Account for Functional Needs

by the WBDG Functional / Operational Committee

Last updated: 08-12-2009

Overview

Programming should begin with a clear definition of the work activities to be performed. Accounting for functional needs is a primary purpose of the planning process that defines an owner's functional and physical requirements for each spatial element in a building or facility. This process seeks to state the problem; establish goals; collect and analyze facts; establish functional relationships; uncover and test concepts; and finally state the problem to direct a course of action. Adequate programming performed in the project planning phase will clearly delineate functional requirements and relationships of occupant activities and spaces required for all supporting building systems and equipment. See WBDG Architectural Programming for a more detailed explanation of how architectural programming helps the project team achieve a well functioning high performance building.

However, a truly functional building will require a thorough analysis of the parts of the design problem and the application of creative synthesis in a solution that integrates the parts in a coherent and optimal operating manner. 'Whole Building' design is characterized by a design solution that functions well from an occupant activity and building systems point of view.

There are several key steps in the development of project requirements that fully describe the design problem. They are:

• Understand how the work processes support the mission and purpose of a facility;
• Define spatial requirements for occupant activities and equipment;
• Understand functional relationships among the programmed spaces;
• Anticipate installation, Operations & Maintenance (O&M) practices, spatial change, and replacement of building equipment;
• Accommodate information technology (IT), communication, and other building systems equipment; and
• Consider serviceability (clearance) requirements.

Effective programming will include all pertinent stakeholders to ensure "Whole Building" functions have been identified. Conducting programming and design charrettes with these stakeholders is an effective means of enhancing integrated functionality and mutual agreement on a design approach.

Recommendations

Understand How the Work Processes Support the Mission and Purpose of a Facility

• Determine facility use, occupancy, and activities to be housed.
• Balance the owner's needs and goals for space, quality, budget, and time.
• Set owner's design objectives in the early planning stage.
• Reference building type guidelines. See also WBDG Building Types.

Define Spatial Requirements for Occupant Activities and Equipment

• Consult all pertinent stakeholders for their requirements.
• Consult planning guides and specialists on programmed activities.
• Document all regulatory requirements, such as building codes, accessibility laws, ATFP, etc.
• Explore the possible necessity of making spaces flexible to accommodate changes in business practices, work activities, and technologies.
• Consider building operations and maintenance activities in the design of spaces.

Understand Functional Relationships Between Program Spaces

• Engage user groups in facilitated discussions to brainstorm solutions.
• Examine patterns of activity in facility program and consider how those patterns create spatial relationships.
• Account for physical security requirements in the layout of space planning.
• Consider impacts of building systems and engineering needs on spatial relationships in both occupied and unoccupied spaces.
• Leverage opportunities for quality environmental aesthetics such as natural light, spatial volume, views, texture, and materials. See also WBDG Aesthetic Opportunities and Aesthetic Challenges.

Anticipate Installation, Operation, Spatial Change, and Replacement of Building Equipment

• Incorporate structural and mechanical systems as integral parts of early design concepts.
• Account for structural loads (dead and live) of building systems and equipment.
• Ensure that mechanical system equipment and furniture, fixtures, and building equipment (FF&E) can actually be installed, operated, and replaced.
• Consult facility O&M personnel in the programming and early design stage.
• Plan infrastructure for flexible spatial modifications or "churn".

Accommodate Information Technology (IT), Communication, and Other Building Systems Equipment

• Determine the owner's goals and needs for spatial and mechanical support of the organization's IT program.
• Incorporate IT system needs as an integral part of the design concept.
• Design for configuration flexibility within workspaces that promotes occupant productivity. See also WBDG Accessible—Plan for Flexibility.
• Accommodate network support and servicing requirements in the design of spaces.

Consider Serviceability (Clearance) Requirements

• Design for vehicular clearances in the site design (e.g., drives, gates, ramps, parking).
• Design for vehicular clearances in building design (e.g., doors, docks, obstructions).
• Design for proper equipment access for maintenance and removal and replacement of equipment and/or major components, such as filters, boiler tubes or piping.
• Design for durability.
• Design for maintainability (including housing of maintenance equipment).
• Consult facility O&M personnel in the design process.

Emerging Issues

• Computer-based space programming applications
• Appropriate accommodation for the changing nature of work (productivity)
• Virtual workplaces and increased use of "Hoteling" for flexible space
• Building Information Modeling (BIM) (defining object functionality for facility life cycle)
• Adaptability for possible change of building needs and function over time.

Relevant Codes and Standards

• Functionality and Serviceability Standards: Tools for Stating Functional Requirements and for Evaluating Facilities. Paper published in Federal Facilities Council (FFC) Report #145.
• For spatial requirements related to fire safety (ingress/egress):
• International Code Council (ICC)

Major Resources

Publications

• A Handbook for Planning and Conducting Charrettes for High Performance Projects by Gail Lindsey, Joel Ann Todd and Sheila J. Hayter. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 2003.
• A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein, with Max Jacobson, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, and Shlomo Angel. Oxford University Press, 1977.
• Interior Graphic Standards New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003.
• Problem Seeking, Third Edition by William Pena (CRSS). Washington, DC: AIA Press, 1969, 1987.
• Professional Practice in Facility Programming by Wolfgang Preiser. New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold Co., 1992.
• Programming for Design: From Theory to Practice by Edith Cherry. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998.
• Time-Saver Standards for Building Types, 4th Edition by Joseph DiChiara and Michael Crosbie. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2000.

Associations

• American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)
• The American Institute of Architects (AIA)
• American Society of Interior Designers
• International Interior Design Association
• National Charrette Institute
• National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)

Others

• CCB documents and publications (for Building-Type Design Guides)
• Compendium of Lessons Learned CD, Volume I by General Services Administration. July 2001. Contact Office of the Chief Architect, GSA Public Buildings Service.