1. Programming, or Pre-Design

The purpose of Programming/Pre-Design is to finalize the project objectives, determine the building and user requirements, establish a total building area, and set the scope of work. At this point it is possible to estimate a realistic project cost, to which yearly escalation factors may be added to account for construction or occupancy delays.

A professional service contractor - architect, designer, engineer - may be hired to complete the scope of work for the project. The university provides project management and oversight throughout the project. The university's project architects, project engineers, and interior designers serve as project managers.

All the issues explored in the Study Phase are re-examined in detail during Programming. The ramifications for existing facilities or projects-in-planning, and the need for corollary required projects, such as parking lots or new utilities services, are determined. State of Michigan building requirements or restrictions, and all life safety, fire, environmental, and barrier-free code issues are identified.

Programming involves gathering information from the intended building occupants and user groups through group and individual interviews. The Programmer researches current and projected needs in such areas as information and instructional technology, academic teaching methods, privacy and security. This results in a comprehensive description of the necessary components of the construction project.

The Project Program, the end result of Programming, describes how the finished project will "work": how it will function for the building occupants and how it will meet all the project requirements.

Definitions
Yearly Escalation : a multiplier used to adjust a dollar figure to a future value. The multiplier is based on historical increases (or decreases) of construction-related costs. It is usually determined regionally, as construction trends are not necessarily the same throughout the country.

Life Safety Code : a document produced by the National Fire Protection Association. Compliance with the Life Safety Code is required in most jurisdictions. The Code applies to all building features necessary to protect life or to minimize the danger to life from fire or the products of fire, such as smoke, fumes or panic.

Barrier-Free Code : standards set by federal and state agencies to ensure that the built environment is usable and accessible for all citizens. Barrier-free codes satisfy the requirements of the 1992 American with Disabilities Act.

2. Schematic Design

   The purpose of Schematic Design is to translate the Project Program into physical drawings of space. In Schematic Design the project team determines the areas, physical requirements, and relationships of all the required building spaces and components, and confirms or revises the total building square footage, the total project budget, and the project schedule and occupancy dates.

   Schematic Design includes a complete description of the building systems (structural, mechanical, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical), interior and exterior finishes, and the building site. It provides control strategies for all equipment and systems relating to building services such as security and fire alarms, and defines the technical requirements for phones, data, cable, and audio/visual needs.

   The schematic drawings - floor plans, site plans and building elevations - are reviewed and refined for functionality, usability, required adjacencies, code compliance, security, safety and aesthetics. The Project Program and the schematic drawings are scrutinized for possible errors or omissions. The plans are shared and discussed with staff in other areas of the university such as Maintenance, Custodial, Logistics, Information Technology, and Public Safety, to identify possible problems and to coordinate with the needs and practices in these areas.

   Definitions
   Project Team : the group of people, led by the project manager, that plan, organize, direct, and control a specific project.

   HVAC : heating, ventilating, and air conditioning

   Floor Plan : a drafted view of the building floor plan or layout. A floor plan is essentially a line drawing of what you would see if the building were sliced horizontally at four feet above the floor surface, the top half removed, and you looked down at the exposed bottom half. Floor plans may include dimensions, equipment, furnishings, and other construction details.

   Site Plan : a drafted view of the location of the proposed project.

   An "existing site plan" or "existing conditions plan" is essentially a map of the proposed area of construction, identifying all pertinent adjacent landscaping, bodies of water, roads, and buildings, and may also locate or identify features that may affect construction, such as rights-of-way, buried utilities, or soil conditions.

   A "site plan" places the proposed building on the building site, along with the various necessary site improvements such as landscaping, walkways, roads, utilities connections and service drives.

   Building Elevation : a drafted view of the exterior of the building as if you were standing and looking at it. Usually all four sides of the building are provided - the east, west, north and south elevations. There may also be interior elevations, which depict the view of a vertical surface inside the building, such as a view of a corridor wall or the front of an auditorium.

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