Step-By-Step Guide To Planning Architectural Projects

1. When exploring a clients’ vision for a project, what questions do you have for them?

“Before we start creating architectural plans for a space, we need to know how it’s currently being used, and we apply this approach to both residential and commercial projects; whether it’s a home renovation in London or a retail design and build project in Dubai.

For residential projects, we aim to understand how the space currently functions for the occupants, and this varies depending on the individual that we are working with. We aim to understand which parts of the space they use the most, and the purpose that they serve. For many families, the kitchen needs to serve as a multipurpose space, hosting everything from weeknight meal times to homework sessions and family gatherings. Parents might also need the space for their own get-togethers with friends, or perhaps for working from home.

By taking this kind of personable approach and understanding the habits and daily lives of our clients, we’re able to design a new space that is completely tailored to their needs.

For commercial clients, if they have an existing space already, we encourage them to tell us more about what isn’t ‘working’ from their perspective, for customers that visit the store. By using the clients’ firsthand observations of this, we can identify the most effective ways to create a new space or enhance their current premises in a way that also boosts the customers’ in-store experience.”

2. What challenges can come up when you’re turning a clients’ vision into a tangible plan?

“Facing challenges is simply part of the process for many of our projects, as they all come with their own quirks and complexities. There are certainly a few common themes that come up though, but our project management team always has a solution.

Often, the first type of challenge that we face comes in the form of needing to build a high level of trust in our professional team. We make clear efforts to meet this for all of our clients, and it usually involves scheduling “educational slots” during the briefing to explain our structure and process. One of our core values is to create transparency and understanding between our clients, and our team will develop a working relationship with the client in order to do this.

Similarly, we understand that our team also has a responsibility to develop and demonstrate a solid understanding of the clients’ goals and priorities. The reason that we cover a breadth of different questions before the planning stage is so that we know that we have accounted for these factors in their entirety; and sometimes, the client benefits from us being as thorough as we are, as it actually helps them to realise their own objectives with more clarity.

Getting the look and feel of a project right can often present a few challenges too. Nowadays, many clients come to our interior design experts armed with inspiration in all different forms – from mood boards to social media accounts. We have to be clear in the fact that look and feel can depend on a variety of other factors, but we always aim to give the client exactly what they want.

Another challenge related to the look and feel of the space is the budget available, as sometimes the scope will require significantly more investment. Alongside this, we have timing; and we avoid any challenges here by being completely transparent where possible. The best way to describe this would be that we approach our projects with bold but balanced and realistic intentions – we love seeing our clients happy with the proposed plans, but we also value building integrity by sharing an achievable timescale and budget requirement.

Occasionally, the space that we are starting with alone can be a challenge. At first glance, the work might seem like it warrants a less substantial scope, but some structural analysis can create the opposite reality. Likewise, a client may have big plans for a space, but bringing them to life could warrant making some significant changes to the existing property.”

3. What kind of factors do you have to account for when ensuring a clients’ vision can be materialised?

“As mentioned, being realistic with our clients is a priority for our team, and there’s a few deeper aspects of this that we have to factor in. We must assess and clarify on the clients’ current priorities first, to understand exactly what they want to achieve through the project effort. Additionally, we need to consider the bigger picture and think about the long term use of the house or commercial space, making sure that our project won’t lead to any obstacles further down the line.

We’re always mindful of understanding room by room use for residential properties, and it’s important for us to highlight any areas where a room should serve more than one purpose.

Ultimately, one of the most important things to think about on both commercial and residential projects is the look and feel of the space; and we have to check in with ourselves during the planning process to ensure that our intentions will allow us to meet this client expectation.”

4. What tends to be the most time consuming aspect when creating a project plan?

“Architectural planning is always a resource-heavy process, as it can involve needing input from various professionals across our team. We spend a significant amount of time on space planning, as we need to ensure that we are putting an effective design forward that has a functional layout. Next, we translate these plans into architectural drawings, and this is a specialised skill in itself, as these representations need to be detailed enough to clearly show the goals of the project and how we’d be meeting them.

Arguably, the longest part of the project comes when we reach the point where we need to explain and justify the reasoning behind our design proposals. This can be a lengthy process because we are explaining our plans to (most often) people who do not have a professional knowledge of our sector.

We’re proud to take our time when it comes to any kind of client communication though, as doing so enables us to outline the most accurate guidance, taking in account style, budget, timing, and the scope of work.”

5. How do you start to lay out a project timeline when planning?

“The project timeline begins with our team setting up the extent and scope of the works, and from here, we coordinate a sustainable work flow for the chosen contractor. Aligning at this stage is essential, as it informs the way we communicate the time frame with our clients. Next, we establish some milestones, for example, if we’re making major structural changes we will highlight this with a completion date. This way, we can show our clients exactly where and when tangible progress is being made.

Finally, we’d present a timeline of the pre-construction phase and construction phase, using a Gant chart. This visual aid adds to the clarity that we’re setting out to achieve.”

6. What is your favourite part of the planning stage?

“There’s so much about the planning process that I enjoy, and I know that my team feels the same! Personally, I love laying out the look & feel aspects of the project, and I’ll often use reference pictures to help the client to feel inspired by our proposals. I also enjoy collaborating with the creative team on concept design development, as it really brings the initial vision to life in my opinion.

Presenting our plans to the clients is undoubtedly the best part though, as we get to use our own creative vision to show them how we will meet their aims – and it also gives us a way to demonstrate the value they’ll get from putting their trust in our services.

Speaking as an architect here, I do also take a lot of pride in carefully studying the materials and the construction details for a project, as the finer details are always on my mind! These considerations are the things that distinguish the work that RVA does, so I’ll always be proud to showcase them and ensure that they’re perfect.”

Choose RVA for your design and build project in Dubai, London or Riyadh

The architectural design plans that we produce are the backbone of every project outcome, and our meticulous approach here enables us to not only meet, but exceed our clients’ expectations. If you’re looking for an architect in Dubai or London for a commercial or residential project, contact us today or arrange a free design consultation online now.