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Programming & Analysis (PA)

This division will assess objectives related to the evaluation of project requirements, constraints, and opportunities. The division will focus on issues related to programming, site analysis, and zoning and code requirements. Candidates must demonstrate an understanding of and abilities in project type analysis, the establishment of qualitative and quantitative project requirements, evaluation of project site and context, and assessment of economic issues.

Environmental Contextual Conditions

Evaluate Environmental Opportunities

4/4 topics

Alternative Energy Resources: Solar, Wind, Geothermal, and Site Energy Potential

Evaluating site-specific renewable energy opportunities during programming, including solar radiation analysis, wind power feasibility, geothermal heat pump suitability, passive solar design strategies, and the assessment process for determining which alternative energy technologies match a project's site constraints and goals.

Natural Landscape Features: Topography, Vegetation, Water Features, and Scenic Amenities

Evaluating natural site features during programming, including terrain analysis through topographic mapping, vegetation assessment for ecological and design value, water feature identification and hydrologic characterization, and scenic amenity evaluation for project integration.

Microclimate Analysis: Solar Access, Wind Patterns, Temperature, and Precipitation

Evaluating site-specific microclimate conditions including solar access, prevailing wind patterns, temperature variations, and precipitation to identify opportunities for building orientation, passive energy strategies, and climate-responsive design during the programming phase.

Neighborhood Context: Socio-Cultural Conditions, Community Character, and Urban Fabric

Evaluating how neighborhood context, socio-cultural conditions, community character, and the existing urban fabric shape site opportunities during the programming and analysis phase. Covers community engagement, walkability assessment, historic and cultural resource identification, land use pattern analysis, and health-equity considerations that inform architectural programming decisions.

Evaluate Environmental Constraints

9/9 topics

Floodplain Identification: FEMA Flood Zones, BFE, and Development Limitations

How architects identify and classify flood hazard areas using FEMA's zone designations, interpret Base Flood Elevations on Flood Insurance Rate Maps, and evaluate the regulatory constraints that floodplain location imposes on building siting, design, and construction during the programming phase.

Mitigating Adverse Site Conditions: Grading, Retaining Walls, and Soil Stabilization

Strategies for addressing problematic site conditions through grading modifications, retaining wall systems, and soil stabilization techniques during the programming and analysis phase of architectural projects.

Site Acoustics and Noise Analysis: Sources, Barriers, Buffers, and Equipment Placement

Analyze noise sources affecting a project site, evaluate barrier and buffer strategies for mitigation, and determine optimal placement of mechanical equipment to meet acoustic performance goals and reduce adverse site conditions.

Stormwater Management: BMPs, Retention vs. Detention, Erosion Control, and SWPPP

Evaluating stormwater management strategies as site constraints, including best management practices such as bioretention and permeable pavement, the distinction between retention and detention systems, erosion and sediment control measures, and Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan requirements under the Clean Water Act.

Hazardous Materials on Sites: Radon, Lead, Asbestos, and Remediation Requirements

Evaluate hazardous material constraints that affect building location and site development, including radon gas entry and mitigation, lead-based paint identification and abatement, asbestos-containing material surveys and control programs, and remediation strategies architects must understand during programming and site analysis.

Brownfield and Contaminated Sites: Environmental Assessment and Redevelopment Strategies

Evaluating brownfield sites during programming requires analyzing contamination risks, understanding the Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessment process, assessing CERCLA liability implications, and determining how environmental constraints shape redevelopment feasibility and site design strategies.

Environmental Regulations as Site Constraints: NEPA, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act

How federal environmental regulations including NEPA, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act constrain site development decisions during architectural programming, including the environmental review process, permit requirements, and mitigation strategies architects must evaluate.

Climate Change Vulnerabilities: Sea Level Rise, Extreme Weather, and Resilience Strategies

Evaluating how climate change vulnerabilities such as sea level rise, increased flooding, extreme heat, and severe storms constrain site selection and building design during the programming phase. Covers risk assessment frameworks, the evolving standard of care, code limitations, resilience strategies, and the architect's role in communicating climate risks to clients.

Abandoned and Deteriorated Structures: Assessment, Safety, and Demolition Considerations

Evaluating abandoned and deteriorated structures on project sites as environmental constraints during programming. Covers condition assessment methods, hazardous material identification (asbestos, lead, PCBs), structural stability evaluation, demolition planning considerations, and strategies to mitigate adverse conditions associated with dilapidated buildings.

Onsite Resources Sustainability

3/3 topics

Building Location and Orientation for Passive Solar Design and Energy Efficiency

How building siting, orientation, massing, and footprint decisions affect passive solar performance and energy efficiency, including the five elements of passive solar design, orientation rules, window selection, thermal mass, overhang sizing, and strategies for minimizing environmental impact through design.

Massing, Footprint, and Building Configuration for Environmental Response

How building shape, orientation, and footprint respond to site conditions to minimize environmental impact and maximize passive energy strategies.

Passive Energy Strategies: Daylighting, Natural Ventilation, and Thermal Mass

Examines passive energy strategies that minimize mechanical system dependency through daylighting design, natural ventilation patterns, and thermal mass integration, focusing on how building orientation, massing, and envelope decisions respond to site conditions and climate.

Codes Regulations

Code Requirements

7/7 topics

ADA Parking, Accessible Dwelling Units (IBC Chapter 11), and Fair Housing Act

Accessibility requirements that architects must identify during initial code analysis, covering ADA parking standards, IBC Chapter 11 accessible dwelling provisions, and the Fair Housing Act's seven design requirements for covered multifamily housing.

Energy Codes in Programming: IECC, ASHRAE 90.1, and Compliance Paths

Understanding the major energy codes governing building design, including the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ASHRAE Standard 90.1, their regulatory structure, climate zone framework, and the multiple compliance paths available to architects during programming and initial code analysis.

Green Building Standards and Rating Systems: LEED, Green Globes, and Sustainability Programs

Covers the major green building rating systems and sustainability standards that architects must identify during programming and analysis, including LEED, Green Globes, the International Green Construction Code, the Living Building Challenge, and federal sustainability mandates. Focuses on how these systems interact with energy codes, when they apply voluntarily versus mandatorily, and how they affect initial code analysis for a project.

IBC Occupancy Classifications, Use Groups, and Mixed-Use Considerations

Understanding how the International Building Code classifies buildings by occupancy type, the characteristics of each use group, and the code requirements that govern buildings containing multiple occupancies.

IBC Construction Types, Fire-Resistance Ratings, and Material Limitations

Covers the five IBC construction types (I through V), their fire-resistance rating requirements per Tables 601 and 602, permitted and prohibited materials for each type, and how construction classification interacts with occupancy classification to determine allowable building height, area, and use.

Building Code Analysis: Allowable Area, Height, and Number of Stories Calculations

How the IBC determines maximum building height, number of stories, and allowable area per story using Table 503, and how sprinkler systems and street frontage modify those limits through Equations 5-1 and 5-2.

ADA Accessible Routes, Ramps, Clearances, and Reach Ranges

Covers the 2010 ADA Standards for accessible route requirements, ramp slope and landing specifications, maneuvering clearances at doors, turning spaces, clear floor spaces, and reach range requirements that architects must identify and apply during initial code analysis.

Zoning Land Use

5/5 topics

Dimensional Requirements: Setbacks, Lot Coverage, and Maximum Building Height

Zoning codes control building placement and scale through dimensional standards including setbacks, lot coverage ratios, and maximum building heights. Architects must understand how to measure, calculate, and apply these requirements during the programming and analysis phase to determine what can be built on a given site.

Floor Area Ratio (FAR): Calculation Methods, Bonuses, and Transfer of Development Rights

How to calculate floor area ratio, apply density bonuses and incentives, and understand transfer of development rights as zoning tools that regulate building intensity on a site.

Parking Requirements: Calculations, Ratios, Shared Parking, and Alternative Compliance

How zoning codes regulate off-street parking supply through minimum ratios, shared-parking credits, fee-in-lieu programs, and alternative compliance strategies that architects must evaluate during programming and site analysis.

Variances, Special Exceptions, and the Zoning Approval Process

Understanding when and how property owners can obtain relief from zoning restrictions through variances (use and area), special use permits/conditional use permits, and the formal approval process involving zoning boards of appeals, public hearings, and conditions of approval.

Zoning Districts: Permitted Uses, Conditional Uses, and Non-Conforming Uses

How local jurisdictions divide land into zoning districts and regulate what activities can occur on each parcel, including uses allowed by right, uses requiring special conditions, and pre-existing uses that no longer comply with current zoning rules.

Local Site Requirements

4/4 topics

Design Overlay Districts, Form-Based Codes, and Special Area Regulations

Specialty regulatory tools that supplement conventional zoning to control building form, protect sensitive areas, and enforce site-specific development standards within designated geographic boundaries.

Floodplain Regulations: NFIP Compliance, Elevation Requirements, and Development Standards

How the National Flood Insurance Program regulates development in Special Flood Hazard Areas, including elevation requirements by flood zone, the distinction between Zone A and Zone V standards, substantial improvement thresholds, floodway restrictions, and the architect's role in identifying floodplain constraints during site analysis.

Historic Preservation Requirements: Local Landmarks, Districts, and Design Review Processes

Identifying and applying historic preservation regulations that govern work on locally designated landmarks, properties within historic districts, and structures listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, including the Section 106 review process, the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and the role of local landmarks commissions and design review boards during the programming and analysis phase.

Wetlands Regulations: Identification, Buffer Zones, and Development Restrictions

How architects identify jurisdictional wetlands on a project site, understand required buffer zones, and apply federal, state, and local development restrictions that govern what can and cannot be built in or near wetland areas.

Site Analysis Programming

Site Attributes

7/7 topics

Climate Analysis for Site Programming: Temperature, Precipitation, and Seasonal Patterns

Evaluating temperature ranges, precipitation patterns, heating degree days, moisture regimes, and seasonal climate data as site attributes that inform architectural programming decisions. Covers IECC/ASHRAE climate zone classification, Building America climate regions, and how climate data shapes building envelope, HVAC sizing, and site development feasibility.

Topography and Grading Analysis: Slopes, Elevation Changes, and Developable Areas

Analyzing topographic conditions, contour line interpretation, slope calculations, grading principles, drainage patterns, and determining site developability based on elevation changes and terrain constraints.

Existing Built Features and Infrastructure: Structures, Utilities, and Site Improvements

Evaluating existing structures, utility systems, and site improvements on a project site to determine feasibility, constraints, and opportunities relative to program requirements. Covers structural assessment of existing buildings, utility infrastructure analysis, easement identification, and the relationship between built features and new development potential.

Natural Features Assessment: Vegetation, Water Bodies, Habitats, and Protected Areas

Assessing qualitative and quantitative attributes of natural site features during programming, including vegetation communities and ecological indicators, water body classification and hydrologic function, habitat identification and ecological site descriptions, and protected area designations that affect site feasibility and development constraints.

Site Access, Circulation, and Traffic Pattern Evaluation

Evaluating vehicular access points, pedestrian and bicycle circulation systems, traffic generation and distribution patterns, and street network connectivity as site attributes that determine a site's feasibility for a proposed program during the programming and analysis phase.

Soil and Geotechnical Analysis: Classification, Constraints, Bearing Capacity, and Development Suitability

Evaluating soil types, geotechnical investigation methods, bearing capacity, and site constraints that affect development feasibility during the programming phase, including soil classification systems, field and laboratory testing procedures, and how geotechnical findings inform foundation selection and site planning decisions.

Easements, Rights-of-Way, and Encumbrances: Impact on Site Development

Evaluating how easements, rights-of-way, deed restrictions, and other encumbrances constrain or shape site development decisions during programming. Covers types of easements (utility, conservation, access), right-of-way requirements for roads and infrastructure, institutional controls on brownfield sites, development agreements, and how architects must identify and account for these property constraints when assessing site feasibility.

Synthesize Site Reports

8/8 topics

Demographic and Market Analysis for Site Programming

Reviewing and interpreting demographic data, population trends, housing market indicators, economic conditions, and community needs assessments to determine project feasibility and verify consultant selection during the site programming phase.

Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I, Phase II, and Remediation Action Plans

Understanding the phased approach to environmental site assessments, from records review and site reconnaissance in Phase I through intrusive sampling in Phase II, to developing remediation action plans that address contamination and enable project feasibility.

Geotechnical Reports: Boring Logs, Foundation Recommendations, and Program Implications

Interpreting geotechnical investigation reports including boring logs, soil classifications, Standard Penetration Test data, and foundation recommendations. Evaluating how subsurface conditions affect building program feasibility, foundation system selection, and site development decisions during the programming and analysis phase.

Utility Surveys and Infrastructure Documentation

Reviewing and interpreting utility surveys to determine the location, type, and condition of underground and aboveground infrastructure serving a project site, including subsurface utility engineering quality levels (QLA through QLD), geophysical detection methods, one-call systems, utility conflict management, and the role of utility documentation in establishing project feasibility and informing consultant selection.

Archaeological and Cultural Resource Studies

Understanding how archaeological and cultural resource studies impact site development feasibility, including federal and state regulatory frameworks (NHPA Section 106, CEQA, NAGPRA), the distinction between unique and nonunique archaeological resources, tribal cultural resource consultation requirements, mitigation strategies for preserving resources in place, and the architect's role in synthesizing these reports with other site documentation to determine project feasibility and consultant needs.

Synthesizing Multiple Site Reports for Project Feasibility Determination

Evaluating and integrating findings from geotechnical reports, environmental studies, utility surveys, traffic analyses, archaeological investigations, and other site documentation to make informed feasibility judgments and identify the appropriate consultants needed to execute the project.

Traffic Studies and Transportation Impact Analysis

How architects interpret traffic studies, transportation impact analyses, and related reports during site evaluation. Covers traffic analysis tools and methodologies, Level of Service standards, Vehicle Miles Traveled metrics, trip generation, multi-jurisdictional impacts, and the architect's role in synthesizing transportation data with project feasibility decisions.

Landscape Reports and Ecological Surveys

Interpreting landscape reports and ecological surveys during site analysis, including vegetation assessments, wetland delineations, ecological site descriptions, habitat inventories, and the synthesis of ecological data with other site documentation to determine project feasibility and identify required consultants.

Site Graphical Analysis

6/6 topics

Topographic Maps: Reading Contour Lines, Calculating Slopes, and Cut-Fill Analysis

Interpreting topographic maps for site analysis during programming, including reading contour lines and index contours, calculating slopes from contour data, understanding cut and fill representations, and evaluating earthwork volumes. Focuses on the graphical conventions architects use to analyze terrain and communicate grading decisions.

Circulation and Access Diagrams: Vehicular, Pedestrian, and Service Routes

Analyzing and evaluating diagrammatic representations of vehicular, pedestrian, and service circulation patterns on a site, including access points, route hierarchies, conflict zones, and connectivity standards used during site analysis and programming.

Site Plans: Boundaries, Dimensions, Setback Lines, and Feature Documentation

Understanding site plan graphics for boundaries, property dimensions, setback lines, and feature documentation during programming and analysis. Covers reading and evaluating plat submissions, boundary surveys, site plan review requirements, and the graphical conventions used to communicate property limits, zoning constraints, and existing or proposed site features.

Site Programming Diagrams: Bubble Diagrams, Functional Zoning, and Spatial Overlays

How architects use diagrammatic graphics to represent site relationships, program adjacencies, and functional zones during programming and site analysis.

Environmental Analysis Diagrams: Sun Paths, Wind Roses, and View Corridor Studies

Interpreting and evaluating environmental site analysis diagrams including sun path charts, wind rose diagrams, and view corridor studies to inform site planning, building orientation, and design decisions during the programming and analysis phase.

Site Adjacency and Land Use Context Diagrams

Analyzing and evaluating adjacency diagrams and land use context maps used during site analysis and programming. Covers how architects interpret diagrams showing relationships between a project site and surrounding land uses, assess compatibility and conflicts between adjacent uses, and communicate site context through graphic conventions including land use maps, adjacency matrices, and context diagrams.

Building Analysis Programming

Building Attributes

5/5 topics

Historic Features, Tax Credits, and Hazardous Materials in Existing Buildings

Evaluating existing buildings for historic significance, eligibility for federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives under 36 CFR 67, compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and identifying hazardous materials (asbestos, lead paint, radon, PCBs) that affect renovation feasibility. Covers the National Register of Historic Places, the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) provisions for historic structures, ACM survey procedures, O&M programs, NESHAPS thresholds, and how these factors collectively determine whether renovation, adaptive reuse, preservation, or demolition is appropriate.

Evaluating Building Views, Daylight, and Spatial Organization Against Program Requirements

Assessing how a new or existing building addresses views, daylight access, and spatial organization relative to the architectural program. Covers evaluation of window-to-wall ratios, daylighting strategies, view corridors, passive solar principles, building orientation effects on interior light quality, and methods for determining whether the existing or proposed spatial layout satisfies programmatic needs for natural light, occupant well-being, and functional organization.

Adaptive Reuse and Renovation Assessment: Feasibility, Preservation, and Demolition Decisions

Evaluating existing buildings to determine whether renovation, adaptive reuse, preservation, or demolition is the appropriate course of action. Covers feasibility analysis including structural stability, MEP system assessment, hazardous materials identification, historic significance evaluation, tax credit eligibility, and the decision framework architects use to recommend the right path forward for meeting project program requirements.

Existing Building MEP Systems: Condition Assessment and Upgrade Potential

Evaluating mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in existing buildings to determine their condition, remaining useful life, upgrade feasibility, and impact on renovation, adaptive reuse, or preservation decisions during the programming phase.

Structural Assessment of Existing Buildings: Methods, Reports, and Renovation Feasibility

Methods for evaluating the structural stability and seismic vulnerability of existing buildings during programming, including rapid visual screening, condition assessment reports, lateral-load-resisting system identification, and how structural findings inform decisions about renovation feasibility, adaptive reuse, or demolition.

Building Documentation

3/3 topics

Neighborhood and Regional Context Analysis for Building Programming

How architects evaluate neighborhood conditions, regional planning documents, and contextual reports to inform building program decisions, including assessing how surrounding land uses, infrastructure, zoning, transportation networks, and growth patterns affect project feasibility and programmatic requirements.

Integrating Technical Documentation into Building Program Feasibility Decisions

Evaluating and synthesizing technical documentation, including structural assessments, geotechnical reports, commissioning plans, condition assessment reports, and cost estimates, to determine how they inform building program feasibility. Covers how architects interpret, prioritize, and reconcile findings from multiple technical sources to make evidence-based programming decisions.

Building Condition Assessment Reports: Systems, Envelope, and Life Cycle Analysis

Interpreting building condition assessment reports to inform programming decisions, including evaluation of MEP systems, structural assessments, envelope performance, energy audits, retrocommissioning findings, seismic screening results, and life cycle cost analysis of building components.

Program Components

7/7 topics

Space Classification Systems: FOH/BOH, Occupied/Unoccupied, and Building Code Linkage

How architects classify spaces by function (front of house vs. back of house), occupancy status, and building type, and how those classifications connect to code requirements, area calculations, and programming decisions.

Client Needs Assessment: Stakeholder Interviews, Questionnaires, and Program Development

Gathering, analyzing, and synthesizing client requirements through stakeholder interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, and structured programming methods to develop building programs that reflect project priorities, spatial needs, and organizational goals.

Architectural Programming Process: Goals, Facts, Concepts, and Needs (Problem Seeking Methodology)

The Problem Seeking methodology structures architectural programming around four categories of information: Goals (what the client wants to achieve), Facts (existing conditions and data), Concepts (functional and organizational ideas), and Needs (the quantifiable requirements that emerge). Understanding how these four categories interact with the five programming steps enables architects to identify and prioritize building program components systematically.

Gross Square Footage, Building Efficiency, and Net-to-Gross Ratio

Understanding area measurement categories in building programming, including gross area, net area, usable area, and rentable area. Covers the relationship between net square footage (NSF) and gross square footage (GSF), how net-to-gross ratios quantify building efficiency, typical benchmarks for different building types, and how architects apply these metrics when identifying and prioritizing building program components.

Primary vs. Subsidiary Spaces: Program Hierarchy and Space Prioritization

Understanding how building programs classify spaces into primary (directly serving the facility's core mission) and subsidiary (supporting but not directly mission-critical) categories. Covers space hierarchy frameworks, prioritization methods during programming, the relationship between primary and subsidiary space allocations and net-to-gross ratios, and how architects evaluate competing space demands to make program decisions that satisfy client requirements.

Phasing and Expansion Planning: Incremental Development and Future Growth

How architects analyze, prioritize, and sequence building program components across phased construction, including structural provisions for vertical and horizontal expansion, infrastructure sizing for future loads, capacity planning strategies, and the relationship between phasing decisions and the building program's net-to-gross area requirements.

Area Calculations: Net Square Footage, Assignable Area, and Measurement Standards

How architects measure, classify, and calculate interior areas during programming, including net square footage (NSF), assignable area, usable area, and the measurement standards that govern these calculations for different building types.

Spatial Relationships

8/8 topics

Adjacency Matrices and Relationship Diagrams: Creating and Interpreting

How architects create and read adjacency matrices and relationship diagrams to define spatial proximities, functional connections, and separation requirements during the programming phase of a building project.

Vertical Spatial Organization: Stacking Diagrams, Multi-Level Spaces, and Atriums

Examines how vertical spatial relationships are organized and communicated during programming, including stacking diagrams for departmental placement across floors, multi-story spaces like atriums and lobbies, and the vertical coordination of shafts, stairs, and conveying systems.

Entry Sequences, Loading Areas, and Assembly Space Requirements

Analyzing the spatial and functional relationships among building entries, service and loading zones, and assembly spaces within a building program. Covers how entry hierarchies shape circulation, how loading and service areas integrate with back-of-house operations, and how assembly occupancies drive spatial sizing, adjacency requirements, and code-driven capacity determinations during programming.

MEP Spaces, Vertical Shafts, and Multi-Story System Coordination

Assessing how mechanical, electrical, and plumbing spaces, vertical shafts, and multi-story distribution systems relate to the building program and influence spatial organization during programming and analysis.

Horizontal Spatial Organization: Adjacency, Proximity, and Separation Principles

Analyzing how spaces relate to one another on the same floor through adjacency (direct connection), proximity (close but not touching), and separation (physical or functional distancing). Covers programming adjacency matrices, bubble diagrams, circulation path analysis, zone-based planning for security, acoustics, and function, and the evaluative judgment required to prioritize competing spatial relationships in building programs.

Mixed-Use Building Programming: Integrating Multiple Functions and Users

Analyzing the spatial, functional, and regulatory challenges of programming buildings that combine residential, commercial, institutional, and other uses within a single structure or development, including vertical and horizontal integration strategies, code compliance for mixed occupancies, and balancing competing user needs during the programming phase.

Building Circulation: Components, Space Requirements, and Route Planning

How architects assess horizontal and vertical circulation systems during programming, including corridor sizing, stair and elevator planning, service routes, and the relationship between circulation efficiency and the building program.

Stair, Elevator, and Conveying System Planning and Placement

How architects plan and position stairs, elevators, escalators, and other conveying systems within buildings to satisfy vertical circulation, egress, accessibility, and programmatic requirements during the programming and analysis phase.

Budget Schedule Feasibility

4/4 topics

Project Budget Feasibility: Comparing Program Requirements to Available Funding

Assessing whether a client's available budget can support the programmatic requirements, including methods for comparing scope against cost constraints, identifying budget gaps, recommending scope adjustments or phasing strategies, and understanding how cost estimates evolve from programming through design phases.

Programming-Phase Cost Estimating: Parametric Methods, SF Costs, and Benchmarks

Understanding how architects develop preliminary cost estimates during programming using parametric methods, cost-per-square-foot benchmarks, and assembly-based approaches. Covers the role of cost estimates in assessing project feasibility, the distinction between parametric and detailed estimating, escalation factors, and how early estimates inform the client's budget and schedule decisions.

Making Feasibility Recommendations: Scope Adjustments, Value Analysis, and Alternatives

Comparing available project information such as master plans, existing documentation, program requirements, and site data against the client's budget and schedule to determine feasibility, then providing recommendations including scope adjustments, value analysis, and alternative approaches when the project cannot be delivered as originally programmed.

Project Schedule Feasibility: Phasing, Duration, and Milestone Planning

Assessing whether a project's schedule is realistic given scope, budget, delivery method, and site constraints. Covers phasing strategies, duration estimation using the Critical Path Method, milestone identification, schedule control baselines, and how architects compare client timelines to available project information during the programming phase.

Building System Alternatives

3/3 topics

MEP System Alternatives: HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, and Fire Protection Options

Evaluating mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection system alternatives based on building type, program requirements, preliminary budget, schedule, and sustainability goals during the programming and analysis phase.

Building Envelope and Civil System Alternatives for Budget and Sustainability

Understanding how different building envelope systems, structural systems, and civil/MEP systems compare regarding cost, performance, sustainability, and suitability for various project types and programmatic requirements during the programming and analysis phase.

Structural System Alternatives: Steel, Concrete, Wood, and Masonry for Program Requirements

Identifying and comparing structural system alternatives in steel, concrete, wood, and masonry during the programming phase, including how building type, function, program requirements, preliminary budget, schedule, seismic considerations, and sustainability goals influence system selection before design begins.

Building Graphical Analysis

4/4 topics

Space Adjacency Diagrams: Bubble Diagrams, Stacking Diagrams, and Proximity Graphics

Analyzing and evaluating diagrammatic graphics used to communicate spatial relationships in building programming, including bubble diagrams for horizontal adjacencies, stacking diagrams for vertical department organization, and proximity matrices for quantifying programmatic relationships between spaces.

Building Circulation Diagrams: Horizontal Flow, Vertical Movement, and Egress Paths

How architects read, evaluate, and produce diagrammatic graphics that depict horizontal circulation routes, vertical movement systems, and egress paths within buildings, and how those diagrams communicate relationships, code compliance, and programming decisions.

Building Programming Diagrams: Area Proportions, Functional Zones, and Relationship Graphics

Understanding and evaluating diagrammatic graphics used to communicate building program information including area proportion diagrams (pie charts, proportional area diagrams, stacked bar charts), functional zone diagrams (color-coded plans, department blocking, FOH/BOH separation), and relationship graphics (adjacency matrices, bubble diagrams, stacking diagrams). Covers how architects use these graphic tools during programming to analyze spatial allocations, verify program compliance, and communicate building relationships to clients and stakeholders.

Solar Path and Daylighting Diagrams: Analyzing Sun Angles and Light Penetration

Interpreting solar path diagrams, sun angle charts, and daylighting analysis graphics to evaluate how sunlight affects building programming decisions. Covers reading stereographic sun path projections, calculating solar altitude and azimuth angles, analyzing daylight penetration depth, assessing glare conditions, and using these graphical tools during the programming phase to inform building orientation, fenestration placement, and interior space planning.