Architect design phases are not bureaucratic stages. They are decision milestones — moments when specific questions are answered so that the project can advance to the next level of resolution. Understanding what belongs in each phase prevents costly reversals and keeps the design process honest.
The Conversation Phase: Before Any Drawing Is Made
Every architectural design project should begin with a sustained conversation before the first line is drawn. In MÉTODO, this is not a courtesy meeting — it is where we gather the information that makes the design possible.
The conversation covers:
- Site. What are the physical conditions? What does the asoleamiento analysis reveal about solar access, shadow patterns, and seasonal variation? What does the ground hold?
- Program. What spaces are needed? How do the occupants actually live? What are the most important moments in the daily routine that the house should serve?
- Constraints. What is the structural situation of an existing building, if it is a renovation? What are the regulatory limits — setbacks, height, FAR?
- Decision-making style. Does the client prefer to compare options or receive a single strong recommendation? Who has final authority?
This conversation is not about preferences. It is about parameters. A design built on well-understood parameters solves the right problem.
The Matrix: Deciding by Comparison, Not Guessing
The matriz de opciones — the matrix of options — is the tool we use to make the first major spatial decision in a project. It is a structured comparison, not a presentation.
Typically, we develop 2 to 3 distinct spatial concepts at schematic scale. Each concept represents a different answer to the fundamental question of the project — how do these spaces, on this site, produce a coherent building? Each option is described with:
- A plan sketch showing the spatial sequence and major dimensions
- A section concept showing the vertical organization and how light enters
- Key tradeoffs: what this option does well, what it sacrifices
- Construction complexity and approximate cost exposure
A client who chooses from a genuine matrix understands what they are choosing and what they are giving up. That clarity carries forward through every subsequent decision. La matriz de opciones: decidir comparando, no adivinando.
Design Development: From Concept to Confirmed Building
Once the spatial concept is selected, design development transforms it into a fully resolved building. This phase has three main workstreams running in parallel:
Spatial refinement. Plans and sections are developed to a level of detail that confirms all dimensions, ceiling heights, openings, and spatial transitions. Section studies — what we call la sección como relato — are particularly important here: the section tells the story of how light moves through the building and how the occupant experiences the vertical dimension.
Material confirmation. The preliminary material hypothesis from schematic design is confirmed into specific selections with dimensions, finishes, and suppliers. Stone type and quarry, concrete finish and formwork pattern, wood species and milling dimension. Materials with long lead times are specified early.
Consultant coordination. The structural engineer develops their system in parallel. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers begin their layouts. The architect coordinates these disciplines so they do not conflict in the field.
Construction Documents: Where Precision Lives
Construction documents are the full technical documentation of the building as it will be built. Every wall, connection, material transition, and detail is drawn and specified.
The precision of this phase is not about aesthetics. It is about buildability and cost control. A well-coordinated construction document set prevents field improvisation — the kind of "we had to adjust it on site" that compromises the design without anyone deciding it should be compromised.
This phase typically takes 8 to 16 weeks for a complex residence. Common causes of delays: unresolved decisions carried forward from design development, consultant revisions requiring architectural coordination, and client changes after the drawings are substantially complete.
Construction Administration: The Build
Construction administration is where the design is executed. The architect's role is not to manage the contractor — it is to verify that the contractor's work conforms to the drawings and to make the design decisions that always arise in the field.
Field visits, submittal reviews, responses to requests for information: these are the mechanics of construction administration. The underlying purpose is to protect the design intent through the irreversible act of construction.
Próximos pasos
The quality of a built project reflects the quality of the process that produced it. Phase by phase, from the first conversation to the final site visit.
Conoce el método de MÉTODO to see how a MÉTODO project is organized and what each phase delivers.