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"Clearly understanding your design priorities is crucial to actually getting them built. In one of our developments we had to fight hard to be allowed to provide 3 bedroom units for families with only one child. We knew from experience that small families tend to grow and that placing them in smaller units would only force them to move out sometime in the future - a situation that was bad for the families and bad for the development as a whole. By making that extra bedroom a top priority we were able to accommodate the needs of our target occupants and to stabilize turnover in our development at the same time. And time has proven us right - one of the families in question has grown by two more children in less than two years."
Sharron Welsh,
Santa Fe Community Housing Trust,
Santa Fe, NM
Tools for Step 13
Print Step 13
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Step 13. Identify and prioritize the key design components of the project - those that will do the most to meet user needs, respond to the context and enhance the neighborhood.
Why is this step important?
Once you have established clear design goals for the development, related both to the occupants and to the community, you can identify and prioritize the specific components of the design that contribute the most to those goals. For example, one development organization may decide that a front porch and a large living/dining area with a bay window are critical to fitting in with the surrounding neighborhood and to meeting the needs of future residents. Another group may feel that a large back patio, separate living and dining areas, and a dormer window are more important. Whatever the final result, it is important to clearly identify the design components that are important to you as early as possible in the design process.
During the often lengthy process of development, pressures and trade-offs are inevitable. With your key components clearly prioritized, you can make sure that the most important elements are saved, and when a trade-off is necessary, you have the information to make wise and rapid decisions that will maintain schedule and budget without compromising or eliminating the components that contribute most to overall design quality.
When should this step be done?
Who should do this step?
The owner/developer and the design team with input from residents and the community.
What should be done?
- Over the course of Schematic Design conduct periodic reviews and, with input from users, the design team and the community, identify the key components that you consider critical to meeting user needs, responding to the surrounding context and enhancing the overall neighborhood.
- Use the Design Considerations Checklist to help inform this process.
- Prioritize the key components based on how critical they are to the design success of the project. These will be the design elements that you will fight hardest to preserve.
- Print the Prioritized List of Key Design Components Form, fill it out, and add it to the Project Book.
(The list should also accompany the completed Schematic Design drawings.)
How can doing this help move my project forward?
- By identifying and understanding the key design components in your schematic designs you are much better equipped to make the case for your project's value - to its occupants and to the community - throughout the development process.
- Knowing which components you value the most will help guide decision-making when and if costs must be cut to meet the budget.
For a thorough guide to current Federal requirements for universal access - together with information on other, voluntary accessibility design tools - please refer to the resources in HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at www.hud.gov/fairhousing
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