Architecture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Architecture (disambiguation).
Further information: Outline of architecture


Brunelleschi, in the building of the dome of Florence Cathedral in the early 15th-century, not only transformed the
building and the city, but also the role and status of the architect.
[1][2]



Section of Brunelleschi's dome drawn by the architect Cigoli (c. 1600)
Architecture (Latin architectura, after the Greek arkhitekton from -"chief"
and "builder, carpenter, mason") is both the process and the product of planning, designing,
andconstructing buildings and other physical structures. Architectural works, in the material form
of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are
often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.
"Architecture" can mean:
A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures.
[3]

The art and science of designingbuildings and (some) nonbuilding structures.
[3]

The style of design and method of construction of buildings and other physical structures.
[3]

The practice of the architect, where architecture means offering or rendering professional
services in connection with the design and construction of buildings, or built environments.
[4]

The design activity of the architect,
[3]
from the macro-level (urban design,landscape architecture)
to the micro-level (construction details and furniture).
Architecture has to do with planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience to reflect
functional, technical, social, environmental and aesthetic considerations. It requires the creative
manipulation and coordination of materials and technology, and of light and shadow. Often,
conflicting requirements must be resolved. The practise of Architecture also encompasses the
pragmatic aspects of realizing buildings and structures, including scheduling, cost estimation and
construction administration. Documentation produced by architects, typically drawings, plans and
technical specifications, defines the structure and/or behavior of a building or other kind
of system that is to be or has been constructed.
The word "architecture" has also been adopted to describe other designed systems, especially
in information technology.
[3]

Contents
[show]
Theory of architecture[edit]
Main article: Architectural theory
Historic treatises[edit]


The Parthenon, Athens, Greece, "the supreme example among architectural sites." (Fletcher).
[5]

The earliest surviving written work on the subject of architecture is De architectura, by the Roman
architect Vitruvius in the early 1st century AD.
[6]
According to Vitruvius, a good building should satisfy
the three principles offirmitas, utilitas, venustas,
[7][8]
commonly known by the original translation
firmness, commodity and delight. An equivalent in modern English would be:
Durability a building should stand up robustly and remain in good condition.
Utility it should be suitable for the purposes for which is it used.
Beauty it should be aesthetically pleasing.
According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as
possible. Leone Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, De Re
Aedificatoria, saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, although ornament also played a part.
For Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure, the Golden
mean. The most important aspect of beauty was therefore an inherent part of an object, rather than
something applied superficially; and was based on universal, recognisable truths. The notion of style
in the arts was not developed until the 16th century, with the writing of Vasari:
[9]
by the 18th century,
his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects had been translated into Italian,
French, Spanish and English.


The Houses of Parliament, Westminster, master-planned byCharles Barry, with interiors and details by A.W.N. Pugin
In the early 19th century, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin wrote Contrasts(1836) that, as the titled
suggested, contrasted the modern, industrial world, which he disparaged, with an idealized image of
neo-medieval world. Gothic architecture, Pugin believed, was the only "true Christian form of
architecture."
The 19th-century English art critic, John Ruskin, in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, published
1849, was much narrower in his view of what constituted architecture. Architecture was the "art
which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by men ... that the sight of them" contributes "to his
mental health, power, and pleasure".
[10]

For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance. His work goes on to state that a building is
not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way "adorned". For Ruskin, a well-constructed,
well-proportioned, functional building needed string courses or rustication, at the very least.
[10]

On the difference between the ideals of architecture and mere construction, the renowned 20th-
century architect Le Corbusier wrote: "You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these
materials you build houses and palaces: that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you
touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say: This is beautiful. That is Architecture".
[11]

Le Corbusier's contemporary Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said "Architecture starts when you carefully
put two bricks together. There it begins."
[12]



The National Congress of Brazil, designed by Oscar Niemeyer.
Modern concepts of architecture[edit]
The notable 19th-century architect of skyscrapers, Louis Sullivan, promoted an overriding precept to
architectural design: "Form follows function".
While the notion that structural and aesthetic considerations should be entirely subject to
functionality was met with both popularity and skepticism, it had the effect of introducing the concept
of "function" in place of Vitruvius' "utility". "Function" came to be seen as encompassing all criteria of
the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological
and cultural.


Sydney Opera House, Australiadesigned by Jrn Utzon.
Nunzia Rondanini stated, "Through its aesthetic dimension architecture goes beyond the functional
aspects that it has in common with other human sciences. Through its own particular way of
expressing values, architecture can stimulate and influence social life without presuming that, in and
of itself, it will promote social development.'
To restrict the meaning of (architectural) formalism to art for art's sake is not only reactionary; it can
also be a purposeless quest for perfection or originality which degrades form into a mere
instrumentality".
[13]

Among the philosophies that have influenced modern architects and their approach to building
design are rationalism, empiricism, structuralism,poststructuralism, and phenomenology.
In the late 20th century a new concept was added to those included in the compass of both structure
and function, the consideration of sustainability, hence sustainable architecture. To satisfy the
contemporary ethos a building should be constructed in a manner which is environmentally friendly
in terms of the production of its materials, its impact upon the natural and built environment of its
surrounding area and the demands that it makes upon non-sustainable power sources for heating,
cooling, water and waste management and lighting.

History[edit]
Main article: History of architecture
Origins and vernacular architecture[edit]
Main article: Vernacular architecture


Vernacular architecture in Norway.
Building first evolved out of the dynamics between needs (shelter, security, worship, etc.) and means
(available building materials and attendant skills). As human cultures developed and knowledge
began to be formalized through oral traditions and practices, building became a craft, and
"architecture" is the name given to the most highly formalized and respected versions of that craft.
It is widely assumed that architectural success was the product of a process of trial and error, with
progressively less trial and more replication as the results of the process proved increasingly
satisfactory. What is termed vernacular architecture continues to be produced in many parts of the
world. Indeed, vernacular buildings make up most of the built world that people experience every
day. Early human settlements were mostly rural. Due to a surplus in production the economy began
to expand resulting in urbanization thus creating urban areas which grew and evolved very rapidly in
some cases, such as that ofatal Hyk in Anatolia and Mohenjo Daro of the Indus Valley
Civilization in modern-day Pakistan.


The Pyramids at Giza in Egypt.
Ancient architecture[edit]
In many ancient civilizations, such as those of Egypt and Mesopotamia, architecture and urbanism
reflected the constant engagement with the divine and the supernatural, and many ancient cultures
resorted to monumentality in architecture to represent symbolically the political power of the ruler,
the ruling elite, or the state itself.
The architecture and urbanism of the Classical civilizations such as the Greekand
the Roman evolved from civic ideals rather than religious or empirical ones and new building types
emerged. Architectural "style" developed in the form of the Classical orders.
Texts on architecture have been written since ancient time. These texts provided both general
advice and specific formal prescriptions or canons. Some examples of canons are found in the
writings of the 1st-century BCE Roman military engineer Vitruvius. Some of the most important early
examples of canonic architecture are religious.


Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), Kyoto, Japan
Asian architecture[edit]
Early Asian writings on architecture include the Kao Gong Ji of China from the 7th5th centuries
BCE; the Shilpa Shastras of ancient India and Manjusri Vasthu Vidya Sastra of Sri Lanka.
The architecture of different parts of Asia developed along different lines from that of Europe;
Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh architecture each having different characteristics. Buddhist architecture, in
particular, showed great regional diversity. Hindu temple architecture, which developed around the
3rd century BCE, is governed by concepts laid down in the Shastras, and is concerned with
expressing the macrocosm and the microcosm. In many Asian countries, pantheistic religion led to
architectural forms that were designed specifically to enhance the natural landscape.


The Taj Mahal (16321653), in India
Islamic architecture[edit]
Main article: Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture began in the 7th century CE, incorporating architectural forms from the
ancient Middle East and Byzantium, but also developing features to suit the religious and social
needs of the society. Examples can be found throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Spain and
the Indian Sub-continent. The widespread application of the pointed arch was to influence European
architecture of the Medieval period.
The medieval builder[edit]


Notre Dame de Paris, France
In Europe during the Medieval period, guilds were formed by craftsmen to organize their trades and
written contracts have survived, particularly in relation to ecclesiastical buildings. The role of
architect was usually one with that of master mason, or Magister lathomorum as they are sometimes
described in contemporary documents.
The major architectural undertakings were the buildings of abbeys andcathedrals. From about 900
CE onwards, the movements of both clerics and tradesmen carried architectural knowledge across
Europe, resulting in the pan-European styles Romanesque and Gothic.


La Rotonda (1567), Italy by Palladio
Renaissance and the architect[edit]
In Renaissance Europe, from about 1400 onwards, there was a revival of Classical learning
accompanied by the development of Renaissance Humanism which placed greater emphasis on the
role of the individual in society than had been the case during the Medieval period. Buildings were
ascribed to specific architects Brunelleschi, Alberti, Michelangelo, Palladio and the cult of the
individual had begun. There was still no dividing line between artist, architect and engineer, or any of
the related vocations, and the appellation was often one of regional preference.
A revival of the Classical style in architecture was accompanied by a burgeoning of science and
engineering which affected the proportions and structure of buildings. At this stage, it was still
possible for an artist to design a bridge as the level of structural calculations involved was within the
scope of the generalist.
Early modern and the industrial age[edit]


Paris Opera by Charles Garnier(1875), France
With the emerging knowledge in scientific fields and the rise of new materials and technology,
architecture and engineering began to separate, and the architect began to concentrate
on aesthetics and the humanist aspects, often at the expense of technical aspects of building
design. There was also the rise of the "gentleman architect" who usually dealt with wealthy clients
and concentrated predominantly on visual qualities derived usually from historical prototypes,
typified by the many country houses of Great Britain that were created in the Neo Gothic or Scottish
Baronial styles. Formal architectural training in the 19th century, for example at Ecole des Beaux
Arts in France, gave much emphasis to the production of beautiful drawings and little to context and
feasibility. Effective architects generally received their training in the offices of other architects,
graduating to the role from draughtsmen or clerks.
Meanwhile, the Industrial Revolution laid open the door for mass production and consumption.
Aesthetics became a criterion for the middle class as ornamented products, once within the province
of expensive craftsmanship, became cheaper under machine production.
Vernacular architecture became increasingly ornamental. House builders could use current
architectural design in their work by combining features found in pattern books and architectural
journals.
Modernism and reaction[edit]
Main article: Modern architecture


The Bauhaus Dessau architecture department from 1925 by Walter Gropius
Around the beginning of the 20th century, a general dissatisfaction with the emphasis on revivalist
architecture and elaborate decoration gave rise to many new lines of thought that served as
precursors to Modern Architecture. Notable among these is the Deutscher Werkbund, formed in
1907 to produce better quality machine made objects. The rise of the profession of industrial design
is usually placed here. Following this lead, the Bauhaus school, founded in Weimar, Germany in
1919, redefined the architectural bounds prior set throughout history, viewing the creation of a
building as the ultimate synthesisthe apexof art, craft, and technology.
When Modern architecture was first practiced, it was an avant-gardemovement with moral,
philosophical, and aesthetic underpinnings. Immediately after World War I, pioneering modernist
architects sought to develop a completely new style appropriate for a new post-war social and
economic order, focused on meeting the needs of the middle and working classes. They rejected the
architectural practice of the academic refinement of historical styles which served the rapidly
declining aristocratic order. The approach of the Modernist architects was to reduce buildings to pure
forms, removing historical references and ornament in favor of functionalist details. Buildings
displayed their functional and structural elements, exposing steel beams and concrete surfaces
instead of hiding them behind decorative forms.


Fallingwater, Organic architecture byFrank Lloyd Wright.
Architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright developed Organic architecture in which the form was defined
by its environment and purpose, with an aim to promote harmony between human habitation and the
natural world with prime examples being Robie House and Falling Water.


The Crystal Cathedral, California, byPhilip Johnson (1980)
Architects such as Mies van der Rohe,Philip Johnson and Marcel Breuerworked to create beauty
based on the inherent qualities of building materials and modern construction techniques, trading
traditional historic forms for simplified geometric forms, celebrating the new means and methods
made possible by the Industrial Revolution, including steel-frame construction, which gave birth to
high-rise superstructures. By mid-century, Modernism had morphed into theInternational Style, an
aesthetic epitomized in many ways by the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center.
Many architects resisted Modernism, finding it devoid of the decorative richness of ornamented
styles and as the founders of that movement lost influence in the late
1970s, Postmodernism developed as a reaction against its austerity. Postmodernism viewed
Modernism as being too extreme and even harsh in regards to design. Instead, Postmodernists
combined Modernism with older styles from before the 1900s to form a middle ground. Robert
Venturi's contention that a "decorated shed" (an ordinary building which is functionally designed
inside and embellished on the outside) was better than a "duck" (an ungainly building in which the
whole form and its function are tied together) gives an idea of these approaches.
Architecture today[edit]


Postmodern design at Gare do Oriente, Lisbon, Portugal, by Santiago Calatrava.
Since the 1980s, as the complexity of buildings began to increase (in terms of structural systems,
services, energy and technologies), the field of architecture became multi-disciplinary with
specializations for each project type, technological expertise or project delivery methods. In addition,
there has been an increased separation of the 'design' architect
[Notes 1]
from the 'project' architect
who ensures that the project meets the required standards and deals with matters of liability.
[Notes
2]
The preparatory processes for the design of any large building have become increasingly
complicated, and require preliminary studies of such matters as durability, sustainability, quality,
money, and compliance with local laws. A large structure can no longer be the design of one person
but must be the work of many. Modernism and Postmodernism, have been criticised by some
members of the architectural profession who feel that successful architecture is not a personal
philosophical or aesthetic pursuit by individualists; rather it has to consider everyday needs of people
and use technology to create liveable environments, with the design process being informed by
studies of behavioral, environmental, and social sciences.


Green roof planted with native species at L'Historial de la Vende, a new museum in western France.
Environmental sustainability has become a mainstream issue, with profound affect on the
architectural profession. Many developers, those who support the financing of buildings, have
become educated to encourage the facilitation of environmentally sustainable design, rather than
solutions based primarily on immediate cost. Major examples of this can be found in greener roof
designs,biodegradable materials, and more attention to a structure's energy usage. This major shift
in architecture has also changed architecture schools to focus more on the environment.
Sustainability in architecture was pioneered byFrank Lloyd Wright, in the 1960s by Buckminster
Fuller and in the 1970s by architects such as Ian McHarg and Sim Van der Ryn in the US
and Brenda and Robert Vale in the UK and New Zealand. There has been an acceleration in the
number of buildings which seek to meet green building sustainable design principles. Sustainable
practices that were at the core of vernacular architecture increasingly provide inspiration for
environmentally and socially sustainable contemporary techniques.
[14]
The U.S. Green Building
Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system has been
instrumental in this.
[15]

Concurrently, the recent movements of New Urbanism and New Classical Architecture promote a
sustainable approach towards construction, that appreciates and develops smart
growth, architectural tradition and classical design.
[16][17]
This in contrast to modernist and globally
uniform architecture, as well as leaning against solitary housing estates andsuburban sprawl.
[18]


green architecture, philosophy of architecture that advocates sustainable energy sources, the
conservation of energy, the reuse and safety of building materials, and the siting of a building with
consideration of its impact on the environment.
In the early 21st century the building of shelter (in all its forms) consumed more than half of the
worlds resourcestranslating into 16 percent of the Earths freshwater resources, 3040 percent of
all energy supplies, and 50 percent by weight of all the raw materials withdrawn from Earths
surface. Architecture was also responsible for 4050 percent of waste deposits in landfills and 2030
percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
Many architects after the post-World War II building boom were content to erect emblematic civic
and corporate icons that celebrated profligate consumption and omnivorous globalization. At the turn
of the 21st century, however, a buildings environmental integrityas seen in the way it was
designed and how it operatedbecame an important factor in how it was evaluated. ... (160 of 2,537
words)

Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact
of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space.
Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the
design of the built environment.
[1]

The idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is to ensure that our actions and decisions today do
not inhibit the opportunities of future generations.

An architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building (or building
project) that falls within the definition of architecture. Architectural drawings are used
by architects and others for a number of purposes: to develop a design idea into a coherent
proposal, to communicate ideas and concepts, to convince clients of the merits of a design, to
enable abuilding contractor to construct it, as a record of the completed work, and to make a record
of a building that already exists.
Architectural drawings are made according to a set of conventions, which include particular views
(floor plan, section etc.), sheet sizes, units of measurement and scales, annotation and cross
referencing. Conventionally, drawings were made in ink on paper or a similar material, and any
copies required had to be laboriously made by hand. The twentieth century saw a shift to drawing on
tracing paper, so that mechanical copies could be run off efficiently.
The development of the computer had a major impact on the methods used to design and create
technical drawings,
[1]
making manual drawing almost obsolete, and opening up new possibilities of
form using organic shapes and complex geometry. Today the vast majority of drawings are created
using CAD software.
Types of architectural drawing[edit]
Architectural drawings are produced for a specific purpose, and can be classified accordingly.
Several elements are often included on the same sheet, for example a sheet showing a plan
together with the principal faade.
Presentation drawings[edit]
Drawings intended to explain a scheme and to promote its merits. Working drawings may include
tones or hatches to emphasise different materials, but they are diagrams, not intended to appear
realistic. Basic presentation drawings typically include people, vehicles and trees, taken from a
library of such images, and are otherwise very similar in style to working drawings. Rendering is the
art of adding surface textures and shadows to show the visual qualities of a building more
realistically. An architectural illustrator or graphic designer may be employed to prepare specialist
presentation images, usually perspectives or highly finished site plans, floor plans and elevations
etc.
Survey drawings[edit]
Measured drawings of existing land, structures and buildings. Architects need an accurate set of
survey drawings as a basis for their working drawings, to establish exact dimensions for the
construction work. Surveys are usually measured and drawn up by specialist land surveyors.
Record drawings[edit]
Historically, architects have made record drawings in order to understand and emulate the great
architecture known to them. In the Renaissance, architects from all over Europe studied and
recorded the remains of the Roman and Greek civilizations, and used these influences to develop
the architecture of the period. Records are made both individually, for local purposes, and on a large
scale for publication. Historic surveys worth referring to include:
Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Brittanicus, illustrations of English buildings by Inigo Jones and Sir
Christopher Wren, as well as Campbell himself and other prominent architects of the era.
The Survey of London, founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee and now available
through English Heritage. A record of notable streets and individual buildings in the former
County of London.
Historic American Buildings Survey, records of notable buildings drawn up during the
1930s Depression, this collection is held by the Library of Congress and is available copyright-
free on the internet.
Record drawings are also used in construction projects, where "as-built" drawings of the completed
building take account of all the variations made during the course of construction.
Working drawings[edit]
A comprehensive set of drawings used in a building construction project: these will include not only
architect's drawings but structural and services engineer's drawings etc. Working drawings logically
subdivide into location, assembly and component drawings.
[9]

Location drawings, also called general arrangement drawings, include floor plans, sections and
elevations: they show where the construction elements are located.
Assembly drawings show how the different parts are put together. For example a wall detail will
show the layers that make up the construction, how they are fixed to structural elements, how to
finish the edges of openings, and how prefabricated components are to be fitted.
Component drawings enable self-contained elements e.g. windows and doorsets, to be
fabricated in a workshop, and delivered to site complete and ready for installation. Larger
components may include roof trusses, cladding panels, cupboards and kitchens. Complete
rooms, especially hotel bedrooms and bathrooms, may be made as prefabricated pods complete
with internal decorations and fittings.
Traditionally, working drawings would typically combine plans, sections, elevations and some details
to provide a complete explanation of a building on one sheet. That was possible because little detail
was included, the building techniques involved being common knowledge amongst building
professionals. Modern working drawings are much more detailed and it is standard practice to
isolate each view on a separate sheet. Notes included on drawings are brief, referring to
standardised specification documents for more information. Understanding the layout and
construction of a modern building involves studying an often-sizeable set of drawings and
documents.

Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of
composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or is to be constructed.
Technical drawing is essential for communicating ideas in industry and engineering. To make the
drawings easier to understand, people use familiar symbols, perspectives, units of
measurement, notation systems, visual styles, and page layout. Together,
such conventions constitute avisual language, and help to ensure that the drawing
is unambiguous and relatively easy to understand.
This need for precise communication in the preparation of a functional document distinguishes
technical drawing from the expressive drawing of the visual arts. Artistic drawings are subjectively
interpreted; their meanings are multiply determined. Technical drawings are understood to have one
intended meaning.
[1]

A drafter, draftsperson, or draughtsman is a person who makes a drawing (technical or expressive).
A professional drafter who makes technical drawings is sometimes called a drafting technician.
Architectural theory is the act of thinking, discussing, and writing about architecture. Architectural
theory is taught in most architecture schools and is practiced by the world's leading architects. Some
forms that architecture theory takes are the lecture or dialogue, the treatise or book, and the paper
project or competition entry. Architectural theory is often didactic, and theorists tend to stay close to
or work from within schools. It has existed in some form since antiquity, and as publishing became
more common, architectural theory gained an increased richness. Books, magazines, and journals
published an unprecedented amount of works by architects and critics in the 20th century. As a
result, styles and movements formed and dissolved much more quickly than the relatively enduring
modes in earlier history. It is to be expected that the use of the internet will further the discourse on
architecture in the 21st century.

Architectural Programming
by Edith Cherry, FAIA, ASLA and John Petronis, AIA, AICP
Last updated: 09-02-2009

INTRODUCTION
Architectural programming began when architecture began. Structures have always been based on programs:
decisions were made, something was designed, built and occupied. In a way, archaeologists excavate buildings to try
to determine their programs.
Today, we define architectural programming as the research and decision-making process that identifies the scope of
work to be designed. Synonyms include "facility programming," "functional and operational requirements," and
"scoping." In the early 1960s, William Pea, John Focke, and Bill Caudill of Caudill, Rowlett, and Scott (CRS)
developed a process for organizing programming efforts. Their work was documented in Problem Seeking, the text that
guided many architects and clients who sought to identify the scope of a design problem prior to beginning the
design, which is intended to solve the problem.

A Six-Step Process

Many different programming formats incorporate the same essential elements. In all cases, the design programming
fits within a larger context of planning efforts which can also be programmed. For design programming for a building,
we propose a six-step process as follows:
1. Research the project type
2. Establish goals and objectives
3. Gather relevant information
4. Identify strategies
5. Determine quantitative requirements
6. Summarize the program
1) Research the Project Type
This step is necessary if the programmer is working on a project type for the first time. The programmer should
become familiar with some of the following relevant information:
The types of spaces frequently included in the building type,
The space criteria (number of square feet per person or unit) for those spaces,
Typical relationships of spaces for these functions,
Typical ratios of net assignable square footage (NASFareas that are assigned to a function) to gross square footage (GSF
total area to the outside walls) for this building type,
Typical costs per square foot for this building type,
Typical site requirements for the project type,
Regional issues that might alter the accuracy of the data above in the case of this project, and
Technical, mechanical, electrical, security, or other issues unique to the project type.
This information can be obtained from literature on the building type, analysis of plans of existing projects, expert
consultants familiar with the building type, and/or cost estimating services.
2) Establish Goals and Objectives
Working with the committee, the programmer solicits and suggests broad goal statements that will guide the
remainder of the programming process. (See Design Objectives on the WBDG Web site.) Each of the following
categories of goals should be addressed:
Organizational Goals: What are the goals of the owners? Where do they see their organization headed? How does this
architectural project fit into this broad picture?
Form and Image Goals: What should be the aesthetic and psychological impact of the design? How should it relate to the
surroundings? Should its image be similar to or distinct from its neighbors? From other buildings belonging to the owner that are
located elsewhere? Are there historic, cultural, and/or context implications?
Function Goals: What major functions will take place in the building? How many people are to be accommodated? How might
the building design enhance or impact occupant interactions?
Economic Goals: What is the total project budget? What is the attitude toward initial costs versus long-range operating and
maintenance costs? What level of quality is desired (often stated in relation to other existing projects)? What is the attitude
toward conservation of resources and sustainability (energy, water, etc.)?
Time Goals: When is the project to be occupied? What types of changes are expected over the next 5, 10, 15, and 20 years?
Management Goals: These goals are not so much an issue of the nature of the project as they are the circumstances of the owner,
clients, programmer, or architect. For example, perhaps the schematic design must be completed in time for a legislative request
application deadline.
3) Gather Relevant Information
Based upon the goals, the categories of relevant information can be determined and researched. Typical categories
include:
Facility users, activities, and schedules: Who is doing what, how many people are doing each activity, and when are they doing
it?
What equipment is necessary for activities to function properly? What is the size of the equipment?
What aspects of the project need to be projected into the future? What is the history of growth of each aspect that requires
projection?
What are the space criteria (square feet per person or unit) for the functions to take place?
What other design criteria may affect architectural programming: access to daylight, acoustics, accessibility, campus/area design
guidelines, historic preservation, etc.?
Are there licensing or policy standards for minimum area for various functions? What are these standards?
What are the energy usage and requirements?
What code information may affect programming decisions?
Site analysis: the site is always a major aspect of the design problem and therefore should be included in the program. Site
analysis components that often affect design include:
o Legal description
o Zoning, design guidelines, and deed restrictions and requirements
o Traffic (bus, automobile, and pedestrian) considerations
o Utility availability (a potentially high cost item)
o Topography
o Views
o Built features
o Climate (if not familiar to the designer)
o Vegetation and wildlife
Client's existing facility as a resource
o If the client is already participating in the activities to be housed in the new facility, it may be possible to make use of
information at hand. Determine if the existing facility is satisfactory or obsolete as a resource.
o If a floor plan exists, do a square foot take-off of the areas for various functions. Determine the building efficiency (the ratio of
existing net-to-gross area). This ratio is useful in establishing the building efficiency target for the new facility.
o If the client is a repeat builder (school districts, public library, public office building, etc.), obtain plans and do area take-offs;
determine typical building efficiencies.
o Use the existing square footages for comparison when you propose future amounts of space. People can relate to what they
already have. (See illustration above in Step 5, Determine quantitative requirements.)
4) Identify Strategies
Programmatic strategies suggest a way to accomplish the goals given what one now knows about the opportunities
and constraints. A familiar example of a programmatic strategy is the relationship or "bubble" diagram. These
diagrams indicate what functions should be near each other in order for the project to function smoothly. Relationship
diagrams can also indicate the desired circulation connections between spaces, what spaces require security or
audio privacy, or other aspects of special relationships.
Other types of strategies recur in programs for many different types of projects. Some examples of common
categories of programmatic strategies include:
Centralization and decentralization: What function components are grouped together and which are segregated? For example, in
some offices the copying function is centralized, while in others there are copiers for each department.
Flexibility: What types of changes are expected for various functions? Do facilities need to change over a period of a few hours?
A few days? A summer recess? Or is an addition what is really needed?
Flow: What goods, services, and people move through the project? What is needed at each step of the way to accommodate that
flow?
Priorities and phasing: What are the most important functions of the project? What could be added later? Are there ongoing
existing operations that must be maintained?
Levels of access: Who is allowed where? What security levels are there?
Ideally, each of the goals and objectives identified in Step 2 will have some sort of strategy for addressing that goal.
Otherwise, either the goal is not very important, or more discussion is required to address how to achieve that goal or
objective.
5) Determine Quantitative Requirements

Cost, schedule, and affordable area are interdependent. Costs are affected by inflation through time. Affordable area is determined by
available budgets.
In this step, one must reconcile the available budget with the amount of improvements desired within the project time
frame. First, a list of spaces is developed to accommodate all of the activities desired (see Exhibit A). The space
criteria researched in Step 3 are the basis of this list of space requirements. The space requirements are listed as net
assignable square feet (NASF), referring to the space assigned to an activity, not including circulation to that space.
A percentage for "tare" space is added to the total NASF. Tare space is the area needed for circulation, walls,
mechanical, electrical and telephone equipment, wall thickness, and public toilets. Building efficiency is the ratio of
NASF to gross square feet (GSF), the total area including the NASF and tare areas. Building efficiency equals
NASF/GSF. The building efficiency for a building type was researched in Step 1 and possibly Step 3. See Exhibit A
for an example of space requirements.
The building efficiency of an existing space used by a client can inform the selection of the net-to-gross ratio. The
example below of an office suite within an office building illustrates the areas of net assignable square feet and tare
area. Notice that some space within an office is considered circulation, even though it is not delineated with walls. We
call this circulation, "phantom corridor."

In the case of a tenant improvement within a larger building, one establishes the "internal gross" of the leased space. Additional support
space or tare area such as mechanical rooms and public toilets would not be included in the calculation for this project type.
The desired GSF is then tested against the available budget (see Exhibit B). In drafting the total project cost, the
programmer uses the cost per square foot amount researched in Step 1. Factors for inflation should be included,
based upon the project schedule. Costs should be projected to the date of the mid-point of construction because
bidders calculate estimates on the assumption that costs could change from the time of the bid date.
The total project cost includes the construction cost (for building and site work), plus amounts for architect's fees,
furniture and equipment, communications, contingency, printing for bid sets, contingency, soils tests, topological
surveys, and any other costs that must come from the owner's budget. The intention is to help the owner prepare for
all the project costs, not just those costs assigned to construction.
If the bottom line for the project costs is more than the budget, three things can happen: 1) space can be trimmed
back or delegated to a later phase (a reduction in quantity); 2) the cost per square foot can be reduced (a reduction in
quality); or 3) both. This reconciliation of the desired space and the available budget is critical to defining a realistic
scope of work.
6) Summarize the Program
Finally, once all of the preceding steps are executed, summary statements can be written defining "in a nut shell" the
results of the programming effort. All of the pertinent information included above can be documented for the owner,
committee members, and the design team as well. The decision-makers should sign-off on the scope of work as
described in the program.
Once a program is completed and approved by the client, the information must be integrated into the design process.
Some clients want the programmer to stay involved after the programming phase to insure that the requirements
defined in the program are realized in the design work.