Rost Architects Schematic Design Process
Rost Architects design for a 6,000 SQFT custom luxury home. Copyright 2021 Rost Architects
Project Phases
Construction Administration
The customary Architectural Services are typically divided into four phases. They are; Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents, and Construction Administration. The Schematic Design phase of the project is the first phase of the project and in our opinion one of the most important.
Site Analysis
At the conception of the Schematic Design the Architectural team will perform an in-depth study of the site, owners requirements, budget and timeline. This includes reviewing the Geotechnical Report, reviewing the site survey and performing field visits to the property to review sun angles, views, vegetation, neighboring properties and any other unique characteristics of the site. Concurrently, the Architectural team will be performing a zoning and code analysis on the property. This report will include items such as setbacks, height limits, maximum floor area, required landscape area etc. This also sometimes includes HOA guidelines, Fire requirements, Historical requirements and Environmental Requirements, just to name a few. The goal is to perform a thorough analysis on the property to become aware of all restrictions before our pen hits the paper.
Preliminary Cost Estimate
After the code analysis is complete, we perform a preliminary cost analysis to determine the amount of square footage that we can build in a given area/market based on the owners budget. For example, based on past projects, we know that the cost of building a luxury custom home in Newport Beach will be in the arena of 700-1200 SQFT (2021). If the owner has a $5M budget for the project, we would only design up to roughly 6,250 SQFT home (assuming we are using a $800 Per SQFT cost). It is a priority for us to design responsibly within a realistic budget.
Rost Architects Preliminary Budget Projection for Modern Home in Southern California
Program and Functional Requirements
At the beginning of the project we have several discussions with the owner on required functional elements of their home based on family size and how they live. These are items such as bed/bath count, pools, gardens, and other program features. We call this the project program. In this analysis we provide standard room dimensions to each piece of requested program. For example if the owner would like three bedrooms, we will allocate roughly 270 SQFT to each room. After adding up all of the requested program and the allotted square footages, we cross check this will the total allowable square footage we are able to build within the project budget and zoning code. If modifications need to be made, we work through this with the owner.
Floorplans
Finally we “put pen to paper” and synthesize all of the requirements into a cohesive floorplan and site plan. We start with general square footage blocks and lay them out on the site, keeping in mind adjacencies, views and all other code requirements. While designing the floorplan, one of our primary objectives is to design with economy and constructability in mind. For example, proposing a design that will require massive retaining walls, when they could easily be minimized should be avoided.
Schematic Perspective Renderings, 3D Model and Flythrough
In the Schematic Design presentation meeting with the clients, we typically present the proposed floorplans along with a series of preliminary exterior renderings showing the basic form and materials of the building. See example below. Often we will also present a conceptual flythrough of the building and a 3D model (example below) at the owners request. There is an example of a video flythrough at the bottom of the article for a 8,500 SQFT custom home we are working on in Southern California.
Rost Architects design for a 8,500 SQFT Modern Home in Southern California. Copyright 2021 Rost Architects
Schematic Design Presentation
At the Schematic Design presentation we will walk the owner through the plan on paper and in the 3D discussing why we made certain design decisions and our thinking. We will take in feedback and make sure that they are happy with the proposed design. After the meeting, our team will take the design back to our desks and make the modifications/revisions as requested and send them to the owner for final approval. In most cases we receive approval from the owner after one or two rounds of meeting.
Rost Architects 3D Print for Custom Luxury Home in Southern California. Copyright 2021 Rost Architects
When the owners are completely happy with the Schematic Design, we will send them a full package of the documents along with an updated preliminary cost estimate and ask for their formal approval to proceed to the next phase, Design Development. In a subsequent article we will describe the process and deliverables for our schematic design package.
We hope you enjoyed this look under the hood describing our Schematic Design process. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us as www.rostarchitects.com.
