The Importance of a Design Concept

Before we jump head first into designing a project —getting deep into detailing the project— we must get the design concept right.

A design concept in architecture may start as a philosophy, a powerful idea, or a simple set of guidelines. From there, it slowly evolves into a conceptual design for the project that becomes a roadmap or guide to follow throughout the rest of the project.

A design concept is the basic DNA of a project.

A design concept is the big picture idea for the project. It shows the overall design intent and provides direction for everyone on the project team from the early schematic design phase all the way through construction.

Having a unified and cohesive design concept makes all future decisions easier, also. When you can summarize your project into a well-thought-out design concept, you can actually do less thinking later because all the big decisions have already been made and you know they meet your project requirements. All you have to do is follow the plan.

But it’s critical to nail down the design concept and stick to it. If you don’t stick to it, you risk creating a project that looks pieced together, doesn’t flow right, and all-around doesn’t look consistent.

A good design concept solves big complex problem.

The design concept is the solution to a complex puzzle. If you’re creating a project, you probably have project goals and objectives that define what would make the project successful. You have a list of needs and wants. You have a budget, a rough timeline, and a site. All of this project information combines to form your project requirements, which a design concept must provide for.

How does the concept design process work?

At the very beginning of the project, we spend a lot of time collecting information. In our Pre-Design “discovery” phase, we gather as much information about the project as we can by asking questions and reviewing the information you provide to us. From there, we get into analysis-mode where we review all the data like site information, zoning and codes, budget info, and any other programmatic information relevant to the project.

It is only once we understand all the project requirements, the constraints, and the opportunities, that we begin to conceptually think about and sketch out ideas. We start at the most basic level of massing studies with rough shapes and voids, overlaying circulation paths, views, and more shapes. From there, ideas start to flow and take shape. We think about actual spaces and how they relate to each other and the site.

This is a fluid time where design ideas stay loose so that we don’t fixate on one specific idea but rather allow ourselves to generate multiple concepts, iterate, and blend ideas. We learn what’s working and what’s not working as we review each scheme and evaluate its potential.

We brainstorm, collaborate, and discuss our ideas with you so that you can provide feedback on the designs and help to narrow down the options. All the while, referencing the project requirements that must be met by the collectively chosen design.

Are you having trouble thinking creatively and generating ideas for your project?

We’ve got two resources to help you:

Our PDF guide: Top 10 Strategies to Boost Your Creative Thinking.

Our 30-page ebook: How To Boost Your Creative Thinking which dives even deeper and shares the exact tactics that architects and designers use to create amazing design solutions. You can see real-world project examples, plus get access to additional resources like recommended tools and articles to dive deeper into each tactic.

And remember: Good design concepts take time.

One common mistake people make is focusing in on one design too early and rushing too quickly into developing that design. People get in a hurry to get to the details, but this is often at the detriment of the project because it can result in getting too attached to the design too quickly before other ideas are vetted and evaluated.

This can be due to people’s excitement for the design, outside pressure to complete the design by a certain time, or even because they feel that this design is good enough (or better yet “perfect”) and can’t get any better.

The result is that the design isn’t thought through completely or doesn’t meet all the project requirements. Creating a design that doesn’t meet all the project requirements can lead to a big disappointment in the end, or even worse: carry hefty downstream costs when changes are made to try to fix problems later during construction.

In order to prevent such disasters, you need to really take your time during this crucial concept design phase and allow sufficient time to evaluate multiple ideas and designs, then carefully choose which concept is the best at solving the project requirements.

Let us help you with your concept design.

One of the biggest struggles people face is taking all their ideas and vision for their project and turning it into a unified design concept.

And because we feel that an architect’s expertise is MOST valuable in the earliest part of the design phase when most big decisions are made that have huge consequences, we want to give you access to expert design professionals when it matters most.

After multiple discussions to learn more about what would be most helpful to you, we created a concept design service to help you create that all-important design concept, then lets you take it from there to finalize and carry out however you want and with whomever you want.

You get a thorough concept design package loaded with concept drawings, a material palette, and resources specific to your project so that you can hit the ground running with confidence knowing you have a solid design concept from a design expert.

Click here to learn more about our concept design services.

Project Spotlight: Here’s a look at a recent concept design.

This project is a live work retreat in southeastern Ohio.

The design concept was more important than ever for our client, Eve. She had so many ideas, but with a big open barn and a challenging program, she was having trouble creating a good concept design that made sense for the space.

The spatial organization was tricky to nail down but the design concept centered on these ideas:

informally separate living and working spaces
create flexible and multi-purpose spaces
blend the rustic barn style with modern interventions
create a strong connection to nature, both visual and physical

Our design concept provided integrated living and working spaces and provided spaces for work gatherings and meetings with visiting guests. We also created varied and comfortable indoor and outdoor spaces with strong connections to the surrounding landscape, creating an environment that provided an escape from busy city life while also allowed for focused work.

As a barn, lighting had not been a priority; as a living space, however, opening up the spaces to daylight and views was critical. The design concept creates and enhances the much desired indoor-outdoor connection through a series of large openings, deliberately-located windows, covered porches, and large open decks, easily accessible and partially protected from the elements by movable wooden screens.

Our time working with Eve was enjoyable and collaborative. She is dynamic, driven, and creative — so landing on the chosen design concept for her live work retreat was a lot of fun.