A residential design project from concept to completion takes between 18 and 36 months for a custom home. The exact duration depends on project complexity, permit jurisdiction, and how decisions are made during design. Understanding the timeline before you begin prevents the frustration of expecting a finished house in 12 months.
The Four Design Phases and Their Typical Durations
Every residential architecture project moves through four distinct phases. Each has a defined output. The timeline slows when outputs are unclear or when clients defer decisions at phase transitions.
Schematic design (6 to 10 weeks). This is where the architectural concept takes shape. Site analysis, program validation, sun angle studies — what we call asoleamiento — and 2 to 3 spatial concepts are developed and compared. The output is a preferred direction: a parti, a section idea, a material hypothesis.
Design development (8 to 12 weeks). The selected concept becomes a building. Plans, sections, and elevations are developed to a level of detail sufficient to confirm dimensions, spatial relationships, and major material choices. Consultants — structural, mechanical, sometimes landscape — begin coordination.
Construction documents (8 to 16 weeks). This is the technical phase. Every wall, connection, material specification, and detail is documented so the project can be permitted and built. Complex homes with significant custom joinery, cast concrete, or stone work take longer here.
Permits (4 to 16 weeks). Permit review is managed by the local jurisdiction. In most US municipalities, a custom residential project takes 6 to 10 weeks for review. Some jurisdictions take longer. Mexico City review times vary significantly by delegación.
What Happens During Schematic Design
The process before the style. Schematic design is not about producing beautiful drawings. It is about testing assumptions.
In MÉTODO, we begin every project with site documentation: where the sun rises, where the prevailing wind comes from, what the ground holds. These are not poetic observations — they are constraints that structure everything that follows.
We also build a matriz de opciones at this stage. This is a structured comparison of 2 to 3 spatial configurations, each showing the tradeoffs in area, light access, construction sequence, and cost exposure. A client who has compared real options makes better decisions than one who is reacting to a single proposal.
The schematic design milestone is a go/no-go point. If the concept does not satisfy the program and the budget hypothesis, we revise before moving to design development. Revisions in schematic design cost hours. The same revision in construction documents costs weeks.
Design Development: Where the Building Becomes Real
Design development is where most of the spatial and material decisions are locked. Section studies — la sección como relato — reveal how light enters, how volumes relate vertically, and how the occupant moves through the house.
Material selections happen here, not at the end. Why? Because materials have lead times. Stone from a specific quarry may need 10 to 14 weeks from order to delivery. Custom steel windows in Colorado can run 16 to 20 weeks. If these are not specified in design development, they will delay construction.
Structural coordination also happens in design development. A residential project with cast concrete walls or exposed steel requires the structural engineer to develop their system in parallel — not after — the architectural drawings.
Construction Documents and Permit Submission
The construction documents phase produces the full technical package: architectural drawings, structural drawings, mechanical/electrical/plumbing plans, specifications, and details. This is the most labor-intensive phase for the architect's office.
Common reasons this phase extends beyond the estimate:
- Unresolved decisions from design development carried forward
- Consultant drawing revisions that require architectural coordination
- Client-requested changes after the drawings are substantially complete
- Complex details — cast-in-place concrete, stone cladding systems, bespoke millwork — that require additional design time
The permit submission follows. In jurisdictions with electronic submission, the review clock starts immediately. In municipalities that still require paper sets, add a week for printing and processing.
Construction Phase: The Architect's Role Continues
Construction administration is not optional. Once the contractor begins, the architect's role is to verify that the design intent is being executed correctly.
Field visits, submittal reviews, response to requests for information, and coordination of material approvals are all part of this phase. A residential project without active construction administration drifts — small deviations accumulate into expensive problems or visible inconsistencies.
Próximos pasos
Timeline clarity begins with a clear brief. Before the first drawing is made, we want to understand your site, your program, and your decision-making style.
Conoce el método de MÉTODO and see how the design phases work from the first conversation to the last construction document.