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PAQE: Pre-Design and Programming

PAQE · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Pre-Design and Programming

Pre-design and programming is the front end of the project: converting an owner's mission, budget, and constraints into a tested, documented set of requirements that design can be measured against. The exam tests whether you can turn a narrative into measurable space, reconcile it with code, site, and money, and know what must be confirmed before the first line is drawn.

Core rules

  • Programming is problem-seeking; design is problem-solving. Deliverables: needs assessment, owner project requirements (OPR), space program, adjacency matrix, bubble and blocking diagrams, stacking diagrams, room data sheets, and a written basis of design.
  • Net vs. gross. Net assignable area counts usable room area only; gross includes corridors, core, structure, partitions, and mechanical. Efficiency = net ÷ gross - typically 0.65–0.80 for office, lower for clinical or laboratory programs.
  • Test the program three ways: by headcount (occupants × area-per-person benchmark), by function (rooms × room size), and by benchmark (comparable facilities). Reconcile the differences rather than picking one.
  • Confirm pre-design due diligence: existing-conditions survey, hazardous materials, utility capacity, geotechnical input, and a written code and zoning summary that records the authority having jurisdiction's interpretations.

Worked example

A client needs 32,000 NSF of office. At 0.72 efficiency, required gross = 32,000 ÷ 0.72 = 44,444 GSF. The site is 15,000 SF with FAR 3.0, allowing 45,000 GSF - the program fits with roughly 550 GSF of margin. A 60% coverage limit caps the footprint at 9,000 SF, so the building needs 44,444 ÷ 9,000 = 4.94, meaning 5 floors. That floor count then drives stair count, elevator sizing, and structural bay.

Traps

  • Inverting the efficiency ratio (gross ÷ net) and over-building the envelope.
  • Assuming corridors and core scale linearly with program; they scale with floor plate and floor count.
  • Treating benchmark area-per-person figures as answers - they shift with region, staffing model, and unit mix.
  • Starting massing before the OPR priorities and cost-per-GSF budget are confirmed in writing.
  • Omitting the growth or phasing allowance the owner will need in years three to ten.