A Pre-Design Deliverable That Guides Design

The most useful output of Programming and Analysis is a clear, testable framework that design can follow. That framework typically includes:

• A written program with area targets and priorities
• Adjacency diagrams or relationship matrices
• A site analysis with opportunities and constraints
• Preliminary zoning and code findings that establish feasibility
• An early systems narrative consistent with goals and constraints

When these pieces align, the project enters schematic design with fewer unknowns and stronger decision-making. For ARE 5.0, the division evaluates whether candidates can think like architects at this stage: asking the right questions, verifying constraints, and shaping a program that is realistic, code-aware, and grounded in the site.