HOW THIS WORKS

The Programming phase can be broken down into four distinct stages:

• Design statement
• Research
• Programme document
• Client review and approval

The initial ‘Design Statement’defines the project in very general terms.  It identifies the client(s); the nature of the project (primary residence, holiday home, office, etc.); the location of the project; the purpose of the space and the extent of the design work. The research process begins with identification of each of the users – from principal occupants to guests and friends.  In a residential design, a profile may be developed for each of the principal residents, including such information as their age and sex, hobbies, habits, need for privacy, style and colour preferences, and an inventory of possessions and furnishings that need to be accommodated in the redesigned space.  This stage involves interviews with the client and other end-users, surveys, inventories and wider research. It is important to ascertain the objectives, requirements, feasibility, extent and constraints (regulatory or financial) associated with the project.  Space adjacencies, circulation patterns (‘traffic flow’) and spatial and activity relationships may be sketched in the form of ‘bubble diagrams’. The programme data is analysed and the results are compiled in a Programme Document that articulates the design problem and outlines a solution.  The programme document is reviewed and approved by the client.

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