Architectural and interior design services

Schematic Design

Schematic design is this early phase of the design process that comes immediately following pre-design, when all the parameters of the future building or interior space have been defined and well understood. 

Once we know the conditions inherent to the site that is being proposed, once we know the program of the future facility, its budget and the time line that need be observed, we can start browsing ideas and do the initial rough open ended sketches that will lead to the visualization of the space or building waiting to be created.

During that opening act of the design process, the client's wish list will be tested against many external constraints brought about the Municipality's Zoning Bylaws, the current regional Building Code and the few other technical limitations such as the particularities of the site and its soil, the usual exhaustible nature of the budget, the contemplated procurement logistics, the existing environmental bylaws, etc.

Using his or her particular flair, the designer will develop a concept that should allow for  the integration of all the requirements and restrictions that have been defined.  The concept thus developed will become the soul of the future space or building; and like DNA, it will provide a guideline for the production of physical attributes such as massing, scale, proportion, down to the details such as light fixtures, colours, furniture and even logo.

It is important to note that a good concept, which should breed a good design is not solely the result of the designer's skills and experience; although these later ingredients are essential, a good concept is rather the result of the quality and intensity of the interaction between the client and the designer, or how these two parties mutually stimulate their cognitive and creative judgements.

Schematic design will transform bubble diagrams into space with circulation in between, a hierarchy of functions will be established;  then images will appear delineating the initial shape of a floor and/or the three-dimensional object that floor ought to be.  As simplicity slowly flows into complexity, as the initial concept takes the organic shape of rooms for living, expertise from other design professionals usually becomes essential. Respectively, various consultant engineers (e.g., structural, mechanical, electrical, traffic, etc.) would be invited to answer some of the fastidious aspects of the emerging design. This in turn will allow the drafting of few more hard  lines over the sketchy schematic, hence bringing the project closer to its next development stage.

Noteworthy, depending upon the written agreement between the client and the design team, the client might be entitled to more than one option, in order to view different perspectives of the same problem. Respectively, the provision of two to three alternate schematics are not uncommon, it is even advised,  prior to adopting the solution that best fits the requirements and limitations integral to the project.

At the end, the schematic design journey shall be regarded as a happy and enriching experience by the client, a reward for the designer. Thence, after the client's approval of the preferred schematic option and its signing off, the project moves into its next stage of gestation, i.e., the design development  phase.