The conversation phase happens before any drawing. In MÉTODO, this is the most structured and, in some ways, most important phase of the entire project — because the decisions made here govern everything that comes after. A design built on an unclear program, an unrealistic budget, or an unanalyzed site cannot be corrected by better drawings.
What the Conversation Phase Is Not
It is not a free consultation. It is not a speculative process where the architect imagines what the project might be while the client evaluates whether they want to proceed. And it is not a phase that can be skipped by showing the architect photographs of houses they like.
The conversation phase is a structured professional service with specific deliverables and a defined scope. In MÉTODO, it is contracted and billable — the first phase of the engagement, not a preceding informal exchange.
The Site Analysis
The conversation phase begins with a site visit. A site visit conducted by the architect who will design the building produces different information than a site visit conducted as a check-box exercise. The section as narrative starts here: how does the ground meet the building? What are the solar angles at different times of year — the asoleamiento that determines where light enters and when? Where are the views, and which ones should be preserved or blocked? What is the relationship to adjacent structures?
In CDMX, a site visit also includes reading the delegación's urban development program for the specific parcel: permitted uses, maximum height, setbacks, COS (coeficiente de ocupación del suelo), and any heritage or environmental restrictions. In Colorado, equivalent work involves reviewing county zoning, fire hazard zone designation, and any recorded easements or deed restrictions.
The site analysis is not a pro forma document. It is the spatial brief that the design must respond to.
The Program Document
The program is the written description of what the building must contain and how the spaces must relate. A residential program lists:
- Uses per space: what happens in each room and how many people use it
- Adjacency requirements: which spaces must be near each other, which must be separated
- Service and circulation requirements: how the house is serviced and how people move through it
- Outdoor space requirements: what type and scale of outdoor space is needed
- Special requirements: home office, workshop, gallery, wine storage — any use that departs from a standard residential program
The program document is not a wish list. It is a tested document: does the spatial requirement fit the site? Does the square meterage implied by the program fit the budget envelope? If the program is more than the budget can support, the conversation about trade-offs happens here — in the conversation phase — not after a design has been developed and priced.
The Budget Envelope
Establishing a budget envelope in the conversation phase is the single most important thing that happens before design begins. Not because the architect needs a number to work with — though they do — but because the program only makes sense in relation to the budget.
A program that calls for six bedrooms, a pool, a library, and a studio cannot be designed honestly without knowing whether the budget supports 400 square meters or 800 square meters of construction. The design approach, the structural system, the material palette, and the number of custom elements are all functions of the construction budget.
In MÉTODO, the budget envelope is established by working from the program outward: what are the likely construction costs for this type of project in this location? What is the range of uncertainty at this stage? The envelope defines the outer limit of what will be designed — preventing the most common failure in residential architecture, which is designing a project that cannot be built.
The Schedule
The conversation phase produces a proposed project schedule with client milestones at each phase transition. The client needs to know when they will be asked to make major decisions — at the end of schematic design, at the end of design development, at permit submission — and how long each phase takes.
A client who travels frequently needs to know when their presence is required for site visits. A client who is financing the project through a construction loan needs to know when the permit set will be ready. A client with a specific move-in target date needs to know whether that date is feasible, and if not, what constraints would need to change to make it so.
The schedule is not a guarantee. It is a realistic projection of the sequence of work, built on experience with the permit jurisdiction and contractor market. It is the basis for managing expectations — the client's and the architect's.
What a Signed Program Document Means
At the end of the conversation phase, the program document is reviewed, revised if necessary, and signed by the client. That signature is the authorization to begin schematic design. Everything in schematic design — the spatial organization, the section logic, the initial material hypothesis — is a design response to the signed program.
If the program changes substantially after schematic design begins, the design must respond. In MÉTODO, scope changes after program sign-off are handled as explicit addenda with defined fee and schedule implications. This is not a bureaucratic protection — it is how design work maintains integrity.
Next Steps
If you are in the early stages of considering a residential project and want to understand what the conversation phase looks like for your specific situation, the first step is exactly that: a direct conversation.
Conoce el método de MÉTODO — how the full design process is structured from this first phase through construction completion.